hrvatski

Opportunities for regional improvement in reduction of behavioral cardiovascular risk factors of Croatian hospitalized coronary heart disease patients

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine prevalences (P) of behavioral cardiovascular risk factors (BCRF) [smoking (S), alcohol consumption (AC) and physical activity (PA)] in continental region (CR) and Mediterranean region (MR) of Croatia, which could show region-specific opportunities for their reduction. Methods: This study was performed on a sample of patients hospitalized in the period from 2007 until 2009 because of acute or chronic ischemic heart disease in various hospitals in Croatia (N=1.298, 7 hospitals in CR and 5 hospitals in MR). Results: P of selected BCRF in surveyed patient population were high: 30.2% of participants don’t drink alcohol at all, while 11.5% of participants drink alcohol consistent with binge drinking (BD) pattern ; 42.6% are S, when also those that quit S within previous 12 months are included, 65.4% of participants can be considered S ; 30% of participants are sitting all the time, 88.5% are sedentary, and only 11% of par ticipants exercise sports activities regularly. Clear regional differences in P of these BCRF were only found for AC (more participants in MR are drinking alcohol – 48.6% vs. 42.6%, p=0.002 – while no significant differences were found between regions in P of BD). There were no differences between regions in P of S and PA. Conclusions: More than half of Croatian coronary heart disease patients aren’t consuming alcohol in a beneficial way, two thirds of them are S and only one in ten patients engage in regular sports activities. This sad situation is, unfortunately, present in both of Croatia’s geographic regions – CR and MR (no consistent regional differences were found). There is still significant potential for both primary and secondary cardiovascular risk factor prevention among entire Croatian coronary heart disease patient population, which should be focused to change the harmful behavior (consuming of alcohol according to guidelines – not less and not more, quitting S, encouraging regular sport activities).

cardiovascular risk factors ; regional distribution ; reduction ; coronary heart disease

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