Widening the Scope of Heart Screening
Reported December 23, 2005
(Ivanhoe Newswire) — The Joint British Societies announced their new guidelines on the prevention of cardiovascular disease in clinical practice. For the first time, they have physicians looking at cardiovascular disease as a whole, not just coronary heart disease.
The goal of the guidelines is to promote a consistent multi-disciplinary approach to the management of people with established atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and those at high risk for developing symptomatic atherosclerotic disease.
This means more focus on patients with hardened and narrowed arteries, people with diabetes, and healthy people at high risk for developing symptomatic atherosclerotic disease. All three groups are considered at risk for heart disease.
In addition to the above groups, the guidelines state the following groups also require risk factor management:
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People with high blood pressure
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People with high cholesterol
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People with a family history of high cholesterol
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People with a family history of cardiovascular disease
Adults over 40 without heart disease or diabetes and who are not being treated for high cholesterol or high blood pressure, as well as people younger than 40 with a family history of premature atherosclerosis, are recommended to be screened for heart disease through risk assessment testing.
The new guidelines also set the optimal blood pressure as 140/85 as well as setting standards for cholesterol and blood glucose.
Lead author of the guidelines, David Woods, Ph.D., says: “The promise of preventive cardiology is to reduce the risk of having a heart attack or stroke. With professional lifestyle intervention and appropriate use of proven drug treatments, it is now possible to have a major impact on the commonest cause of death in the country.” The writers recommend physicians consider protective drug therapy for all high-risk individuals.
SOURCE: Heart, 2005;91:v1-v4