ADA, AHA unite to encourage CVD risk factor screening

Physicians are strongly advised to assess patients for their global risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes, according to a "call to action" from the American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association.

The overweight or obese patient deserves major clinical attention. The growing prevalence of this condition threatens to undermine all our recent gains to prevent and control chronic disease. Co-written by the presidents and chief science advisors of the two organizations, the document was issued in part to dispel the notion that there is disagreement between the ADA and AHA about the need to assess patients for risk factors such as prediabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, obesity, and smoking.

In fact, the debate has been specifically about the clinical utility of the term "metabolic syndrome," not about the overall need to screen patients for risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Unfortunately, some of the medical press has positioned the scientific issues related to the metabolic syndrome as a ‘battle’ between the ADA and AHA, implicitly suggesting that CVD risk factor identification and treatment is now questionable. We are concerned that the presumed dispute will lead to a reduction in the favorable trend of many aspects of CVD risk factor reduction.

Another reason for issuing the statement, they noted, is the recent evidence suggesting that risk assessment and adherence to national guidelines remains "woefully suboptimal."

The ADA’s free online tool includes all known CVD risk factors and can be used to predict the effects of treatment. An earlier statement about strategies for preventing CVD, cancer and diabetes was issued jointly by the ADA, AHA, and the American Cancer Society.