Regulation of risk factors in patients with ischemic heart disease treated with percutaneous coronary intervention

Background Serbia is among countries with a large number of patients with cardiovascular diseases and cardiovascular deaths. Control of risk factors in a population of high-risk cardiovascular patients is important for prevention of disease progression and its complications. According to recent studies risk factors control is very poor in most countries, including Serbia. Objective The aim of our study was to evaluate the regulation of risk factors and determine predictors of risk factors regulation in a group of patients who received percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods We performed a prospective study of 352 patients (mean age 59±9, 252 males). All patients were scheduled for regular check after PCI and underwent the classical risk factors assessment and laboratory analysis as recommended by European Guidelines from 2010. Patients completed a questionnaire about their habits and life style. For optimal regulation of risk factors we estimated good regulation of blood pressure, level of total cholesterol, body-mass index (BMI), no smoking and waist circumference according to guidelines. We looked for predictors of risk factors regulation. Results Mean systolic and diastolic blood pressures were 137±14mmHg and 86±9mmHg. Levels of total and LDL cholesterol were 5.0±1.2mmol/L and 2.9±1.2mmol/L. Mean HDL cholesterol was 1.2±0.4mmol/L, whereas the mean triglyceride value was 1.9±1.4mmol/L. There was a high prevalence of obesity (73%) with mean BMI of 27±3.6kg/m² and waist size of 101±10 cm for men and 90±13cm in women. Diabetes mellitus was present in 15% of patients. Only 13% of surveyed population had well-regulated five chosen risk factors. Diabetes mellitus and physical inactivity were predictors of poor control of cardiovascular risk factors. Conclusion Present study demonstrated that control of all observed risk factors was achieved in only a small percent of patients. Despite the existence of recommendations with proven efficacy in cardiovascular prevention, their implementation in clinical practice is not adequate.