Total cardiovascular risk estimation in Romania. Data from the SEPHAR study.

Objective: of this sub-study was to assess the impact of major CV risk factors on mortality due to CV diseases among Romanian adult subjects using the SCORE System.

Study Design And Setting: In 2005, a survey for CV risk factors (SEPHAR) was performed in Romania involving 2017 subjects aged over 18 yrs, a representative sample for the Romanian adult population. Romania's area was divided into ten regions recommended by The National Commission of Statistics. We evaluated the relationship between gender, age, smoking status, systolic blood pressure and total cholesterol and cardiovascular risk. Ten year risk of fatal cardiovascular disease was estimated according to the SCORE (Systematic COronary Risk Evaluation) System.

Results: Average total risk in Romanian adult population was 3.5%. Male population had a significantly higher risk than females (5.4% vs. 1.7%, p<0.01). About one fifth of subjects (20.7%) had a high risk > or = 5%. Four percent of subjects (all males) had a very high risk > or = 15%. The CV risk was relatively homogeneously distributed between Romania's geographic regions. The prevalence of hypercholesterolemia as CV risk factor was high (40%), and also was the prevalence of high systolic blood pressure (36.6%). The prevalence of smoking was similar to other European countries (27%).

Conclusion: Our study showed Romania as a country with a high cardiovascular risk, being also one of the regions in Europe with the highest CV risk.