Each Modified Risk Confers More CV Protection

So control those risk factors.
http://www.medpagetoday.com/Cardiology/Prevention/30840?utm_source=cardiodaily&utm_medium=email&utm_content=aha&utm_campaign=01-25-12&eun=gd3r&userid=424561&email=oc1dean@yahoo.com&mu_id=

The risk of having a cardiovascular event, including death, was decreased linearly when each of four modifiable factors was managed, a study of older male doctors found.

If patients were not on aspirin therapy and smoking, and non-HDL cholesterol and blood pressure were not controlled, the risk of a cardiovascular event nearly quadrupled (HR 3.83) than when all four factors were managed, reported Jennifer G. Robinson, MD, MPH, from the University of Iowa, and colleagues.

Each successively managed factor decreased the risk further, as the hazard ratios for one, two, and three controlled risk factors were 2.53, 1.94, and 1.80, respectively, according to the study published in the February Journal of Clinical Lipidology.

The decreasing trend was significant at P=0.002.

Robinson and colleagues noted that cardiovascular disease occurs more frequently with advancing age, but data are scarce regarding aggressively treating risk factors for those older than 65.

In addition, they said that many physicians are hesitant to aggressively manage the cardiovascular risks of older patients for various reasons including competing comorbidities, such as cancer.

But the investigators pointed to the fallacy of this way of thinking by stating that the risk of dying from a cardiovascular cause jumps from 25% before age 75 to 40% after that age.