Description

Cardiovascular diseases and their risk factors play an
important role in the morbidity and mortality of people in
Hungary. The relationship between systolic blood pressure,
fasting blood glucose and other cardiovascular risk factors pose an impact on the assessed cardiovascular risk.

A random selection of 1320 patients in 48 family practices
who had not been registered previously either with cardiovascular diseases or risk factors were assessed. The cardiovascular risk was assessed by the Joint European Coronary Risk Chart, taking into account age, sex, smoking habits, systolic blood pressure, cholesterol level and presence of diabetes mellitus.

Of the people investigated 65.2 % had normal systolic
blood pressure values, 26.2 % had mild, 6.8 % medium and
1.8 % serious hypertension. Of the people that were
investigated 88.6 % had normal fasting blood glucose, 6.5 %
IFG (6.1-6.9 mmol/l) and 4.8 % diabetes suspect (≥ 7.0
mmol/l) levels. Assessed cardiovascular risk grades were the
following: low risk: 34.3 %, mild risk: 24.1 %, medium risk:
29.2 %, high risk 11.7%, very high risk: 0.8 %.
Distribution of systolic blood pressure categories was more
unfavourable in the groups of men, middle aged individuals and
patients with high cholesterol levels compared to groups of
women, younger aged individuals and patients with normal
cholesterol levels. Distribution of fasting blood glucose categories was more unfavourable in the groups of middle aged individuals and patients with high cholesterol level compared to the groups of younger aged individuals and patients with normal cholesterol level, but did not differ in the groups of men and women. There was no difference in distribution of systolic blood pressure or fasting blood glucose categories between smokers and non smokers. Distribution of systolic blood pressure categories was more unfavourable in both groups of people with abnormal fasting glucose (IGT and diabetes suspect) compared to the group of patients with normal fasting sugar level; and similarly distribution of fasting blood glucose categories was more unfavourable in the groups of patients with more serious systolic hypertension compared to the group of patients with less elevated systolic blood pressure. The seriousness of assessed cardiovascular risk was growing parallel with the severity of systolic blood pressure and fasting blood glucose categories.

Conclusion: These results prove a relationship among
systolic blood pressure and fasting blood glucose categories as well as cardiovascular risk grades which is influenced by other
cardiovascular risk factors, too. Since both hypertension and
abnormal fasting glucose considerably raise the cardiovascular risk and they are frequently present together even in those people who are deemed to be healthy, the authors emphasise the importance of risk factor identification and appropriate lifestyle intervention in general practice.