This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
New European guidelines for CV prevention published
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
The goal of the 2012 guidelines from the Fifth Joint Task Force of the European Societies on Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in Clinical Practice is to provide an update of the current knowledge in preventive cardiology for cardiologists and other health care professionals.
The new guidelines were launched at the EuroPrevent 2012 meeting in Dublin, Ireland, and published simultaneously in the European Heart Journal and European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.
The task force updated recommendations focusing on wide-ranging issues such as total CV risk estimation, diseases with increased risk for CVD, methods of CVD prevention, smoking cessation interventions, dietary habits, physical activity, psychosocial factors, body weight, BP, type 2 diabetes, lipids and antithrombotic therapies. Increased emphasis was placed on the principles of behavioral change, with a section exploring why patients do not adhere to medications, according to information in a press release.
According to the guidelines, CVD prevention should be a “lifelong effort.” The task force said: “Prevention of CVD ideally starts during pregnancy and lasts until the end of life. … [However], in daily practice, prevention efforts are typically targeted at middle-aged or older men and women with established CVD or those at high risk of developing a first CV event.”
Another addition is a chapter on CVD prevention in different health care settings. It explores the contributions of nurse-coordinated prevention programs, family doctors, cardiologists working in general practice and specialized hospital-based rehabilitation services.
The guidelines also call attention to the “new era” of political engagement in preventive cardiology.
“Changing human behavior is a political issue,” Joep Perk, MD, chairman of the guidelines task force, said in the press release. “We need to create a healthier environment and this requires changes in the law, such as reducing the amount of salt and trans fatty acids in food, providing more cycle lanes and getting school curriculums to include more movement.”
The 2012 guidelines are an update to the fourth edition released in 2007.
“The document differs from the 2007 guidelines in several ways: there is a greater focus on new scientific knowledge. The use of grading systems [European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Education (GRADE)] allows more evidence-based recommendations to be adapted to the needs of clinical practice,” the statement reads. In addition, the updated guidelines are about one-third shorter than the 2007 edition.
The task force behind the guidelines includes representatives from nine societies, including the European Society of Cardiology, and other invited experts.
For more information:
Disclosure: See the document for a full list of disclosures.