Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death and disability in Colorado. The major risk factors for cardiovascular disease are high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, obesity, physical inactivity and diabetes.

Reducing these risk factors depends on people changing their health behavior. For people at risk for cardiovascular disease, it also means achieving optimal management for their blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol levels. Conditions such as diabetes, elevated cholesterol and hypertension, when left untreated, can have severe outcomes.

Billions of dollars have been expended for research to find the best way to treat these conditions. Yet, many people with these conditions do not have them under control. For example:

Effective treatment of hypertension, high blood pressure, which affects over 50 million American adults, has been shown to decrease the rate of all complications including heart attacks, kidney disease, stroke and death. Yet, although the majority of people who have high blood pressure are aware of their condition, only about one in four have it under control. The complications of hypertension cost $300 billion a year.

High cholesterol affects over 20 million Americans and is a major risk factor for heart diseases and strokes. Strong evidence supports the fact that effective cholesterol management can reduce the risk of heart disease and its recurrence. However, one half of those with elevated cholesterol are being treated and only 20 percent are achieving recommended cholesterol levels. The economic cost of elevated cholesterol levels is $70 billion a year.

Diabetes, which affects more than 17 million Americans, is a major risk fact for cardiovascular disease and is the most common single cause of end-stage kidney disease. Effective blood glucose and blood pressure control in diabetic patients can reduce the severe complications of the disease; yet most diabetes patients are not achieving the necessary level of control to prevent serious and debilitating problems. The cost of providing dialysis to diabetics patients with end-stage kidney disease is over $2 billion a year.

Coronary heart disease is still the number one killer in the United States. 1.2 million Americans will have a heart attack this year and one-third of these will die. Many heart attacks are preventable through coronary risk reduction, such as blood pressure and cholesterol control. The economic impact of coronary heart disease in 2000 was estimated at $118.2 billion.

The Colorado Prevention Center is committed to bridging the gap between medical research and medical practice. The challenge is to incorporate new research findings into daily medical practice. The ultimate goal is to improve health care practice patterns and behavior, increase patient awareness of ways to manage their conditions, and education the general public on the importance and benefits of good health behavior.

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