Triglyceride level as a potential marker of residual cardiovascular risk and its relation to HeartScore

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Ademović, Enisa^a | Čakarić, Mirza^b | Durak-Nalbantić, Azra^c | Džubur, Alen^c | Hodzić, Enisa^c | Mahmutović, Sabina^d | Aganović, Izeta^e | Dilić, Mirza^c | Begić, Alden^c | Jahić, Elmedina^c | Begić, Edin^{f; *} | Hamzić-Mehmedbašić, Aida^g | Rebić, Damir^g | Gojak, Refet^h | Badnjevic, Almirⁱ | Čavaljuga, Semra^a

Affiliations: [a] Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Medical Faculty, University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina | [b] Medical Faculty, University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina | [c] Clinic for Heart, Blood Vessel and Rheumatic Diseases, Clinical Center University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina | [d] Department for Microbiology, Medicine Faculty, University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina | [e] Institute for Genetics, Medicine Faculty, University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina | [f] Department of Cardiology, General Hospital “Prim. Dr. Abdulah Nakas”, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina | [g] Clinic for Nephrology, Clinical Center University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina | [h] Clinic for Infectious Disease, Clinical Center University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina | [i] International Burch University, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author: Edin Begic, Department of Cardiology, General Hospital “Prim. Dr. Abdulah Nakas”, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. E-mail: begic.edin@ssst.edu.ba.

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases (ASCVD) are still the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Elevated LDL-cholesterol is established as a strong marker of cardiovascular risk. Some researchers believe that measuring triglyceride levels gives a good assessment of the residual risk for ASCVD besides the measurement of LDL-cholesterol. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the overall prevalence of major risk factors for ASCVD, lipid profile and 10-year fatal cardiovascular risk using the HeartSCORE scoring system. Further, we want to evaluate the prevalence and relationship between elevated triglyceride levels and high 10-year fatal cardiovascular risk calculated as a HeartSCORE. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study conducted on 832 volunteers aged between 40 and 65 years without a diagnosis of diabetes and without known preexisting cardiovascular disease, as a part of the preventive program conducted at the Family Medicine office. Data were collected for ASCVD risk factors and lipid panel (total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides). 10-year fatal cardiovascular risk was calculated using the HeartSCORE scoring system for countries with high CV risk. RESULTS: Among 832 participants included, 565 (67.9%) were female, and 267 (32.1%) were male. We found high prevalence of hypertension (27.7%), obesity (32.2%), and smoking (36.2%). All lipid parameters, except HDL-C, were not optimal. Only 17.4% of participants had normal estimated HeartSCORE risk, while more than one-third (33.9%) had high or very high estimated HeartSCORE risk. Although we found a higher percentage of participants with elevated triglycerides in groups with higher HeartSCORE, there was a very weak positive correlation between values of triglycerides and the 10-year risk of a fatal cardiovascular event (r= 0.249, p= 0.000). CONCLUSION: The high prevalence of major known risk factors and high estimated HeartSCORE risk indicate a high overall risk for ASCVD in the sample. The proportion of participants with elevated triglycerides was increased in patients with high HeartSCORE risk what implicates importance of triglyceride measurement.

Keywords: Risk factor, triglycerides, cardiology, HeartScore

DOI: 10.3233/THC-220874

Journal: Technology and Health Care, vol. 31, no. 6, pp. 2145-2153, 2023