NEW DELHI: Non-lab based risk assessment can be a good way to screen people for cardiovascular diseases when lab facilities are not available, says a study published in the journal Global Heart.<\/p>\n
The study was based on a comparative analysis of lab-based and non-lab based parameters to assess cardiovascular disease risk in more than 1,000 individuals from Ballabgarh in Haryana. It found that both risk charts threw up similar results. The non-lab based risk chart factors in a patient’s age, sex, smoking status, systolic blood pressure and BMI.<\/p>\n
The lab-based risk assessment requires information on age, sex, smoking status, systolic blood pressure, diabetes, and total cholesterol values to estimate the CVD<\/a> risk in an individual. <\/p>\n The Global Heart study found that both the risk charts resulted in throwing up similar results. Out of the 1,018 participants, low CVD risk (<\/p>\n According to the study, hypertension (39.4%) is the most common non-lab risk factor followed by overweight (34.1%), current smoking (23.6%), and hyper-cholesterolemia (18.7%) that is associated with the disease.<\/p>\n The researchers from AIIMS<\/a> community medicine and WHO say a stepwise approach can be considered starting with non-lab risk assessment and followed by laboratory-based risk – this will help in optimising resources. “Additionally, the non-laboratory risk charts can be used for education and advocacy regarding total CVD risk in areas where lab testing remains currently unavailable,” they add.<\/p>\n Drug therapy and counselling for individuals with high risk of developing fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a World Health Organization<\/a> (WHO) best-buy intervention.<\/p>\n