Global cardiovascular risk in a neighborhood of the Cárdenas Municipality, Táchira State, Venezuela

Abstract

Introduction: The coronary heart disease and its thrombotic complications are the main cause of morbidity and mortality in developed societies. The stratification of cardiovascular risk, through scales, is a fundamental pillar for therapeutic decisions in cardiovascular prevention. Objectives: To determine the behavior of global cardiovascular risk in people over 60 years old. Method: Cross-sectional descriptive observational study with 152 patients belonging to the population of the Monseñor Briceño neighborhood of Cárdenas municipality, Táchira State, Venezuela; who were evaluated in the period from February 2010 to April 2011. There were followed the criteria of the prediction charts of global cardiovascular risk established by the World Health Organization. Demographic and clinical variables were evaluated. The descriptive ones were expressed in percentages and the comparison between two variables was carried out with the Chi-square non-parametric statistical method with a significance level of 0.05. Results: A 65.79% of the individuals studied were female and 51.97% were between 60-69 years of age. The high blood pressure (58.55 %) and total cholesterol levels greater than 6 mmol/L (55.26%) prevailed among the cardiovascular risk factors. A 47.37% of the individuals presented moderate risk. Conclusions: The moderate global cardiovascular risk prevailed, which was higher in people of 70 years of age and older. High blood pressure, diabetes mellitus and hypercholesterolemia were the modifiable risk factors most associated with the increased of the global cardiovascular risk.