Doctors highlight 'risk age' for heart attack and stroke

DOCTORS AND patients should focus on cardiac “risk age” when considering the chances of having a heart attack or stroke, an international cardiology conference in Dublin heard yesterday.

Launching new European guidelines for the prevention of cardiovascular disease, conference host Prof Ian Graham of Trinity College Dublin and Tallaght hospital said he hoped the latest guidelines would act as a launch pad for renewed efforts by health professionals and governments across Europe to tackle risk factors for heart disease and stroke.

A crucial change in the guidelines involves the introduction of risk age estimation when calculating a person’s individual risk. “Risk age estimation is clear, defined and quick to calculate and, even better, it delivers a no-nonsense message to patients that is easy to understand and hard to ignore,” Prof Graham said.

“Telling a 40-year-old male smoker that his risk of heart attack is the same as that of a man aged 65 years is a powerful message that is going to get his attention . . . The most effective way to bring down mortality is through widespread adoption of prevention initiatives. I believe ‘risk age’ is an invaluable tool for healthcare professionals that will also motivate patients towards prevention through lifestyle changes or medication.”

Until now doctors have focused on calculating a percentage risk score based on a person’s age, sex, blood pressure, cholesterol and whether they smoked or not. While the scoring system remains, more emphasis will now be placed on a narrative founded on a more positive message, lead author of the guidelines Prof Joep Perk, professor of health sciences at Linnaeus University in Kalmar, Sweden, said.

“In the past the implementation of prevention guidelines could undoubtedly have been better. So in a radical departure we’ve designed the guidelines in a new format that makes them much more accessible.”

People over 80 will benefit from treatment for high blood pressure, the guidelines say.

Cardiovascular disease costs an estimated €192 billion in healthcare and other costs across the EU each year.

Case study when a young body is at high risk:

ROBBIE WALSH, a 39-year-old Dublin postman, suffered a heart attack aged just 37. He walked for three to four hours, five days a week, as part of his job, but smoked at least 25 cigarettes a day. His cholesterol was high and he was overweight. There was also a history of coronary heart disease on both sides of his family.

On his admittance to hospital with a heart attack, a dye test of his coronary arteries showed a blockage. A calculation showed he had a “risk age” of a man aged 65.

Robbie underwent bypass surgery and made a good recovery. He is back at work, no longer smokes, exercises more and has lost weight. “I blame my poor diet and being overweight for what happened,” he told the EuroPRevent conference in Dublin yesterday.