Cardiovascular Disease
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a general term that describes a disease of the heart of blood vessels.
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It includes various disorders such as coronary artery disease, heart failure, arrhythmias, valvular heart diseases, and peripheral artery disease.
Inflammation in Cardiovascular Disease
Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease (ASCVD) is the leading cause of CVD. It's driven by plaque buildup in arteries, which can restrict or block blood flow, leading to heart attacks or strokes.
Heart attacks is the
Top 1 Leading Cause of Death
800,000
Heart Attacks per year
1 in 5 people will have recurrent heart attack this year
Strokes is the
Top 5 Leading Cause of Death
795,000
Strokes per year
1 in 4 people will have recurrent stroke this year
ASCVD is the most common form of CVD, which is responsible for more than 400,000 deaths annually in the U.S. However, ASCVD is also the most preventable form of heart disease.
Risk Factors of ASCVD
Modifiable Risk Factors
High Blood Pressure
Inflammation
Smoking
Diabetes
High Cholesterol
Sedentary Lifestyle
Non-Modifiable Risk Factors
Age
Gender
Genetics
Despite being on standard treatments like high-intensity statins and blood pressure medications, many people are still at risk for heart-related events due to inflammation that remains untreated.
more patients face heart attack and stroke risk from untreated inflammation than from untreated cholesterol [4].
2x
Untreated Inflammation Increases Risk
of people on strong statin treatments still have untreated inflammation [4].
43-47%
Statins Not Enough
With the right tools—early detection, lifestyle changes, and targeted treatments—many ASCVD-related events can be delayed or avoided entirely.
​Inflammation is more Important than Cholesterol
References
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[1] Libby P, Ridker PM, Hansson GK. Progress and challenges in translating the biology of atherosclerosis. Nature. 2011 May 19;473(7347):317-25. doi: 10.1038/nature10146. PMID: 21593864.
[2] What is atherosclerosis? American Heart Association. Published April 3, 2023. Accessed April 12, 2023. https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/cholesterol/about-cholesterol/atherosclerosis
[3] Paul M Ridker, Deepak L Bhatt, Aruna D Pradhan, Steven E Nissen, et al. Inflammation and cholesterol as predictors of cardiovascular events among patients receiving statin therapy: a collaborative analysis of three randomised trials. The Lancet. Published online March 6, 2023. Vol. 401, issue 10384, P1293-1301, April 15, 2023. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(23)00215-5.
[4] Everett B, et al. Residual Inflammatory Risk. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2019 May, 73 (19) 2410–2412. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2019.02.056
[5] Ridker PM. How Common Is Residual Inflammatory Risk? Circ Res. 2017 Feb 17;120(4):617-619. doi: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.116.310527. PMID: 28209792.