DOI : https://doi.org/10.47485/2767-5416.1114
Systematic Monitoring of the Cardiovascular Risk in the Primary Care Approved for the Slovak Republic

Article / Conference Proceeding

Farsky Stefan

Assoc. Prof., M.D., FESC, national coordinator of cardiovascular prevention in Slovakia at European Society of Cardiology.

*Corresponding author :

Farsky Stefan,
Assoc. Prof., M.D., FESC, National coordinator of cardiovascular prevention in Slovakia at European Society of Cardiology.
Slovakia. Submitted : 5 May 2025 ; Published : 22 May 2025

From the needed mortality reduction in the world as well in our country the most important is the prevalence of coronary heart disease and cerebral ischemic and haemorhagic events in the population. There is well known that more than 80% of them are preventabile by means of therapeutic life style changes. Education programs are important, but not sufficiently effective. Much more effective is the introducing of the positive economic stimulation to the healthy lifestyle applications and to the decrease increased levels of cardiovascular risk factors.

Systematic monitoring of the cardiovascular risk (CVR) is the standard program of the primary prevention approved for the Slovak republic by the minister of the health by July 2022. It consists of the combination of the cardiovascular risk factors monitoring at the levels of GPs, health insurance companies and national registry, together with positive economic stimulation to decrease the risk factors levels in the population. The aim is to reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality and prolong averaged value of healthy life.

Moreover, there is available to evaluate risk factors changes at the country level which could change according to the different national preventive program´s effectivities (lower taxes for the some food groups, air pollution changes, support of regular physical training activities and others).
In the program at the GPs level are included:

  1. Men aged 40-65 years on the regular preventive examination every 2 years
  2. Women aged 50-65 years on the regular preventive examination every 2 years
  3. Patients less than 70years old with the chronic inflammatory diseases, erectile dysfunction or with migraine accompanied by aura.

Basal parts of the program are regular preventive examinations at the GP level in regular 2 years intervals:

  • Physical examination, weight and height for the BMI calculation, waist circumference
  • Blood pressure measuring and non-HDL cholesterol value check needed for CVR calculation according to SCORE2 (examination of the whole cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol blood samples).
  • Modelling of the possible risk factors changes and consequent SCORE2 values in the interaction with examined person.
  • Person assignment into the adequate CVR group
  • Regular passing of the counted individual SCORE2 values into the health insurance companies together with values of BMI, waist circumference and odd parameters used for SCORE2 evaluation
  • Regular passing of these parameters into the National centrum of health information.

Every health insurance company counts for every GP on the 2 years intervals basis averaged values of the CVR, BMI, waist circumference measured from all the persons included in the program after adjusting on age, sex and life environment.
Award will be provided to

  • Every person who was able to reduce CVR value at the next preventative examination after 2 years at least 2,5%
  • Every person who has had waist circumference at the high metabolic risk level (more than 102 cm man resp. 88 cm women) and who was able to reduce these values into the level of increased metabolic risk (94-101 cm resp. 80-87)
  • Every GP who has reached averaged values of the CVR, BMI, waist circumference measured from all the persons included in the program after 2 years at least 2,5% less than before
  • Award form and maximal possible award value are determined by every health insurance company, minimal possible award value determines every year Ministry of Health both for persons on the regular preventative examination and GPs.
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