Cardiovascular Risk Assessment

The prevention of cardiovascular disease is today a fundamental aspect of clinical practice, not only to prevent the first infarction (primary prevention), but also the second (secondary prevention).
The absence of symptoms in a person is not synonymous with the absence of disease. Today we know that atherosclerotic plaque, an injury to the wall of the artery, on which the complications that cause the infarction occur, begins at an early age and depends on much of the existence of so-called risk factors.
To prevent any disease it is necessary to quantify the individual risk of each person. There are tables that according to the prevalence of the disease in each region allows to know if that person is at high or low risk of dying from that disease.
Our prevention program also incorporates imaging techniques with ultrasound of the carotid artery or the coronary calcium score, which makes it possible to more accurately predict the risk in intermediate cases.
Our group has conducted studies on cardiovascular risk, to know which patients benefit from preventive treatments and our experience in this field allows us to recommend a risk assessment in all men over 45 years and women in postmenopausal age.
Physical inactivity. Inactive people have a higher risk of heart attack than people who exercise regularly. Exercise burns calories, helps control cholesterol levels and diabetes, and possibly lowers blood pressure. Exercise also strengthens the heart muscle and makes the arteries more flexible. People who actively burn between 500 and 3,500 calories per week, either at work or exercising, have a longer life expectancy than sedentary people. Even moderate intensity exercise is beneficial if done regularly.