A study published in the journal Global Heart stated that a non-lab-based risk assessment could be an effective strategy to screen people for cardiovascular illnesses when lab facilities are not available.

The study compared parameters obtained from lab work with non-lab work in more than 1,000 people from Ballabgarh in Haryana to determine the risk of cardiovascular disease. It was found that both risk charts had comparable outcomes. Age, sex, smoking status, systolic blood pressure, and body mass index are taken into account in the non-lab-based risk chart. Lab-based risk assessment also included age, sex, smoking status, systolic blood pressure, diabetes, and total cholesterol readings to calculate an individual′s CVD risk.

The Global Heart study revealed that both risk maps produced similar results. Laboratory-based charts showed that 958 (94%) out of the 1,018 participants had minimal CVD risk, while the non-laboratory-based charts showed 956 (93.9%) risk. Further, the study demonstrated that the most frequent non-laboratory risk factor is hypertension (39.4%), which is followed by overweight (34.1%), current smoking (23.6%), and hypercholesterolemia (18.7%) is linked to the condition.

WHO reported that in 2016, India reported 63% of all fatalities from non-communicable diseases, of which 27% were linked to CVDs. Additionally, CVDs are responsible for 45% of mortality in people aged 40 to 69. People who are at risk for CVD may have high blood pressure, elevated glucose and cholesterol levels, as well as be overweight or obese.

The researchers WHO and AIIMS community medicine suggested that a progressive strategy starting with non-lab risk assessment and moving on to laboratory-based risk might be helpful. WHO′s best-buy intervention is drug medication and counselling for people with a high risk of developing fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular disease (CVD).

(Source: https://health.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/non-lab-method-can-assess-heart-attack-risk-study/95056448)