The Prevalence of Risk Factors of Coronary Artery Disease in the Patients who Underwent Coronary Artery Bypass Graft, Shiraz, Iran: Suggesting a Model

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular diseases are the main cause of 40% of deaths in Iran annually. Many patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery have previous cardiovascular risk factors which could be prevented. OBJECTIVES: The present study aimed to assess the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in the patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this cross-sectional (descriptive – analytical) study, a data collecting form was used. A total of 246 patients were selected from six hospitals of Shiraz using random stratification. Descriptive statistics were presented through figures and tables and t-test was used to analyze the continuous variables. All the statistical analyses were performed using the SPSS statistical software (version 15.0). Besides, P < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. RESULTS: Among the study patients, only 11.67% had no risk factors and 88.33% had one or more risk factors. The most common risk factors observed in the patients were hypertension, obesity and overweight, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes mellitus. The results showed a significant difference between males and females regarding the prevalence of hypertension (P = 0.001), diabetes (P = 0.028), hypercholesterolemia (P = 0.020), and cigarette smoking (P = 0.001). In addition, the patients' mean levels of cholesterol, LDL, triglyceride, and fasting blood sugar were higher than the acceptable level, while that of HDL was lower than the accepted level. CONCLUSIONS: These patients are recommended to be trained regarding lifestyle changes. Also, prevention strategies can play an important role in reducing patient morbidity and mortality.