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(Circulation. 1998;98:2103-2104.)
© 1998 American Heart Association, Inc.

Cardiovascular News

Cardiovascular Disease Prevention

A Challenge for Latin America

Herman Schargrodsky, MD; María C. Escobar, MD; Edgardo Escobar, MD; ; on behalf of the Interamerican Society of Cardiology

From the Interamerican Society of Cardiology, Santiago, Chile.

Correspondence to Edgardo Escobar, MD, FACC, Immediate Past President, Interamerican Society of Cardiology, Av Salvador 465, Santiago, Chile.

Contemporary cardiology is revealing a growing interest in prevention, particularly in the field of atherosclerosis. This is due in part to the availability of new therapeutic tools that have proved to be effective for both primary¹ and secondary^{2 3} prevention.

Latin America is therefore faced with the challenge of defining new prevention strategies. Such strategies ought to consider issues such as clinical benefit, the impact on population morbidity and mortality, and the cost/benefit ratio.⁴ Most importantly, however, attention must be paid to the epidemiological peculiarity of this region.

The native peoples of Latin America have different ethnic origins and high internal migration rates. Immigrants coming from Europe, Asia, and Africa in various waves have also contributed to define communities with original profiles, not only in terms of genetics but also with regard to diverse nutritional habits and lifestyles.

Our continent thus has an epidemiological profile of its own. This peculiar profile should prompt us to acquire increasing knowledge and not to assume, as we have for many years, the existence of similarity to the developed countries in the northern hemisphere.

This is why, unlike those countries, we still have to foster so-called observational studies on cardiovascular disease and its risk factors in Latin America. This information is scarce and even nonexistent in several countries, and such studies should arouse as much interest as pharmacological studies and novel therapeutic procedures.

We believe that all efforts directed at preventing sickness and promoting health are best instrumented by educating the community, and it is . . . [Full Text of this Article]