Objective - Screening and educational campaigns on cardiovascular (CV) risk factors are important for primary and secondary prevention of CV disease.The CardioLab project is an observational ...cross-sectional study aimed at determining the prevalence of CV risk factors in a large unselected sample of the Italian population leaving in northern, central and southern Italy.
Methods and results - Data collection included family and clinical history, anthropometric data, blood pressure, blood glucose and total cholesterol values. Individual CV risk profile was assessed throughout by the risk charts of both the Progetto Cuore and the Score Project. In 36,161 participants (56.3% men) with a mean age of 60 years a complete assessment of the above mentioned variables was obtained. 44.4% of the screened subjects was overweight, while approximately 20% of the population displayed an obese state with a body mass index > 30 kg/m2. Alterations in blood glucose levels indicating the presence of glucose intolerance were identified in 11.5% of the population while 9.3% displayed overt diabetes. 36.1% and 42.3% had elevated total cholesterol levels (> 200 mg/dl) and blood pressure values (≥140/90 mmHg), respectively. New diagnosis of diabetes, hypercholesterolaemia and hypertension was obtained in 5.3%, 23.6% and 19.6%, respectively. Global assessment of the CV risk showed that approximately 12.6% of the population is at a high risk of CV events over a 10-year period.
Conclusions - This large-scale observational study provides important information on the CV risk profile of an unselected Italian population and underlines the need for a more aggressive identification and appropriate correction of CV risk factors.
Prior to the emergence of percutaneous radiofrequency-based therapy for renal denervation, considerable preclinical and clinical experience reinforced the importance for afferent and efferent renal ...sympathetic nerve activity in the initiation and maintenance of hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases. The role of the adrenergic tone is also supported by the evidence of an increased renal norepinephrine spillover to plasma in resistant hypertensives – a biomarker of increased renal sympathetic activation. The observation that surgical renal sympathectomy improved blood pressure control has led to the considerations of a percutaneous approach to renal sympathetic denervation. The rapid evolution in our understanding of both the human renal nerve microanatomy and the ideal technique for the safe application of radiofrequency technology leads to successful renal nerve ablation in previous trials on resistant hypertension and for future studies in pathophysiological conditions characterized by an hyperadrenergic tone.
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