Association between potential risk factors and the occurrence of coronary artery disease

Coronary artery disease is the major reason for high death rates in the United States and other European countries. In Pakistan, men are at greater risk of developing (CAD) in early ages as compared to women. A good deal of people suffering from CAD in Pakistan, belongs to the lower middle socioeconomic level. Aims of the present study were to observe risk factors associated with coronary artery disease e.g. smoking, hypertension, diabetes and obesity. Methods: It was a case control study carried out in Mayo hospital, a tertiary care hospital of Lahore. The study sample was 200, from which 100 were cases and other 100 were controls. In cases 77 were males and 23 were females and in controls 52 were males and 48 females were enrolled by using non-probability sampling. SPSS software was used to analyze the data and for finding out the association between different risk factors and CAD. Results: CAD was 4 times more in hypertensive cases as compared to non hypertensive cases; there is statistically significant association of hypertension with coronary artery disease. 42 were diabetics and 58 were non diabetic, and in controls 16 were diabetics and 84 were non-diabetic. There is statistically significant association of diabetes with coronary artery disease. In CAD patients 49 were smokers and 52 were non smokers. In controls 22 were smokers and 78 were non smokers. There is statistically significant association of smoking with coronary artery disease. In coronary artery disease patients 48 were obese and 52 were non-obese. In controls 27 were obese and 73 were non obese. There is statistically significant association of obesity with CAD. Conclusion: The present research has highlighted the increasing prevalence of CAD and its risk factors e.g. hypertension, diabetes mellitus, smoking and obesity. Development of focused strategies to improve awareness regarding coronary artery disease and its potential risk factors along with stressing on lifestyle modification is need of the hour.