An urgent matter-identifying your patients' cardiovascular risk and improving their outcomes. Commentary.
Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) risk factor assessment and management is no insignificant undertaking. In 2009, 785,000 Americans will experience their first coronary event, 470,000 will have a recurrent event, and an additional 195,000 will suffer a silent myocardial infarction (MI). As family physicians, we see many patients who have angina or MI, and we work aggressively with them to prevent myocardial ischemia and acute coronary syndromes. However, many of our otherwise healthy patients have subclinical atherosclerosis and are at increased risk for a first coronary event. Subclinical atherosclerosis is common, occurring in 39% of men and 36% of women aged > or =65 years in the Cardiovascular Health Study. The presence of subclinical cardiovascular disease roughly doubles the rate of development of clinically apparent disease over an 8-year period in healthy individuals, as well as in those with metabolic syndrome or diabetes mellitus. Unfortunately, for most patients, CHD is not diagnosed during routine screening. Rather, the diagnosis of CHD often is made only after symptoms occur, or when the patient is evaluated incidentally for another health problem.
Tóth
Peter P
PP
Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Illinois School of Medicine, Peoria, USA. Peter.Toth@srfc.com
D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008019:Life Style; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; D008055:Lipids