Prevention of cardiovascular disease: updating the immensity of the challenge and the role of risk factors.

Despite remarkable decreases in the mortality of coronary heart disease, there is concern that continued high levels of cardiovascular risk in the population may reverse these gains. By 2015, the prevalence of cardiovascular disease in the United States will be 37.8%. Obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus (DM), metabolic syndrome, and inflammation are the primary components driving cardiovascular risk. Approximately 70% of adults are overweight or obese, yet diet quality continues to deteriorate and authoritative information is insufficiently promoted. More than half of US adults have lipid abnormalities; 27% of US adults have high values of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, 23% have low values of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations, and 30% have high triglyceride levels. Approximately 34% of adults have hypertension; 40% of these adults are unaware of the diagnosis. In patients with hypertension who are treated, 54% remain uncontrolled. The prevalence of hypertension in elderly patients has increased from 35% to 41%. In addition, 30% of adults have prehypertension. The burden of hypertension alone accounts for approximately 1000 deaths per day. Trends in the prevalence of glucose intolerance are similar. The prevalence of DM is approximately 12%, with 27% of cases remaining undiagnosed. Thirty-five percent of US adults aged > 20 years have prediabetes and 7.3% of adults are unaware of the diagnosis. If the present trends continue, 1 in 3 of US adults will have DM by 2050. Participation in exercise has been low and a "straight line" for > 2 decades. Accelerometer data indicate that individuals who attain minimal exercise goals are only a fraction of the often quoted levels of > 35%. Control of risk factors in primary prevention, although improved, remains decidedly incomplete. Lowering the burden of cardiovascular risk factors at the population level has been exceptionally difficult. For reasons outlined, the solution to this problem is multifaceted and extends well beyond the delivery of medical care into the structure of society and the environment.