Association of major cardiovascular risk factors with the development of acute coronary syndrome in Lithuania

Cardiovascular (CV) disease remains the leading cause of death in Lithuania. Timely recognition of CV risk factors and intervention to reduce these risk factors is of absolute importance to prevent coronary heart disease and reduce its burden on society. This study aimed to compare the prevalence of major CV risk factors in general population and acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients and to determine their association with the development of ACS. Five hundred and twenty-three ACS patients and 645 age- and gender-matched control subjects were enrolled in the study. Smoking, dyslipidaemia, diabetes, and hypertension, but not overweight or obesity, were significantly more prevalent in the ACS patients, compared with control group. The prevalence of smoking, overweight or obesity, and dyslipidaemia were significantly higher in younger patients. Hypertension was highly prevalent in all age subgroups. More than a half of all patients aged <45 years had three or four CV risk factors. Smoking [odds ratio (OR), 7.03, P < 0.0001], hypertension (OR, 1.82; P = 0.001), dyslipidaemia (OR, 1.99; P < 0.0001), and diabetes (OR, 2.30; P < 0.001) were significantly associated with ACS. Significant association of traditional CV risk factors, such as smoking, dyslipidaemia, hypertension, and diabetes with ACS, and high prevalence of these risk factors, especially in younger individuals, calls for attention, and implementation of prevention programmes to reduce the burden of CV morbidity and mortality in Lithuania.