Future Developments in Preventive Cardiology: The EUROACTION Project

Abstract

Although there is substantial scientific evidence that professional lifestyle intervention on smoking, diet and physical activity, together with control of blood pressure, cholesterol and glycemia, and selective use of cardioprotective drug therapies can reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, the translation of that evidence into everyday clinical practice remains a challenge. The joint European Societies guidelines on prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) define priorities for preventive cardiology in clinical practice, thresholds for treatment, and treatment goals.1 The priorities are firstly patients with established atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease; coronary disease, and all other manifestations of atherosclerosis. The second priority is apparently healthy individuals in the general population who are at high risk of developing CVD because of hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, or a combination of these and other risk factors.