[What do Swiss people know about cardiovascular risk factors?]

Abstract

Introduction: Cardiovascular diseases are associated with a high morbidity burden in Switzerland and are the leading cause of death. Important cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia and diabetes can be treated extremely effectively with medication. A prerequisite for good therapy adherence is that those affected have sufficient knowledge. An anonymized online questionnaire was distributed via a health magazine and answered by 3166 participants. The majority of participants, 61.2 % (1902), were between 59 and 79 old. 2584 participants (83.1 %) were of the opinion that cardiovascular diseases can be well treated with medication. 1,781 (64.3 %) stated that they knew their blood pressure very precisely and 1,086 (39.25) stated that they knew their cholesterol value very precisely. 697 (25.2 %) did not know their cholesterol value or blood pressure (71; 2.6 %). When it comes to risk factors, smoking was classified as the most important factor (statement "strong" or "very strong": 2102; 77.6 %), almost on a par with blood pressure (2081, 77 %), lack of exercise (2047; 75.6 %) and Cholesterol (1906; 70.4 %). Overall, our survey shows that the Swiss have a comparatively good orientation about cardiovascular risk factors. However, even in our sample, which is certainly very health-conscious, there is still a clear need for education. However, our results also show that the majority are willing to implement preventative measures using medication.