Estimation of cardiovascular risk among adults using WHO cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk charts: A community-based cross-sectional study.

Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death globally with three-fourths of the deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), CVDs represent 32% of the total global deaths that occurred in 2019, which is indeed a very high number. The aim of this study was to estimate the 10-year risk of cardiovascular events among adults aged ≥ 40 years in a rural population using the WHO CVD risk prediction charts for the South Asia region. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 240 subjects aged 40-74 years during the period of September 2021 to December 2021 in the rural areas of a district in north India. The two sets of the WHO CVD risk prediction charts, that is, laboratory-based and non-laboratory-based charts for the WHO South Asia region, were used to estimate the cardiovascular risk. According to the WHO laboratory-based CVD risk charts, it was observed that 76.7% of subjects were at less than 10% risk, while 1.7% had ≥ 20% risk for cardiovascular diseases. Similarly, assessment with a non-laboratory-based chart level revealed that 80% of the participants had < 10% risk while 0.8% of them had ≥ 20% risk for cardiovascular diseases.1. The WHO CVD risk prediction charts can be used in low-cost resource settings as a tool to predict CVD risk among asymptomatic individuals, thus, helping in early detection, prevention, and management of CVDs in settings with limited resources.