Studies have shown that those individuals with low levels of cardiovascular risk factors experience low rates of subsequent cardiovascular events. From a preventative health point of view, thus it is important to maintain low risk factor burdens of prevalence and trends for cardiovascular disease among adults in the US population. Earl S. Ford, from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Georgia, USA) and colleagues analyzed data collected on adults 25 to 74 years of age who participated in four national (US) surveys. They created a low-risk index based on five factors, namely:
• Not currently smoking
• Total cholesterol below 200 mg/dL and not using cholesterol-lowering drugs
• Blood pressure below 12/80 mmHg and not using blood pressure-lowering drugs
• Body mass index (BMI) at or below 25 kg/m2
• Never diagnosed with diabetes

The researchers found that only 7.5% of Americans between 25 and 74 years of age fell into the low-risk category in 1999 to 2004.  This represents a decline from the period 1988-1994, swhen the figure stood at 10.5%. Concludes the team: “The prevalence of low risk factor burden for cardiovascular disease is low. The progress that had been made during the 1970s and 1980s reversed in recent decades.”