Genetic and Environmental Determinants of Early Vascular Ageing (EVA)

Cardiovascular disease is multidimensional and new ideas are needed to develop the conventional risk factor paradigm that has been based on the Framingham Heart Study since more than 30 years. Traditional risk factors such as hypertension, smoking, hyperlipidemia and diabetes can only explain about 50% of the distribution of coronary heart disease whereas the inclusion of new risk markers or protective markers may increase the explained proportion up to 80% of myocardial infarction risk according to the INTERHEART study. Still there are substantial differences in cardiovascular risk between regions and populations that are hard to explain. Findings in the former Soviet Union geographical area in Eastern Europe could contribute to new and better understanding of cardiovascular risk as a reflection of ageing in general, as populations in these areas not only run a very high cardiovascular risk but also have a shorter mean life expectancy in general. New understanding of the interaction between genes and the environment in prediction of cardiovascular ageing could contribute to the development of more effective preventive strategies.