© 2004 by BMJ Publishing Group & British Cardiac Society
Introduction
Cardiovascular risk: a UK priority—it’s time to act II
Clinical Cardiology, National Heart and Lung Institute, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College, Dovehouse Street, London SW3 6LY, UK; m.cowie@imperial.ac.uk
Keywords: cardiovascular risk; cardiovascular disease; UK
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Cardiovascular disease is the major cause of premature death and disability in the UK, and is a major contributor to the escalating costs of health care. In most cases, atherosclerosis is the underlying pathology. Atherosclerosis develops insidiously over many years and is usually advanced by the time that patients develop symptoms; death, myocardial infarction, and stroke frequently occur suddenly, often before patients can access medical care.
Therefore the case for adopting an early preventive approach is a strong one. Fortunately, it is well established that the occurrence of cardiovascular disease relates strongly to lifestyle and modifiable physiological factors. Modification of these risk factors has been unequivocally shown to impact upon mortality and morbidity from cardiovascular disease.
However, treating individual risk factors in isolation is of little use; it is only by taking a global approach to cardiovascular risk management that we can effectively reduce premature cardiovascular death. This is reflected
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