Atherothrombosis: a higher rate of cardiovascular events
,
Outpatients with atherothrombosis
have a surprisingly high rate of cardiovascular death or serious cardiac events
such as myocardial infarction or stroke (stroke), according to the one-year
results of the REACH registry, presented at the annual meeting of the American
College of Cardiology, which s is held in Atlanta (USA).
Risk factors should not be
overlooked
The purpose of this registry is to
study the characteristics of patients, how they are treated, the extent of
damage and the impact of atherothrombotic disease worldwide on the fate of
people. He has recruited in 2004 68.000 patients in 44 countries covering six
regions: Latin America, North America, Australia, Asia, Europe, Middle East.
After a year of monitoring,
approximately one in eight patients on average will either die or suffer a
heart attack or stroke, or hospitalization for a complication related to
atherothrombosis (clogged arteries of the heart, brain or legs ) and the risk
appears even greater for patients with multiple vascular locations.
Overall, the researchers found a
serious cardiovascular event rate of 13% after one year of follow-up. It is
mainly patients with peripheral arterial that have a substantially higher risk
with a rate after a year of events by 22%. In addition, there has been a steady
increase in risk in patients with multiple vascular locations, the event rate
from 13% for a single patient vascular territory at 28% for three vascular
sites affected.
For patients without a history of
coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular or peripheral arterial disease, but
with at least three risk factors for developing these diseases (such as
diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol or smoking), about 5% had a serious
event or were hospitalized for a cardiovascular cause after one year of
follow-up.
In the opinion of Dr. Gabriel Steg
(CHU Bichat-Claude Bernard, Paris), co-chairman of the Scientific Council of
the REACH registry, "these event rates are particularly high, especially
if one considers that it is a population of stable and treated with modern
therapeutic "outpatients.
"The REACH data show that it is
essential to stop seeing atherothrombosis as a disease of each specialist
(cardiologist, neurologist, angiologist) to the now considered as a
whole," he says.
Originally clot
Atherothrombosis occurs when a blood
clot (thrombus) forms on an atherosclerotic plaque ruptured in an artery wall.
The plates are made from cholesterol and fatty acids, calcium and other
substances.
Plaque rupture and secondary
appearance at the site of the rupture of a blood clot can cause partial or
complete blockage of an artery in various parts of the body.
When a vessel of the heart is
partially or completely occluded by a blood clot, the result can be a heart
attack. In the brain, the same process can cause a stroke. Elsewhere in the
body, it is responsible for a reduction or occlusion of the arteries of the
legs (peripheral arterial disease), which is associated with elevated
myocardial infarction and stroke risk.
Atherothrombosis is the thread that
connects infarction, stroke and peripheral arterial disease, said Dr. Steg.
Author: Mohammad
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