Abstract
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) on the basis of atherosclerosis is still the most frequent cause of morbidity and mortality in the Czech Republic and in most other countries around the world. Even though there has been a signifi cant increase in the development of diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases in the past 20 years, a large potential still remains in the secondary and especially in the primary prevention of CVD.
Atherosclerosis and its complications are preventableddiseases and should be a top priority, not only in the fi eld of health care, but also for all of society in general.The monography provides concise information about the history of cardiovascular disease prevention in this country and abroad, the development of morbidity and mortality from CVD, basic statistics in terms of cardiovascular epidemiology, as well as concepts and priorities in current preventive cardiology based on evidence from scientifi research. In addition to standard cardiovascular risk factors, other unconventional risk factors such as psychosocial factors, hormone replacement therapy in women and the role of imaging methods in prevention of CVD are also discussed.
First and foremost, global cardiovascular risk assessment is the main priority in current preventive cardiology as it is the deciding factor in establishing proper treatment and prevention. Close attention has been paid to, though up to now rarely accepted in clinical practice, pre-disease stages of the most common CVD incurred on the basis of atherosclerosis and Type 2 diabetes mellitus: preclinical atherosclerosis, pre-hypertension (high normal bloodpressure) and pre-diabetes (impaired fasting glucose, impaired glucose tolerance and cardio metabolic In the conclusion of this monograph two new trends in prevention have been presented; questioning the role of polypill, and using a personalised approach in the prediction, prevention and treatment of CVD.