TG/HDL-c Ratio as a Predictor of Cardiovascular Risk

Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) continue to be an important public health problem and one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, generating economic and social impacts. 1,2 In Brazil, CVD costs have been increasing significantly and are the highest when compared to other causes of hospitalization. Moreover, as the population ages, and with the increase in CVD prevalence, these expenses tend to be even higher. 3 Therefore, early detection and possible changes in cardiovascular risk factors can be important in order to reduce hospitalization and negative outcomes, as well as to improve the population's quality of life.In an attempt to identify asymptomatic individuals with a greater predisposition for the disease and define therapeutic goals, many evaluation tools have been developed to estimate risks for CVD, such as Framingham's Global Risk Score (GRS), adopted by the Department of Atherosclerosis of the Brazilian Society of Cardiology (SBC-DA, in Portuguese) and which evaluates the risk of cardiovascular events over a 10-year period through the variables of age, sex, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c), total cholesterol, systolic blood pressure, smoking, and diabetes. 4