Cardiovascular Risk Awareness and Score Among Men Between the Ages of 40 and 65

Aim: Studies on the relationship between cardiovascular disease risk level and cardiovascular disease risk factors knowledge levels are limited in the literature. Our study mainly aimed to determine the cardiovascular diseases risk level and the cardiovascular disease risk factors knowledge level of the individuals. Methods: Males between the ages of 40 and 65, being informed about the study and agreed to participate in the study, and having cholesterol values checked in the last 3 months were included in the study. A demographic data questionnaire and Cardiovascular Diseases Risk Factors Knowledge Level Scale was administered to the participants by the researcher using the face-to-face interview technique. The cardiovascular risk score is calculated on the SCORE chart. SPSS 20.0 package program was used to evaluate the research data. Results: A total of 390 male participants were included in the study. The mean SCORE risk value of the patients was 4.79±4.01. The scores were obtained from the Cardiovascular Diseases Risk Factors Knowledge Level scale with a mean of 18.91±3.83 and a median of 19. Educational status and monthly income were found to be effective on the Cardiovascular Diseases Risk Factors Knowledge Level scale score in the model. It was determined that there was a very weak negative correlation between the SCORE Risk Scores and the Cardiovascular Diseases Risk Factors Knowledge Level scale scores of the patients, but it was not statistically significant. Conclusion: For the patients whose Cardiovascular Diseases Risk Factors Knowledge Level scale mean scores are below the median level attention can be paid to the importance and priority of raising awareness on CVD risk factors. Keywords: risk factors for cardiovascular disease, knowledge, risk management