Prevalence of cardiovascular disorders among the elderly in primary care in Estonia

Abstract

Scand J Prim Health Care 2003;21:000-000. ISSN 0281-3432 Objectiv e r - r To assess the prevalence of diagnoses of cardiovascular disorders among the elderly in family practice. Design r - r Cross-sectional study. Setting r - r Estonia, population aged 65 years or older (206 t 915 persons). Subjects r - r 811 elderly persons selected randomly from the lists of family practitioners. Main outcome measures r - r Prevalence of hypertension, hypotension, coronary heart disease (CHD), myocardial infarction (MI), heart failure (HF) and cardiac arrhythmias; differences between the genders and age groups. Results r - r The prevalence of cardiovascular disorders was as follows: hypertension 63.2%, hypotension 11.1%, CHD 56.5%, MI 9.8%, HF 41.4% and arrhythmias 37.5%. Women had a significantly higher prevalence of hypertension and men of MI. The prevalence of CHD and hypotension was significantly higher in the oldest elderly persons. Conclusion r - r Among the older population in Estonia, cardiovascular disorders that have broader diagnostic criteria and need expensive methods for verifying (CHD, HF) have a high prevalence and are most likely over-diagnosed. The need for strict and simple diagnostic methods for these disorders in primary care practice continues to be serious.