2016 European Guidelines on cardiovascular disease prevention in clinical practice

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention is defined as a coordinated set of actions, at the population level or targeted at an individual, that are aimed at eliminating or minimizing the impact of CVDs and their related disabilities.1 CVD remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality, despite improvements in outcomes. Age-adjusted coronary artery disease (CAD) mortality has declined since the 1980s, particularly in high-income regions.2 CAD rates are now less than half what they were in the early 1980s in many countries in Europe, due to preventive measures including the success of smoking legislation. However, inequalities between countries persist and many risk factors, particularly obesity3 and diabetes mellitus (DM),4 have been increasing substantially. If prevention was practised as instructed it would markedly reduce the prevalence of CVD. It is thus not only prevailing risk factors that are of concern, but poor implementation of preventive measures as well.5,6 Prevention should be delivered (i) at the general population level by promoting healthy lifestyle behaviour7 and (ii) at the individual level, i.e. in those subjects at moderate to high risk of CVD or patients with established CVD, by tackling unhealthy lifestyles (e.g. poor-quality diet, physical inactivity, smoking) and by optimising risk factors. Prevention is effective: the elimination of health risk behaviours would make it possible to prevent at least 80% of CVDs and even 40% of cancers.