The ankle-brachial blood pressure index as a risk indicator of generalized atherosclerosis

Contemporary methods of assessment of possible cardiovascular disease based on traditional risk factors are not perfect. Therefore new ways are sought. Simple and inexpensive methods include assessment of the blood pressure on the lower extremities above the ankles. The finding of a reduced ratio of the ankle-brachial blood pressure index (ABI) indicates atherosclerosis of the lower extremity arteries. ABI values of 0.9 or less are associated with a significantly increased risk of cardiovascular diseases (in particular myocardial infarction and stroke) that is independent of other risk factors. ABI assessment is a simple clinical examination and should be performed in middle-aged and elderly subjects with a medium and high cardiovascular risk in order to define more accurately their health status. Patients with reduced ABI of 0.9 or less are candidates for secondary preventive treatment for cardiovascular disease.     

Is peak expiratory flow rate a predictor of complications in diabetes? The Wisconsin Epidemiologic Study of Diabetic Retinopathy

The Objective of this study was to determine whether peak expiratory flow rate is a predictor of complications of diabetes. Peak expiratory flow rate was measured at the 10-year follow-up (third examination) of a cohort of persons with younger-onset diabetes. The relationships of progression of diabetic retinopathy by two steps, progression to proliferative retinopathy and of incidences of macular edema, sore or ulcers on feet or ankles, lower extremity amputation, proteinuria, and cardiovascular disease 4 years after this examination with respect to peak expiratory flow rate were evaluated. Study procedures including measurements of blood pressure, height and weight, grading of fundus photographs, peak expiratory flow rate, urinalysis, and medical history were performed according to standard protocols. Peak expiratory flow rate was not associated in univariate analyses with progression of retinopathy, incidences of proliferative retinopathy, macular edema or lower extremity amputation, sores or ulcers on feet or ankles, gross proteinuria, or self-reported cardiovascular disease. However, when using multivariable models to include the effects of other risk factors, peak expiratory flow rate was significantly associated with the combined incidences of sores or ulcers on feet and ankles, or lower extremity amputations (OR=0.61, 95% CI 0.42–0.88). These data suggest that peak expiratory flow rate is a predictor of subsequent complications in the lower extremities in those with long duration of younger-onset diabetes. Evaluating this association in an incipient cohort would illuminate whether the relationship we found is likely to be causal.     

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高血压与血脂异常是两大可控制的心血管疾病的重要危险因素,其相互影响明显增加心血管疾病的风险,而同时控制血压与血脂异常对防治心血管疾病将产生更多的获益。治疗时强调在血压达标基础上选择优化治疗方案,建议在降压同时对多种危险因素进行治疗,包括结合血脂水平来综合评估心血管疾病的发病危险性,确定治疗的目标值。     

踝臂指数与心血管疾病

踝臂指数是指踝部动脉收缩压和肱动脉收缩压的比值。已经证实踝臂指数是诊断外周动脉疾病,评估其预后的简单有效的方法,同时其异常也反映了冠状动脉病变程度,是心、脑血管事件和死亡风险强有力的预测因子,应作为心血管疾病危险人群风险评估的重要组成部分。现就踝臂指数及其在心血管领域的主要研究进展做一综述。     

New risk factors for atherosclerosis in hypertension: focus on the prothrombotic state and lipoprotein(a)

Although adequate control of blood pressure is of basic importance in cardiovascular prevention in hypertensive patients, correction of additional risk factors is an integral part of their management. In addition to classical risk factors, epidemiological research has identified a number of other conditions that might significantly contribute to cardiovascular risk in the general population and might achieve specific relevance in patients with high blood pressure. In fact, more than 20% of patients with premature cardiovascular events do not have any of the traditional risk factors and, although effective intervention on blood pressure and additional risk factors has significantly reduced cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, the contribution to stroke, coronary artery disease and renal failure is still unacceptably high. Evaluation of new risk factors may further expand our capacity to predict atherothrombotic events when these factors are included along with the traditional ones in the assessment of global cardiovascular risk in hypertensive patients. Because it could be anticipated that the role of these novel factors will become increasingly evident in the future, researchers with an interest in hypertension and physicians dealing with problems related to cardiovascular prevention should give them appropriate consideration. This review summarizes the basic biology and clinical evidence of two emerging risk factors that are reciprocally related and contribute to the development and progression of organ damage in hypertension: the prothrombotic state and lipoprotein(a).     

Ambulatory blood pressure and mortality: a population-based study

The relationship between ambulatory blood pressure and mortality in a general Western population is unknown. Therefore, we conducted this prospective study of a random sample of 1700 Danish men and women, aged 41 to 72 years, without major cardiovascular diseases. At baseline, ambulatory blood pressure, office blood pressure, and other risk factors were recorded. After a mean period of 9.5 years, 174 had died: 63 were cardiovascular deaths. In multivariate proportional hazards models, adjusted for other risk factors of significance, the relative risk of cardiovascular mortality (95% confidence interval) associated with 10 mm Hg increments in systolic and 5 mm Hg increments in diastolic ambulatory blood pressure were 1.51 (1.28 to 1.77) and 1.43 (1.26 to 1.61). The corresponding figures for all cause mortality were 1.18 (1.06 to 1.31) and 1.18 (1.09 to 1.28). The relative risks of cardiovascular mortality were lower for office blood pressure, and office blood pressure did not predict all cause mortality. When ambulatory and office blood pressures were entered in the same multivariate models, only the ambulatory blood pressures were significant predictors of all cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality. The relationship between ambulatory blood pressures and risk of mortality was log-linear, with no indication of a threshold. The absolute risk of mortality was also dependent on age and smoking status, and an upper "acceptable" ambulatory blood pressure based on risk of mortality could only be defined when other risk factors were taken into account. In conclusion, ambulatory blood pressure provided prognostic information on mortality above and beyond that of office blood pressure.     

The 2004 Canadian Hypertension Education Program recommendations for the management of hypertension: Part I--Blood pressure measurement, diagnosis and assessment of risk

OBJECTIVE: To provide updated, evidence-based recommendations for the assessment of the diagnosis, cardiovascular risk and identifiable causes for adults with high blood pressure. OPTIONS: For persons in whom a high blood pressure value is recorded, the assignment of a diagnosis of hypertension is dependent on the appropriate measurement of blood pressure, the level of the blood pressure elevation and the duration of follow-up. In addition, the presence of concomitant vascular risk factors, target organ damage and established atherosclerotic diseases should be assessed to determine the urgency, intensity and type of treatment. For persons diagnosed as having hypertension, defining overall risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes requires an assessment of concomitant vascular risk factors, including laboratory testing, a search for target organ damage and an assessment for modifiable causes of hypertension. Home and ambulatory blood pressure assessment and echocardiography are options for selected patients. OUTCOMES: The identification of persons at increased risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes; the quantification of overall cardiovascular risk; and the identification of persons with potentially modifiable causes of hypertension. EVIDENCE: Medline searches were conducted from November 2001, one year before the period of the last revision of the Canadian recommendations for the management of hypertension, to October 2003. Reference lists were scanned, experts were polled, and the personal files of subgroup members and authors were used to identify other studies. Identified articles were reviewed and appraised using prespecified levels of evidence by content experts and methodological experts. VALUES: A high value was placed on the identification of persons at increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, and persons with identifiable and potentially modifiable causes of hypertension. BENEFITS, HARMS AND COSTS: The identification of persons at higher risk of cardiovascular disease will permit counselling for lifestyle maneuvers and introduction of antihypertensive drugs to reduce blood pressure for patients with sustained hypertension. The identification of specific causes of hypertension may permit the use of cause-specific interventions. For certain subgroups of patients and specific classes of drugs, blood pressure lowering has been associated with reduced cardiovascular morbidity and/or mortality. RECOMMENDATIONS: The document contains recommendations for blood pressure measurement, diagnosis of hypertension and assessment of cardiovascular risk for adults with high blood pressure. These include the accurate measurement of blood pressure, criteria for diagnosis of hypertension, and recommendations for follow-up, assessment of overall cardiovascular risk, routine and optional laboratory testing, assessment for renovascular and endocrine causes, home and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, and the role of echocardiography for those with hypertension. VALIDATION: All recommendations were graded according to strength of evidence and voted on by the Canadian Hypertension Education Program Evidence-Based Recommendations Task Force. Only the recommendations that achieved high levels of consensus are reported. These guidelines will be updated annually.     

Can functional performance be used as a simple prognostic indicator in peripheral arterial disease?

McDermott et al. have demonstrated, for the first time, that a poor 6 min walk performance and slow walking speed in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) are predictors of increased all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. The association was not affected by confounders, such as ankle brachial index and comorbidities. Simple measures of lower extremity functional performance could and should be incorporated into future research studies in patients with PAD. Reducing cardiovascular risk with statins, lowering blood pressure, and administering antiplatelet agents are not enough; measures to improve functional performance should be incorporated into overall cardiovascular risk reduction programs in patients with PAD.     

ESH-ESC Guidelines for the Management of Hypertension

The following is a brief statement of the 2003 European Society of Hypertension (ESH)-European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines for the management of arterial hypertension.The continuous relationship between the level of blood pressure and cardiovascular risk makes the definition of hypertension arbitrary. Since risk factors cluster in hypertensive individuals, risk stratification should be made and decision about the management should not be based on blood pressure alone, but also according to the presence or absence of other risk factors, target organ damage, diabetes, and cardiovascular or renal damage, as well as on other aspects of the patient's personal, medical and social situation. Blood pressure values measured in the doctor's office or the clinic should commonly be used as reference. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring may have clinical value, when considerable variability of office blood pressure is found over the same or different visits, high office blood pressure is measured in subjects otherwise at low global cardiovascular risk, there is marked discrepancy between blood pressure values measured in the office and at home, resistance to drug treatment is suspected, or research is involved. Secondary hypertension should always be investigated.The primary goal of treatment of patient with high blood pressure is to achieve the maximum reduction in long-term total risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. This requires treatment of all the reversible factors identified, including smoking, dislipidemia, or diabetes, and the appropriate management of associated clinical conditions, as well as treatment of the raised blood pressure per se. On the basis of current evidence from trials, it can be recommended that blood pressure, both systolic and diastolic, be intensively lowered at least below 140/90 mmHg and to definitely lower values, if tolerated, in all hypertensive patients, and below 130/80 mmHg in diabetics.Lifestyle measures should be instituted whenever appropriate in all patients, including subjects with high normal blood pressure and patients who require drug treatment. The purpose is to lower blood pressure and to control other risk factors and clinical conditions present.In most, if not all, hypertensive patients, therapy should be started gradually, and target blood pressure achieved progressively through several weeks. To reach target blood pressure, it is likely that a large proportion of patients will require combination therapy with more than one agent. The main benefits of antihypertensive therapy are due to lowering of blood pressure per se. There is also evidence that specific drug classes may differ in some effect or in special groups of patients. The choice of drugs will be influenced by many factors, including previous experience of the patient with antihypertensive agents, cost of drugs, risk profile, presence or absence of target organ damage, clinical cardiovascular or renal disease or diabetes, patient's preference.     

Masterclass series in peripheral arterial disease. Antiplatelet therapy for peripheral arterial disease and claudication

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) of the lower extremities is a common and potentially life-threatening manifestation of systemic atherosclerosis. Significant PAD is identified by an ankle brachial index (ABI) < 0.90; its presence is strongly associated with the major modifiable cardiac risk factors. Early detection and treatment of asymptomatic PAD is a current focus of numerous cardiovascular guideline organizations as less than a third of patients report typical claudication symptoms. This has created an ever-increasing treatment gap, whereby millions of eligible patients are inadequately treated. Risk factor management including exercise, smoking cessation, and aggressive treatment of lipids and blood pressure are essential in PAD patients. However, life-long antiplatelet therapy provides additional reductions in vascular events beyond aggressive risk factor management. The use of aspirin as well as more potent antiplatelet therapies such as thienopyridines holds promise for reducing atherothrombosis in this very high-risk population.     

Intermittent claudication: an objective office-based assessment

OBJECTIVES: We sought to compare standard lower extremity vascular laboratory treadmill exercise with the office-based active pedal plantarflexion technique. BACKGROUND: Intermittent claudication is relatively common in elderly patients and is an important predictor of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Noninvasive testing using resting and posttreadmill exercise ankle:brachial systolic blood pressure indices is often required to confirm the diagnosis and objectively assess the severity of lower extremity arterial occlusive disease. This is traditionally performed in a formal vascular laboratory setting. METHODS: Fifty consecutive patients (100 lower extremities) with known or suspected intermittent claudication referred for lower extremity treadmill exercise testing were also tested with active pedal plantarflexion using a prospective, randomized crossover design. Supine ankle:brachial systolic blood pressure indices were measured immediately before and after each form of exercise. RESULTS: There was an excellent correlation (r = 0.95, 95% confidence interval 0.93 to 0.97) between mean postexercise ankle:brachial systolic blood pressure indices for treadmill exercise and active pedal plantarflexion. There was no significant difference in outcome based on the order of testing or the severity of arterial occlusive disease. Symptoms of angina or dyspnea occurred in 11 patients (22%) with treadmill exercise versus zero patients with active pedal plantarflexion. CONCLUSIONS: Active pedal plantarflexion is an office-based test that compares favorably with treadmill exercise for the noninvasive, safe, objective and economical assessment of lower extremity arterial occlusive disease.     

The 2001 Canadian recommendations for the management of hypertension: Part one--Assessment for diagnosis,cardiovascular risk,causes and lifestyle modification

OBJECTIVE: To provide updated, evidence-based recommendations for the assessment of the diagnosis, cardiovascular risk, identifiable causes and lifestyle modifications for adults with high blood pressure. OPTIONS: For persons in whom a high blood pressure value is recorded, hypertension is diagnosed based on the appropriate measurement of blood pressure, the level of the blood pressure elevation and the duration of follow-up. In addition, the presence of concomitant vascular risk factors, target organ damage and established atherosclerotic diseases must be assessed to determine the urgency, intensity and type of treatment. For persons receiving a diagnosis of hypertension, defining the overall risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes requires an assessment of concomitant vascular risk factors, including laboratory testing, a search for target organ damage and an assessment for modifiable causes of hypertension. Home and ambulatory blood pressure assessment and echocardiography are options for selected patients. OUTCOMES: The outcomes were: the identification of persons at increased risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes; the quantification of overall cardiovascular risk; and the identification of persons with potentially modifiable causes of hypertension. Evidence: Medline searches were conducted from one year before the period of the last revision of the Canadian recommendations for the management of hypertension (May 1999 to May 2001). Reference lists were scanned, experts were polled, and the personal files of the subgroup members and authors were used to identify other studies. Identified articles were reviewed and appraised, using prespecified levels of evidence, by content experts and methodological experts. In addition to an update of the previous year's review, new sections on assessing overall cardiovascular risk and endocrine causes are provided. VALUES: A high value was placed on the identification of persons at increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, and of persons with identifiable causes of hypertension. BENEFITS, HARMS AND COSTS: The identification of persons at higher risk of cardiovascular disease will permit counseling for lifestyle manoeuvres and introduction of antihypertensive drugs to reduce blood pressure for patients with sustained hypertension. The identification of specific causes of hypertension may permit the use of cause-specific interventions. In certain subgroups of patients, and for specific classes of drugs, blood pressure lowering has been associated with reduced cardiovascular morbidity or mortality. RECOMMENDATIONS: The present document contains recommendations for the assessment of the diagnosis, cardiovascular risk, identifiable causes and lifestyle modifications for adults with high blood pressure. These include the accurate measurement of blood pressure, criteria for the diagnosis of hypertension and recommendations for follow-up, assessment of overall cardiovascular risk, routine and optional laboratory testing, assessment for renovascular and endocrine causes, home and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, the role of echocardiography and lifestyle modifications. VALIDATION: All recommendations were graded according to the strength of the evidence and voted on by the Canadian Hypertension Recommendations Working Group. Only those recommendations achieving high levels of consensus are reported. These guidelines will be updated annually. ENDORSEMENT: These guidelines are endorsed by the Canadian Hypertension Society, The Canadian Coalition for High Blood Pressure Prevention and Control, The College of Family Physicians of Canada, The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, The Adult Disease Division and Bureau of Cardio-Respiratory Diseases and Diabetes at the Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Control, Health Canada.     

Exercise and cardiovascular risk in black children

The purposes of this study were to document the prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors in twenty black children to compare methods of measurement of blood pressure, body composition, and smoking; and to evaluate the effects of a ten week aerobic exercise training programme on blood pressure, cholesterol, smoking behaviour, and oxygen consumption. At pretest 25% of the children had blood pressures above the 90th percentile for their age or gender, 60% had a total cholesterol above 180 mg/dl and 35% exceeded 28% body fat. The mean difference score between systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure measurements using a standard mercury sphygmomanometer and the Dinamap manometer was 1.5 (P less than 0.01) and 14.9 (P less than 0.0001) respectively. There was no significant difference in any of the methods used to measure body composition. Finally, there was no significant difference between the groups with regard to the dependent variables. Although the investigators identified the presence of elevated blood pressure, elevated total cholesterol, and obesity in this sample, the aerobic exercise training programme did not alter the risk profile. The authors urge caution in interpreting these results. Selection of the method for measurement of BP should be made with caution. A clear understanding of how each instrument works and its precision must be considered. Selection of the method for measurement of body composition can be based upon factors such as availability of equipment, cost, convenience, and subject preference.     

Salt Reduction to Prevent Hypertension and Cardiovascular Disease: JACC State-of-the-Art Review

There is strong evidence for a causal relationship between salt intake and blood pressure. Randomized trials demonstrate that salt reduction lowers blood pressure in both individuals who are hypertensive and those who are normotensive, additively to antihypertensive treatments. Methodologically robust studies with accurate salt intake assessment have shown that a lower salt intake is associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, all-cause mortality, and other conditions, such as kidney disease, stomach cancer, and osteoporosis. Multiple complex and interconnected physiological mechanisms are implicated, including fluid homeostasis, hormonal and inflammatory mechanisms, as well as more novel pathways such as the immune response and the gut microbiome. High salt intake is a top dietary risk factor. Salt reduction programs are cost-effective and should be implemented or accelerated in all countries. This review provides an update on the evidence relating salt to health, with a particular focus on blood pressure and cardiovascular disease, as well as the potential mechanisms.     

Prevention of cardiovascular diseases: should the same criteria be applied in Latin America and Europe and North America?

The prevention of cardiovascular diseases is based on the management of known cardiovascular risk factors by pharmacological means or by modifying lifestyles. A reduction in cholesterol levels is associated with a lower incidence of cardiovascular events and mortality, in both primary or secondary prevention trials. A reduction in blood pressure also leads to a decrease in acute myocardial infarction and the incidence of stroke. Regular exercise is associated with better disease free survival and the effects of smoking cessation are well known. High homocysteine levels are also associated with cardiovascular disease. However, there are no prospective clinical trials showing a beneficial effect of homocysteine reduction on cardiovascular mortality. A change in the type of dietary fat should also be beneficial, but this has not been proven in prospective clinical trials. In Chile, cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death among adults and the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors, including hyperhomocysteinemia is similar to that of European or North American populations. Successful primary and secondary prevention programs to manage these risk factors have been developed in Chile. Therefore, the criteria applied in North America and Europe for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, should be applied with slight modifications, in Latin American Countries.     

Never amputate without consultation of a vascular surgeon

Lower limb ischaemia is one of the determinants in the development of diabetic foot ulcers and the most important factor preventing their healing. There are a number of misleading factors masking the presence of atherosclerotic disease and tissue damage; these are reduced inflammatory response to infection, autosympathectomy and mediasclerosis, which all diminish the clinical suspicion of ischaemia. Therefore, adequate assessment of the lower limb circulation should be routinely performed in complicated diabetic foot. This evaluation can often be made with simple methods. In addition to clinical examination ankle/brachial pressure index, systolic toe pressure, plethysmographic pulse volume recordings and simple hand-held Doppler auscultation are most often sufficient to make a decision as to whether angiography is needed or not. Duplex examination can give more profound information on the severity and extent of arterial occlusive disease, but the method is strongly user-dependent. Early vascular consultation is mandatory in diabetic foot work-up and should be undertaken within 2 weeks if a new skin lesion shows no tendency to heal. Long bypass grafting procedures and microvascular free flap techniques have been shown to achieve excellent results in relieving critical leg ischaemia, even in the presence of large foot lesions, and should be used to prevent major amputation. The timing of various procedures is a controversial issue. Feet with small ulcers or restricted dry gangrena can be revascularised first, with minor amputations and local surgery of the ulcer being done thereafter. In the septic neuroischaemic foot, major amputation may be unavailable but if the infection is not immediately life-threatening the infected part of the foot should be drained and debrided properly and left wide open, sometimes with a guillotine amputation in order not to risk the bypass graft, which can be done a couple of days later.     

The Importance of Cardiovascular Risk Factors in the Elderly

The cardiovascular risk factors in the elderly are much the same as those that predispose middle-aged candidates for cardiovascular disease. Some risk factors, such as blood lipids, impaired glucose tolerance, fibrinogen, and uric acid, are associated with lower risk ratios in advanced age, but this lower relative risk is offset by a high absolute risk. Thus, cardiovascular risk factors remain relevant at elderly age. Since the incidence of cardiovascular disease and the prevalence of the predisposing risk factors is so great in the elderly, the attributable risk is large, and the short-term potential benefit of treatment is actually greater in the elderly than in the middle aged. Preventive measures, as well, are useful in reducing the risk of disease in the elderly. Therefore, efforts at primary and secondary prevention should be considered in the elderly-they should not be neglected simply because of their age.     

Treatment with drugs to lower blood pressure and blood cholesterol based on an individual's absolute cardiovascular risk

In this review, we outline the rationale for targeting blood pressure and blood cholesterol lowering drug treatments to patients at high absolute cardiovascular risk, irrespective of their blood pressure or blood cholesterol levels. Because the specific levels of blood pressure and cholesterol are of little clinical relevance when considered in isolation from other risk factors, terms such as hypertension or hypercholesterolaemia have limited value. Separate management guidelines for raised blood pressure and blood cholesterol need to be replaced by integrated cardiovascular risk management guidelines, and absolute cardiovascular risk prediction scores should be used routinely. Since cardiovascular risk factors interact with each other, moderate reductions in several risk factors can be more effective than major reductions in one. An affordable daily pill combining low doses of various drugs could be useful for the many individuals with slightly abnormal cardiovascular risk factors.     

Cardiovascular risk factors and their modification in children

Normal levels and trends of cardiovascular disease risk factors in childhood have been well documented by numerous epidemiologic surveys. Expected levels of blood pressure, lipids and lipoproteins, and body size can be determined by the child's physician using race- and gender-specific grids. These grids allow for the identification and follow-up of children with high-risk profiles. Evidence of increased left ventricular mass and vascular changes in renal arteries in association with childhood blood pressure level along with atherosclerotic fatty streak and fibrous plaque development in the aorta and coronary arteries shows that children with elevated risk factors are at risk for early target organ damage. These data demonstrate the potential importance of early intervention on the natural history of cardiovascular disease. Based on our own data from the Bogalusa population, as well as evidence from other epidemiologic investigations in children, the following recommendations can be made, regardless of the risk factor variable under consideration: Cardiovascular disease risk factor variables should be measured carefully and in a serial manner to classify a child as abnormal. Serial measurements serve to reduce the effect of regression to the mean and increase the predictive value of the measurements. The misclassification of normal children into the high-risk category can be avoided by serial and replicate observations. Interventions that have attendant side effects (for example, pharmacologic therapy for high blood pressure) have to be measured against the effectiveness of diet, exercise, and other aspects of primary prevention. Risk factor levels consistently greater than the ninetieth percentile deserve medical attention. Care should be taken prior to using specific grids of normal levels of cardiovascular disease risk factors in children. The measurement techniques employed on individuals should be similar to those used by the epidemiologic study to generate the grids in a reference population. The grids should become part of the child's permanent medical record, as they provide a rapid visual assessment of the cardiovascular disease risk profile over time. High-risk trackers may require more intensive follow-up and will allow for early intervention and an assessment of the efficacy of the intervention program. In conclusion, cardiovascular disease risk factor screening in childhood is quick, effective, and inexpensive. The potential payoff in prevention of adult cardiovascular disease is enormous and allows the physician to provide more comprehensive care to a pediatric population.     

Relation between risk factors and cardiovascular complications in patients with peripheral vascular disease. Results from the A.D.E.P. study

The relationship between risk factors and the onset of cardiovascular events was analyzed in patients suffering from peripheral obstructive arterial disease. One thousand and eleven patients were recruited in 120 Italian centers and participated in a clinical trial on picotamide (A.D.E.P. study), whose results have been previously reported. Patients were followed-up for 18 months and cardiovascular events were recorded. Hypertension (35%), smoking (34%), and diabetes (19%) were the most common risk factors at baseline. During the follow-up period, 246 patients (11.7%) had a cardiovascular event, mainly affecting cerebral, cardiac or peripheral circulation. Thirty-five of these events (14.2%) were fatal. A logistic regression analysis showed in general that hypertension (odds ratio 1.48), an ankle/arm pressure ratio lower than 0.8 (odds ratio 1.42), smoking (odds ratio 1.43), previous vascular surgery (odds ratio 1.35), high white blood cell (WBC) count (odds ratio 1.15 for a difference of 2.0 × 10⁹ WBC/I) and plasma fibrinogen (odds ratio 1.16 for a difference of 1.05 g/l) were significantly associated with a higher incidence of cardiovascular events. In particular, deaths of any origin were more frequent in patients with an ankle/arm pressure ratio below 0.8. High plasma fibrinogen increased the risk of cerebrovascular events, hypertension or coronary heart events and, to a less evident extent, peripheral vascular complications and cerebrovascular events. A history of vascular surgery increased the risk of peripheral vascular complications. Both smoking and a high WBC count showed to be borderline significant risk factors for coronary heart events and the former also for peripheral vascular complications. In male patients (84%), ankle/arm pressure ratio lower than 0.8, high fibrinogen and hypertension were the most important factors for cardiovascular events. This study helps to identify some categories at higher risk of cardiovascular events among patients with peripheral obstructive arterial disease; this finding is useful to plan future trials to decrease the frequency of such complications.