EMERGING EVIDENCE THAT MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE

Cardiovascular continuum

Progression

CVD continuum is a progressive process at molecular and cellular levels that manifest as clinical disease.1

Cascade of Events

Risk factors such as, elevated cholesterol, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and cigarette smoking, are now known to promote oxidative stress and cause endothelial dysfunction, initiating a cascade of events.1

CV Continuum

CVD should be considered as a “continuum” from the presence of CV risk factors through the development of subclinical and overt organ damage to the occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs), and preventive measures could and should be adopted at each level of the continuum to delay or even interrupt this progression.2

Silent Progression

This is due to the pathophysiology of atherosclerotic disease is complex and progressive It develops silently throughout various vascular areas long before a stenosis becomes functionally significant, or an ischemic event occurs.3

Risk Factors Contributing to Cardiovascular Diseases

Several health conditions, lifestyle, age, and family history can increase the risk for heart disease.4

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HIGH BLOOD CHOLESTEROL AND OTHER LIPIDS

  • 3.65 million deaths globally were attributed to high LDL-C.6
    (based on updated 2021 data)

  • 25.5% of US adults have high LDL-C (≥130 mg/dL).6
    (based on 2017-2020 data)

Diabetes
An independent risk factor for CVD with estimated 80% mortality rate & the risk of a recurrent MI event is nearly 50%.7

TRENDS IN BEHAVIORAL RISK FACTORS OF CVD

Smoking

Responsible for 10% of all deaths from CVD.8

1 in 8

Male adults in US reported cigarette use every day or some days.6

(Based on 2021 data)

1 in 10

Female adults in US reported cigarette use every day or some days.6

(Based on 2021 data)

1 in 10

High school students in US used e-cigarette in the past 30 days.6

(Based on 2023 data)


Unhealthy Diet

Insufficient intake of fruit and vegetables is estimated to cause around 11% of ischemic heart disease deaths and about 9% of stroke deaths globally.8

The prevalence of
obesity in children and adolescents

2 to 19 years of age was
20% in 2017 to 2020.6

Global: adults
41% have a healthy weight
59% have overweight or obesity.6

(Based on 2022 data)

US: adults
29% have a healthy weight
17% have overweight or obesity.6

(Based on 2017-2020 data)


Physical Inactivity

In 2010
23% of adults aged 18 years and over were insufficiently physically active.
The prevalence of physical inactivity in high-income countries (33%) was about double that in low-income countries (17%).8

25.2%

6-11
years of age

of US youth

12.9%

12-17
years of age

of US youth

Meet the US recommendation of
at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day.6

(based on 2022 data)

  • More than 50% were considered low-risk immediately before the event.3*
  • Most coronary events happen in patients who were not previously considered high-risk.3
As per American Heart Association (AHA)
2025 Statistics Update:

235.2

per 100000

The age-adjusted global death rate attributable to CVD.6
(based on updated 2021 data)

224.3

per 100000

The age-adjusted US death rate attributable to CVD.6
(based on updated 2022 data)

Stroke deaths in the United States increased by

28.7%

between 2012 and 2022.6

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CVD RISK ASSESSMENT ESTIMATION

The estimation of CVD risk remains the cornerstone of ESC 2021 guidelines on CVD prevention and thus appears at the forefront of the proposed management schemes.11

THE CONCEPT OF RISK FACTORS INTRODUCED BY THE FRAMINGHAM HEART STUDY12

Serves as the “gold standard” in risk assessment for coronary heart disease.

The major or “traditional” risk factors identified in Framingham are well known and include

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Three categories of absolute risk are identified by NCEP:12

Very-high-risk

candidates for secondary prevention with diagnosed CHD or for primary prevention with vascular disease in noncoronary vascular beds, a high absolute risk (20% 10-year risk), or diabetes mellitus.

Moderate-risk

candidates for primary prevention with 2 or more risk factors and a 10-year risk of 10% to 20%.

Low-risk

individuals with 1 or no risk factor.

Intermediate population3

Intermediate population is best described as those with “advanced subclinical atherosclerosis”

<5%

of patients suffer an ischemic event with no measurable plaque.

>50%

of patients suffer an ischemic event with a high plaque burden but no stenosis.

~50%

of recurrent events occur in new plaques.

ADVANCED SUBCLINICAL ATHEROSCLEROSIS

is a new and distinct clinical group that sits between the traditional groups of primary and secondary prevention.3

To successfully reduce the increase in CVD burden, there is a growing need to identify and manage this intermediate group of individuals with advanced subclinical atherosclerosis at the early stage.3

A clear distinction between those with primary prevention and those with advanced subclinical atherosclerosis could help encourage people to engage in lifestyle changes that would keep them from shifting into this higher-risk population.3

ESC CVD Risk Calculation13

The ESC CVD Risk Calculation HCPs’ App provides calculators assessing individual cardiovascular risk. It includes calculators for primary and secondary prevention in various populations.

The App provides guidance to the most adapted calculator for your patient and provides an estimation of cardiovascular risk. Of note, patient data are not stored in the App.

This application is only for informative use and is not intended to provide therapeutic support or diagnosis assistance.

ACC: ASCVD RISK ESTIMATOR PLUS14

Is an application used to estimate a patient's initial 10-year ASCVD risk using the pooled cohort equation, receive an individualized, evidence-based, risk-guided intervention approach for managing primary prevention of ASCVD, and guide clinician-patient discussion around customizing an intervention plan.

The ASCVD Risk Estimator Plus helps clinicians implement guideline-recommended risk equations to facilitate clinician-patient discussion and support decision making to optimize care and lower risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD).

Clinicians and patients should weigh and incorporate the information provided by this app in the context of other considerations, including recommended lifestyle interventions, patient preferences for taking medications, potential adverse drug reactions or interactions, and which treatment intervention approach might be most successful for a particular patient.

LDL-C: low denisty lipoprotein-cholesterol; CI: confidence interval; CVD: cardiovascular diseases; MI: myocardial infarction; HDL: high density lipoprotein; NCEP: national cholesterol education program; CHD: coronary heart disease; ESC: European Society of Cardiology ; US: United States; ACC: American College of Cardiology; App: application. *In a review conducted across 1,475 patients, who experienced a myocardial infarction at age ≤ 50 years.

References

  1. Dzau, V. J., Antman, E. M., Black, H. R., Hayes, D. L., Manson, J. E., Plutzky, J., ... & Stevenson, W. (2006). The cardiovascular disease continuum validated: clinical evidence of improved patient outcomes: part I: Pathophysiology and clinical trial evidence (risk factors through stable coronary artery disease). Circulation, 114(25), 2850-2870.
  2. Volpe M, Gallo G, Modena MG, Ferri C, Desideri G, Tocci G; Members of the Board of the Italian Society of Cardiovascular Prevention. Updated Recommendations on Cardiovascular Prevention in 2022: An Executive Document of the Italian Society of Cardiovascular Prevention. High Blood Press Cardiovasc Prev. 2022;29(2):91-102.
  3. Blaha MJ, Abdelhamid M, Santilli F, Shi Z, Sibbing D. Advanced subclinical atherosclerosis: A novel category within the cardiovascular risk continuum with distinct treatment implications. Am J Prev Cardiol. 2022;13:100456.
  4. Know Your Risk for Heart Disease, retrieved from Know Your Risk for Heart Disease | cdc.gov, accessed in April 2024.
  5. aduganathan, M., Mensah, G. A., Turco, J. V., Fuster, V., & Roth, G. A. (2022). The global burden of cardiovascular diseases and risk: a compass for future health. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 80(25), 2361-2371.
  6. Martin SS, Aday AW, Allen NB, Almarzooq ZI, Anderson CAM, Arora P, Avery CL, Baker-Smith CM, Bansal N, Barone Gibbs B, Beaton AZ, Commodore-Mensah Y, Currie ME, Elkind MSV, Fan W, Generoso G, Heard DG, Hiremath S, Johansen MC, Kazi DS, Ko D, Leppert MH, Magnani JW, Michos ED, Mussolino ME, Parikh NI, Perman SM, Rezk-Hanna M, Roth GA, Shah NS, Springer MV, St-Onge M-P, Thacker EL, Urbut SM, Van Spall HGC, Voeks JH, Whelton SP, Wong ND, Wong SS, Yaffe K, Palaniappan LP; on behalf of the American Heart Association Council on Epidemiology and Prevention Statistics Committee and Stroke Statistics Committee. 2025 Heart disease and stroke statistics: a report of US and global data from the American Heart Association. Circulation. Published online January 27, 2025.
  7. Triplitt, C., & Alvarez, C. A. (2008). Best practices for lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease in diabetes. Diabetes Spectrum, 21(3), 177-189.
  8. Mendis S. Global progress in prevention of cardiovascular disease. Cardiovasc Diagn Ther. 2017 Apr;7(Suppl 1):S32-S38. doi: 10.21037/cdt.2017.03.06. PMID: 28529920; PMCID: PMC5418214.
  9. Bhagavathula AS, Shehab A, Ullah A, Rahmani J. The burden of cardiovascular disease risk factors in the Middle East: A systematic review and meta-analysis focusing on primary prevention. Current Vascular Pharmacology. 2020 Jun 11;19(4):379-89.
  10. Alhabib, K.F., Batais, M.A., Almigbal, T.H. et al. Demographic, behavioral, and cardiovascular disease risk factors in the Saudi population: results from the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology study (PURE-Saudi). BMC Public Health 20, 1213 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09298-w
  11. Visseren FLJ, Mach F, Smulders YM, et al. 2021 ESC Guidelines on cardiovascular disease prevention in clinical practice. Eur Heart J. 2021;42(34):3227-3337.
  12. Pearson, T. A. (2002). New tools for coronary risk assessment: what are their advantages and limitations?. Circulation, 105(7), 886-892.
  13. ESC CVD risk retrieved from ESC CVD Risk Calculation on the App Store, accessed in February 2025.
  14. ASCVD estimator plus retrieved from tools.acc.org/ascvd-risk-estimator-plus/#!/content/about/, accessed in February 2025.