Arq. Bras. Cardiol. 2023; 120(6): e20230310

Could Patients At Low Cardiovascular Risk Be Better Stratified?

Francisco Antonio Helfenstein Fonseca , Maria Cristina Izar

DOI: 10.36660/abc.20230310

This Short Editorial is referred by the Research article "Determining Percentiles of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Risk According to Sex and Age in a Healthy Brazilian Population".

In this issue of the Arquivos Brasileiros de Cardiologia , Cesena et al. determined the percentiles distribution of the 10-year Aatherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk according to age and gender, in a large Brazilian population, based on the ACC/AHA pooled cohort equations. They excluded patients at high or very high cardiovascular risk (e.g., those with known ASCVD, diabetes, severe hypercholesterolemia, chronic kidney disease, or people with ages outside the range of 40-75 years). The authors found many individuals at low cardiovascular risk but above the 75^thpercentile of ASCVD risk for that category. These fascinating findings show the limitations of the current estimation of 10-year cardiovascular risk, mainly among young patients. In fact, the authors present a tool that can be very useful for better awareness of cardiovascular risk, opening the perspective for an early change in lifestyle or for starting pharmacological therapy.

Currently, many patients receive pharmacological therapy or change their lifestyle only at the advanced stage of cardiovascular disease. ^, At this point, cardiovascular care is much more specialized and expensive, and the quality of life often remains compromised despite great efforts.

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