The Heart of The Matter
Cardiovascular disease is still the number one cause of death in Canada. Risk factors for heart attack and stroke are well known and can be used to calculate cardiovascular risk (see the cardiovascular risk calculators: http://cvrisk.mvm.ed.ac.uk/calculator/calc.asp ). In 2013, the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association issued guidelines for cholesterol treatment, if patients fit into one of four risk categories and had an estimated 10-year heart disease risk of greater than 7.5 percent. Risk categories included active cardiovascular disease, diabetes and high low density lipoprotein (LDL –cholesterol). It is important to note that adults with a positive family history or early cardiovascular disease (defined as a parent and/or sibling with a history of treated angina, heart attack, coronary catheter interventional procedure, coronary artery bypass grafting, stroke or sudden cardiac death before age 55 years in men or age 65 years in women) may see their 10-year risk of heart disease as much as double from the calculated baseline. Continue Reading
