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App to help fight cardiovascular disease

WASHINGTON — On the occasion of World Heart Day, celebrated each Sept. 29, the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization launched a new app for mobile devices and computers that calculates people’s risk of cardiovascular disease and can help motivate them to take steps to lower that risk, according to the organizations’ news release.
The app is based on a WHO formula for estimating cardiovascular risk that is appropriate for most countries and Latin America and the Caribbean. It lets healthcare workers and individual users calculate the probability of having a major cardiovascular event, such as a heart attack or stroke, in the next 10 years, according to the news release.
“This tool helps healthcare professionals rapidly assess their patients’ situation and discuss strategies with them to lower their probability of experiencing one of these events,” said Dr. Pedro Ordúñez, PAHO/WHO advisor on cardiovascular diseases. “It is also designed to offer suggestions to people wishing to improve and monitor their cardiovascular status.” The tool is not meant to replace consultation with a physician, but it is user-friendly for non–health professionals as well.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide and in most countries of the Americas, where it kills some 1.6 million people each year, the news release stated. The main risk factors for cardiovascular disease are tobacco use, physical inactivity and obesity. People with hypertension, diabetes or high cholesterol are more likely to suffer a heart-related event.
Knowing one’s cardiovascular risk can motivate people to take steps to lower that risk, for example, by being more active, avoiding tobacco use and consuming a healthy, low-salt diet rich in vegetables and fresh foods, the news release noted.
PAHO’s Cardiovascular Risk Calculator app, which can be downloaded free of charge, offers advice to modify habits that contribute to higher risk. It allows users to see how their cardiovascular risk would change if certain risk factors were modified.
Six variables are used to calculate the probability of experiencing a cardiovascular event in the next 10 years: age, sex, blood pressure, cholesterol level, whether the user is a smoker, and whether he or she has diabetes, the news release stated. A result of 10 percent or less is considered low; a risk of over 40 percent is considered high.
The risk estimate is more accurate if the serum cholesterol level is included, but it can be calculated without that variable. The app, developed by PAHO/WHO with the GEDIC group and Pixeloide, also allows users to calculate their body mass index (normal, overweight, or obese) and provides reminders to take medication on time and as prescribed.

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