Management of cardiovascular disease risk factors - European Society of Cardiology updates cardiovascular disease guidelines

It has been 8 years since the ESC's 2013 cardiovascular disease guidelines. This update emphasizes that the incidence of cardiovascular disease caused by unhealthy lifestyles is still high, and the risk factors of atherosclerotic heart disease (ASCVD) have not been effectively prevented and treated. Preventing acute cardiovascular events by reducing ASCVD risk factors is one of the themes of this guideline.

In recent years, countries have gradually increased their attention to cardiovascular disease risk factors and risk factor assessment. Risk screening for target populations is the first step to improve cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors. The guideline recommends screening every five years, with systematic screening and opportunistic screening as the main options.

Officials emphasize that the main causes and modifiable risk factors for ASCVD that need to be focused on are high blood lipids (of which low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C) is the most abundant), high blood pressure, smoking and diabetes. Another important risk factor is obesity, which synergizes with other risk factors to promote the risk of CVD. All of the above risk factors are modifiable, and these risk factors can be greatly reduced through reasonable planning of lifestyle, exercise and supplemented by drug treatment.

01 Hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol) Many studies have shown that LDL-C is the main component of hyperlipidemia, and other apolipoprotein B promotes the development of ASCVD. ESC2021 pointed out that LDL-C has the following characteristics as a risk factor for ASCVD:

1. Long-term lower LDL-C is associated with lower ASCVD risk! Even at lower LDL-C levels, safely lowering LDL-C can reduce CVD risk. [Example: LDL-C