Cardiovascular Death Risk and Cardiovascular Risk Awareness in Individuals with Hypertension

OBJECTIVE: To determine the cardiovascular death risk of individuals and awareness of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in individuals who had hypertension. STUDY DESIGN: A descriptive study. Place and Duration of the Study: Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkiye, from October 2022 to March 2023. METHODOLOGY: Systematic Coronary Risk Estimation (SCORE) and Systematic Coronary Risk Estimation 2 (SCORE 2) risk models were used to estimate participants' CVD risk, and the Cardiovascular Disease Risk Awareness Assessment Scale (CDRAAS) was used to assess CVD risk awareness. Data were analysed using SPSS, version 23. RESULTS: Of the 231 participants, 64.5% (n = 149) were women in the study, and the mean age was 54.18 years. According to the SCORE 2 risk model, diastolic blood pressure was significantly higher in the high-risk group than in the very high-risk group. The mean CDRAAS score was 39.1 ± 5.57 (range, 15-52). CONCLUSION: CVD risk awareness in society is not yet at the desired level. To increase awareness and early diagnosis in at-risk patients, family physicians should inform all their patients about CVD and routinely screen those at risk. To determine risk, the SCORE2 risk model is more sensitive and more convenient to use than the SCORE model.