scholarly journals Global cardiovascular risk assessment: a national training course for General Practitioners

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
L Palmieri ◽  
B Unim ◽  
E Mattei ◽  
M Tijhuis ◽  
A Fehr ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Identification of high risk individuals is one of the main goals of the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and constitutes the basis for implementing actions aiming at reducing modifiable risk factors at individual level through changing life styles or drug interventions. The most appropriate method for identifying high risk individuals is the absolute risk assessment, a probability indicator of incidence, predictable on the basis of risk factors levels. Objectives The CUORE project score of the National Institute of Health-ISS is adopted in Italy; since 2007 ISS has implemented a national training course for General Practitioners-GPs with the aim of supporting and facilitating the use of CVD risk assessment in clinical practice as a preventive action in the general population. Results The training course is based on five sequential packages linked to educational credits: packages 1-2 facilitate the adoption of standardised methodologies for the assessment of CVD risk score; in package 3 patients are invited by GPs to assess the risk score; packages 4-5 evaluate and discuss data collected with GPs and stakeholders. A cascade training was implemented: ISS personnel provided training to local GPs who in turn provided the same training to other GPs. Two manuals for the training course were published. Since 2007 about 4,300 GPs were trained; about 320,000 10-year CVD risk assessments were performed in 260,000 men and women aged 35-69 years. Feedback was provided to all GPs participating to the 4th-5th packages of the training courses. Conclusions Implementation of the training course for the use of CVD risk assessment in the population represents a primary preventive action according to the recommendation of the EU Guideline on CVD prevention. The collected data may play an important role in the identification of strengths and weaknesses of preventive actions and represents the first step to improve good clinical practices standards.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Piko ◽  
Zsigmond Kosa ◽  
Janos Sandor ◽  
Roza Adany

AbstractCardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the number one cause of death globally, and the early identification of high risk is crucial to prevent the disease and to reduce healthcare costs. Short life expectancy and increased mortality among the Roma are generally accepted (although not indeed proven by mortality analyses) which can be partially explained by the high prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF) among them. This study aims to elaborate on the prevalence of the most important CVD risk factors, assess the estimation of a 10-year risk of development of fatal and nonfatal CVDs based on the most used risk assessment scoring models, and to compare the Hungarian general (HG) and Roma (HR) populations. In 2018 a complex health survey was accomplished on the HG (n = 380) and HR (n = 347) populations. The prevalence of CVRS was defined and 10-year cardiovascular risk was estimated for both study populations using the following systems: Framingham Risk Score for hard coronary heart disease (FRSCHD) and for cardiovascular disease (FRSCVD), Systematic COronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE), ACC/AHA Pooled Cohort Equations (PCE) and Revised Pooled Cohort Equations (RPCE). After the risk scores had been calculated, the populations were divided into risk categories and all subjects were classified. For all CVD risk estimation scores, the average of the estimated risk was higher among Roma compared to the HG independently of the gender. The proportion of high-risk group in the Hungarian Roma males population was on average 1.5–3 times higher than in the general one. Among Roma females, the average risk value was higher than in the HG one. The proportion of high-risk group in the Hungarian Roma females population was on average 2–3 times higher compared to the distribution of females in the general population. Our results show that both genders in the Hungarian Roma population have a significantly higher risk for a 10-year development of cardiovascular diseases and dying from them compared to the HG one. Therefore, cardiovascular interventions should be focusing not only on reducing smoking among Roma but on improving health literacy and service provision regarding prevention, early recognition, and treatment of lipid disorders and diabetes among them.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-47
Author(s):  
Nazma Akter

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is considered as one of the major health problems worldwide. The rising prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in Bangladesh is primarily attributed to rapid urbanization and associated changes in lifestyle, such as sedentary lifestyle, higher calorie food intake and stressful life. Studies support the utilization of riskassessment scoring systems in quantifying individual’s risk for developing T2DM. Thus, a simple risk-assessment scoring system for early screening of T2DM among Bangladeshi adults will be beneficial to identify the high-risk adults and thus taking adequate preventive measures in combating DM.The purpose of the study was to calculate the risk assessment score of developing T2DM within 10 years among Bangladeshi adults. Methods: The cross-sectional observational study was carried out in the outpatient department (OPD) of Medicine, MARKS Medical College & Hospital, a tertiary care hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh from February 2018 to July 2018 among randomly sampled 205 adult subjects. Subjects undiagnosed with diabetes mellitus and had previous history of high blood glucose during pregnancy or other health examination (i.e. impaired fasting glucose, impaired glucose tolerance or gestational diabetes mellitus) were included. From a review of literature regarding risk factors of developing DM in Bangladesh, the Finnish Diabetes Risk Score (FINDRISC) system was found to be more useful for the Bangladeshi adults. The Finnish Diabetes Risk Score (FINDRISC) questionnaire was used to collect the data including demographic characteristics and different risk factors and to calculate total risk score for predicting the risk of developing T2DM within 10 years. Results: Among 205 subjects, male and female were 57.1% and 42.9% respectively. The Mean (±SD) age of the study subjects was 37.64±1.07 years. In this study, both non-modifiable and modifiable risk factors showed statistically significant association with the FINDRISC among Bangladeshi adults (p<0.05). There was a significant association among FINDRISC with history of previous high blood glucose, and treated hypertensive Bangladeshi adults.33.65% of the Bangladeshi adults had slightly elevated diabetes risk score (DRS). This study predicts that 17.55% of the Bangladeshi adults may have moderate to high risk to develop T2DM within the consecutive 10 years. Conclusion: This study provides a simple, feasible, non-invasive and convenient screening FINDRISC tool that identifies individuals at risk of having T2DM. People with high risk of DM should be referred for early intervention and changes to a healthy lifestyle and primary prevention to prevent or delay the onset of T2DM. Birdem Med J 2020; 10(1): 40-47


2021 ◽  
Vol 80 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 377.1-377
Author(s):  
I. Sheriff ◽  
A. Lima ◽  
O. Tseng ◽  
A. Aviña ◽  
M. Dawes ◽  
...  

Background:Inflammatory arthritis (IA) predisposes patients to several chronic conditions including cardiovascular diseases (CVD), diabetes (DM), osteoporosis (OP) and infections, likely due to systemic effects of inflammation. Studies have found that patients with IA often receive suboptimal care for screening and managing these conditions.Objectives:This is the first phase of a study which will develop and pilot test automated EMR reminders for family physicians. The reminders will prompt family physicians to screen for and address risk factors for these conditions. We conducted a Delphi process to select care recommendations to be addressed by the EMR reminders.Methods:We conducted a review of current BC, Canadian and international guidelines for screening and addressing risk factors for CVD, DM, OP and infection. A list of 22 care recommendations, including their level of evidence and risks/benefits of implementation, was reviewed by a panel of six family physicians, three rheumatologists and three IA patients, in a three-round online modified Delphi process. Panelists rated each care recommendation, using 9-point scales, on 1) their clinical importance, 2) their likelihood of improving outcomes, and 3) implementation feasibility. Results were discussed in an online forum. Panelists then rated slightly revised care recommendations, modified based on feedback from the discussion. Care recommendations were retained if the median rating was ≥7 with no disagreement as defined by the RAND/UCLA Method handbook.Results:A list of 15 care recommendations was selected by the Delphi process for EMR integration, including recommendations that address CVD risk assessment (1), hypertension screening (1), DM screening (2), fracture risk assessment (1), BMD testing (1), osteoporosis prevention (1) and treatment (1) with bisphosphonates, preventing infections through immunization (2), minimizing steroids (1) and hepatitis screening (1), screening for hydroxychloroquine retinal toxicity (1), and counselling for lifestyle modifications (2). We excluded 7 recommendations which addressed lipid testing (1), BMD testing in steroid users (1), immunizations (2), weight management (1), and DMARD laboratory test monitoring (2). Recommendations were excluded on the basis of importance (1) or feasibility (6).Conclusion:The results of the Delphi process will inform the development of reminders, integrated in EMRs, that will support family physicians in their efforts to engage IA patients in addressing risk factors for chronic diseases related to inflammation. We hope to improve the prevention of these diseases, which represent an important cause of morbidity and mortality for people with inflammatory arthritis.Acknowledgements:Iman Sheriff’s work on this project was funded by the CRA summer studentship programme. Dr. Lacaille is supported by the Mary Pack Chair in Arthritis Research from UBC and The Arthritis Society of Canada. Thank you to all who participated in the Delphi survey.Disclosure of Interests:None declared


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
L Palmieri ◽  
S Vannucchi ◽  
C Lo Noce ◽  
A Di Lonardo ◽  
B Unim ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Italian National Prevention Plan 2005-08 included 10-year cardiovascular risk assessment (10-CR) for the general population aged 35-69 years using the CUORE Project risk score. GPs were encouraged to perform 10-CR and send data to the Cardiovascular Risk Observatory (CRO). Aim To show updated data of the ongoing surveillance system of the 10-CR in the Italian adult population. Methods Data were collected using the cuore.exe software, freely downloadable by GPs from the CUORE Project website (www.cuore.iss.it). The CRO provides a web-platform to compare data on 10-CR and risk factors at regional/national level. For persons examined at least twice, variations in risk factors from baseline to follow-up and 95% confidence intervals (C.I.) were calculated using methods for matched pair samples. Results Up to February 2019, about 3,500 GPs downloaded cuore.exe; about 300,000 CR assessments on about 140,000 persons were sent to CRO. Mean CR was 3.1% in women (W), 8.5% in men (M); 28% of M, 64% of W were at low risk (CR &lt; 3%); 9.9% of M, 0.4% of W were at high risk (CR ≥ 20%); 26% of M, 16% of W were current smokers; 13% of M, 10% of W were diabetic; 33% of hypertensive M, 35% of hypertensive W were under specific treatment. Among those with at least two risk assessments (31% of the sample), 11% shifted to a lower risk class after one year (14% of M, 7% of W). Systolic blood pressure mean levels decreased by 0.6 mmHg (95%-C.I. 0.3-0.8 mmHg), diastolic blood pressure by 0.5 mmHg (0.2-0.7 mmHg), total cholesterol by 4.1 mg/dl (3.0-5.2 mg/dl), smokers prevalence by 3.1% (2.3%-4.0%); HDL-cholesterol increased in W by 0.3 mg/dl (0.1-0.5 mg/dl). Conclusions Data demonstrate that 10-CR assessment can be an effective first step to implement preventive actions in primary care. Individual risk score is a useful tool for GPs to assess CR and promote primary prevention focusing on the adoption of healthy lifestyles. Data can be used to support health policy decision process. Key messages The cuore.exe software, freely downloadable from the CUORE Project website-www.cuore.iss.it, allows GPs to assess the CUORE Project risk score, to collect and to send data to the CVD Risk Observatory. 10 year Cardiovascular Risk assessment in the general adult population can be an effective first step to implement preventive actions in primary care.


2021 ◽  
pp. 103985622098403
Author(s):  
Marianne Wyder ◽  
Manaan Kar Ray ◽  
Samara Russell ◽  
Kieran Kinsella ◽  
David Crompton ◽  
...  

Introduction: Risk assessment tools are routinely used to identify patients at high risk. There is increasing evidence that these tools may not be sufficiently accurate to determine the risk of suicide of people, particularly those being treated in community mental health settings. Methods: An outcome analysis for case serials of people who died by suicide between January 2014 and December 2016 and had contact with a public mental health service within 31 days prior to their death. Results: Of the 68 people who had contact, 70.5% had a formal risk assessment. Seventy-five per cent were classified as low risk of suicide. None were identified as being at high risk. While individual risk factors were identified, these did not allow to differentiate between patients classified as low or medium. Discussion: Risk categorisation contributes little to patient safety. Given the dynamic nature of suicide risk, a risk assessment should focus on modifiable risk factors and safety planning rather than risk prediction. Conclusion: The prediction value of suicide risk assessment tools is limited. The risk classifications of high, medium or low could become the basis of denying necessary treatment to many and delivering unnecessary treatment to some and should not be used for care allocation.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 1631
Author(s):  
Anna Astarita ◽  
Giulia Mingrone ◽  
Lorenzo Airale ◽  
Fabrizio Vallelonga ◽  
Michele Covella ◽  
...  

Cardiovascular adverse events (CVAEs) are linked to Carfilzomib (CFZ) therapy in multiple myeloma (MM); however, no validated protocols on cardiovascular risk assessment are available. In this prospective study, the effectiveness of the European Myeloma Network protocol (EMN) in cardiovascular risk assessment was investigated, identifying major predictors of CVAEs. From January 2015 to March 2020, 116 MM patients who had indication for CFZ therapy underwent a baseline evaluation (including blood pressure measurements, echocardiography and arterial stiffness estimation) and were prospectively followed. The median age was 64.53 ± 8.42 years old, 56% male. Five baseline independent predictors of CVAEs were identified: office systolic blood pressure, 24-h blood pressure variability, left ventricular hypertrophy, pulse wave velocity value and global longitudinal strain. The resulting ‘CVAEs risk score’ distinguished a low- and a high-risk group, obtaining a negative predicting value for the high-risk group of 90%. 52 patients (44.9%) experienced one or more CVAEs: 17 (14.7%) had major and 45 (38.7%) had hypertension-related events. In conclusion, CVAEs are frequent and a specific management protocol is crucial. The EMN protocol and the risk score proved to be useful to estimate the baseline risk for CVAEs during CFZ therapy, allowing the identification of higher-risk patients.


2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (Supplement_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
A Salasyuk ◽  
S Nedogoda ◽  
I Barykina ◽  
V Lutova ◽  
E Popova

Abstract Background Metabolic syndrome (MetS) and abdominal obesity are one of the most common CVD risk factors among young and mature patients. However, the currently used CVD risk assessment scales may underestimate the CV risk in people with obesity and MS. Early vascular aging rather than chronological aging can conceptually offer better risk prediction. MetS, as accumulation of classical risk factors, leads to acceleration of early vascular aging. Since an important feature of MetS is its reversibility, an adequate risk assessment and early start of therapy is important in relation to the possibilities of preventing related complications. Purpose To derive a new score for calculation vascular age and predicting EVA in patients with MetS. Methods Prospective open cohort study using routinely collected data from general practice. The derivation cohort consisted of 1000 patients, aged 35–80 years with MetS (IDF,2005 criteria). The validation cohort consisted of 484 patients with MetS and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) values exceeding expected for average age values by 2 or more SD (EVA syndrome). Results In univariate analysis, EVA was significantly correlated with the presence of type 2 diabetes and clinical markers of insulin resistance (IR), body mass index (BMI), metabolic syndrome severity score (MetS z-score), uric acid (UA) level, hsCRP, HOMA-IR, total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), heart rate (HR), central aortic blood pressure (CBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP). Multiple logistic regression shown, that presence of type 2 diabetes and IR were associated with greater risk of EVA; the odds ratios were 2.75 (95% CI: 2.34, 3.35) and 1.57 (95% CI: 1.16, 2.00), respectively. In addition, the risk of having EVA increased by 76% with an increase in HOMA-IR by 1 unit, by 17% with an increase in hsCRP by 1 mg/l, by 4% with an increase in DBP by 1 mm Hg, and by 1% with each 1 μmol / L increase in the level of UA. The area under the curve for predicting EVA in patients with MetS was 0,949 (95% CI 0,936 to 0,963), 0,630 (95% CI 0,589 to 0,671), 0,697 (95% CI 0,659 to 0,736) and 0,686 (95% CI 0,647 to 0,726), for vascular age, calculated from cfPWV, SCORE scale, QRISK-3 scale and Framingham scale, respectively. Diabetes mellitus and clinical markers of IR (yes/no), HOMA-IR and UA level were used to develop a new VAmets score for EVA prediction providing a total accuracy of 0.830 (95% CI 0,799 to 0,860). Conclusion cfPWV at present the most widely studied index of arterial stiffness, fulfills most of the stringent criteria for a clinically useful biomarker of EVA in patients with MetS. Although, parallel efforts for effective integration simple clinical score into clinical practice have been offered. Our score (VAmets) may accurately identify patients with MetS and EVA on the basis of widely available clinical variables and classic cardiovascular risk factors can prioritize using of vascular age in routine care. ROC-curves for predicting EVA in MetS Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: None


2021 ◽  
Vol 80 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 1232.1-1232
Author(s):  
M. Di Battista ◽  
S. Barsotti ◽  
A. Della Rossa ◽  
M. Mosca

Background:Cardiovascular (CV) diseases, namely myocardial infarction and stroke, are not among the most known and frequent complications of systemic sclerosis (SSc), but there is growing evidence that SSc patients have a higher prevalence of CV diseases than the general population [1].Objectives:To compare two algorithms for CV risk estimation in a cohort of patients with SSc, finding any correlation with clinical characteristics of the disease.Methods:SSc patients without previous myocardial infarction or stroke were enrolled. Traditional CV risk factors, SSc-specific characteristics and ongoing therapies were assessed. Framingham and QRISK3 algorithms were then used to estimate the risk of develop a CV disease over the next 10 years.Results:Fifty-six SSc patients were enrolled. Framingham reported a median risk score of 9.6% (IQR 8.5), classifying 24 (42.9%) subjects at high risk, with a two-fold increase of the mean relative risk in comparison to general population. QRISK3 showed a median risk score of 15.8% (IQR 19.4), with 36 (64.3%) patients considered at high-risk. Both algorithms revealed a significant role of some traditional risk factors and a noteworthy potential protective role of endothelin receptor antagonists (p=0.003). QRISK3 was also significantly influenced by some SSc-specific characteristics, as limited cutaneous subset (p=0.01), interstitial lung disease (p=0.04) and non-ischemic heart involvement (p=0.03), with the first two that maintain statistically significance in the multivariate analysis (p=0.02 for both).Conclusion:QRISK3 classifies more SSc patients at high-risk to develop CV diseases than Framingham, and it seems to be influenced by some SSc-specific characteristics. If its predictive accuracy were prospectively verified, the use of QRISK3 as a tool in the early detection of SSc patients at high CV risk should be recommended.References:[1]Ngian GS, Sahhar J, Proudman SM, Stevens W, Wicks IP, Van Doornum S. Prevalence of coronary heart disease and cardiovascular risk factors in a national cross-sectional cohort study of systemic sclerosis. Ann Rheum Dis. 2012;71:1980-3.Disclosure of Interests:None declared


Circulation ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 137 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Renato Quispe ◽  
Simin Hua ◽  
Clary Clish ◽  
Justin Scott ◽  
Amy Deik ◽  
...  

Background: Metabolomics has provided new insights into mechanistic knowledge of CVD. However, this approach has limited use for studying arterial disease in high-risk women with and without HIV infection. Methods: Using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, we profiled plasma levels of 114 cationic polar and 211 nonpolar lipid metabolites among 411 women (72% HIV+; 60% Black and 31% Hispanic) aged 35-50 from the Women’s Interagency HIV Study. Carotid arterial distensibility, a direct measure of carotid stiffness, was calculated from ultrasound measurements of the right common carotid artery diameter at systole and diastole and brachial artery pulse pressure measured. We performed partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) to identify metabolite clusters associated with carotid stiffness (lowest vs. the other 3 quartiles of distensibility index). We used multivariate linear regression models to examine associations of individual metabolites with the distensibility index. Results: PLS-DA identified two major metabolite clusters associated with carotid stiffness. In the lipid metabolite cluster, triacylglycerols (TAGs 52:3, 52:4, 54:4), diacylglycerols (DAGs 36:2, 36:3) and sphingomyelins (16:1, 18:1, 18:2) were associated with decreased distensibility, while lysophosphatidylcholines (18:2, 20:5) were associated with increased distensibility. In the cationic polar metabolite cluster, urate, C4-OH carnitine, C5-DC carnitine, pseudouridine and 1-methyladenosine were associated with decreased distensibility. The associations of TAGs 52:3, 52:4, 54:4 and DAG 36:3 with carotid stiffness remained significant after further adjustment for conventional CVD risk factors ( Table ). No interaction by HIV infection was found. Conclusions: Among women with or at risk of HIV infection from predominantly race-ethnic minority groups, plasma TAGs and DAG of higher carbon number and double bond content are associated with carotid stiffness independent of conventional CVD risk factors.


Blood ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 134 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 4501-4501
Author(s):  
Xiaoyu Zhu ◽  
Jiang Zhu ◽  
Baolin Tang ◽  
Kaidi Song ◽  
Linlin Jin ◽  
...  

Introduction Pre-engraftment syndrome (PES) is a common immune reaction prior to neutrophil engraftment after unrelated cord blood transplantation (UCBT), with a unique clinical manifestation of non-infectious fever and skin rash. The reported incidence of PES ranges from 20% to 78%. Although many researchers believe that PES is associated with a high incidence of acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) but not with transplant-related mortality (TRM) , relapse, or overall survival (OS), they did not stratify the risk factors of PES, and how to carry out different doses of methylprednisolone (MP) stratified intervention therapy still remains unknown. Method s First, 136 hematological malignancy patients treated with UCBT from April 2000 to February 2012 in our transplantation center were retrospectively analysis. Among them, 92 patients occurred PES. High-risk factors for 180-day TRM in PES patients were established by univariate and multivariate analysis. Then, from January 2013 to August 2016, 221 PES patients were scored according to the risk scoring system and stratified treated with different doses of MP. Finally, in order to validate the efficacy of MP stratification treatment, we conducted a prospective, open label and non-randomized clinical trial including 240 PES patients who underwent UCBT from September 2016 to December 2018. This trial is registered at www.chictr.org.cn as ChiCTR-ONC-16009013. Results The cumulative incidence of neutrophil and platelet engraftment was significantly higher in PES group than non-PES group (97.8% vs 70.5%, P<0.001; 75.0% vs 54.5%, P=0.05). In 92 PES patients, multivariate analysis showed that failed MP treatment, multiple clinical symptoms and early onset of PES were independent high risk factors affecting180-day TRM. One high risk factor was scored as 1. The 92 PES patients were divided into PES-0, PES-1,PES-2 and PES-3, and the higher the score, the higher the TRM (17.7% vs 21.9% vs 62.5% vs 100%,respectively; P<0.001), and the lower the OS (68.3% vs 56.2% vs 25.0% vs 0%, respectively; P<0.001). Then, from January 2013 to August 2016, 221 PES patients were scored as PES-0, PES-1 and PES-2 according to the following two high risk factors (multiple clinical symptoms and early onset of PES) and stratified treated with different doses of MP (0.5mg/kg/d for PES-0, 1mg/kg/d for PES-1 and 2mg/kg/d for PES-2). Compared to the previous PES patients with the same risk score, the 180-day TRM of PES-1 and PES-2 patients was significantly reduced and the OS, disease free survival (DFS), and GVHD-free and Relapse-free survival (GRFS) were significantly increased after stratified treatment. The results in the prospective trial were similar to the retrospective study. In addition, although stratified therapy could significantly improve the prognosis of PES-2 patients cohort, the cumulative incidence of acute GVHD and GRFS are still the worst compared with other risk score patients. Therefore, how to improve the outcomes of PES-2 patients remains to be further studied. Conclusion s PES after UCBT is benefit for engraftment, but should be graded according the risk scoring system. Different doses of MP stratified intervention therapy can significantly improve the prognosis of severe PES patients. The risk scoring system of PES after UCBT and MP stratification treatment are worthy of clinical application. But the cumulative incidence of acute GVHD and GRFS in severe PES patients still need to be ameliorated in the further study. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


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