A substantial majority of instances of heart attacks, strokes, and heart failure were preceded by the presence of at least one of four established risk factors, according to research featured in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC).
Researchers examined data from over 9 million adults across the United States and South Korea. Their findings indicated that elevated blood pressure (hypertension), high cholesterol, elevated blood sugar, and smoking collectively preceded 99% of all cardiovascular events. Notably, even within the lowest-risk demographic (women under 60 years of age), this figure exceeded 95%. Hypertension emerged as the most frequent precursor to heart attacks, affecting over 93% of affected individuals.
“The study strongly suggests that exposure to one or more suboptimal risk factors accounts for nearly 100% of these events,” stated Philip Greenland, a cardiologist at Northwestern University.
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