Background: To describe the evolution of cardiovascular profile in a sample of the Spanish general population.
Patients and methods: Study cohort of 1,800 subjects from the Diet and Cardiovascular Risk in Spain study (DRECE I) with and without cardiovascular risk according to Spanish Society of Arteriosclerosis guidelines (CRSSA) followed during five years.
Results: Mean follow up was 4.8 years. High blood pressure (>= 140/90 mmHg), total cholesterol > 200 mg/dl, triglycerides > 150 mg/dl and HDLc < 35 mg/dl were present in a 55.6, 85.8. 42.9 and 13.4%, respectively of the individuals with CRSSA. A 31% of those without CRSSA developed hypercholesterolemia and a 11.5% hypertension. Stroke, transient isquemic attack, angor and acute myocardial infarction appeared in 4, 3, 12 and 12 cases in the group with CRSSA and 5, 0, 1 and 1 in the grup without CRSSA. The incidence of acute myocardial infarction was 3.3 and 1.2/1,000 persons-year in the groups with/without CRSSA, respectively. Triglycerides were associated to the presence of acute myocardial infarction (OR = 10.08; IC95%; 2.1-46.4).
Conclusions: There is a worsening of the cardiovascular risk profile in the cohort. Individuals with CRSSA have a worse cardiovascular risk profile than those without CRSSA. The cardiovascular risk factors tend to be grouped in the same subjects.