Noncardiac Lebanese hospitalized adult patients’ awareness of their coronary artery disease risk factors

BACKGROUND: Noncommunicable diseases are the leading cause of death in Lebanon, with cardiovascular diseases accounting for almost half of the annual deaths. PURPOSE: We aimed to determine awareness of noncardiac Lebanese hospitalized patients for their coronary artery disease risk factors, their level of adherence to medications or lifestyle modifications, and assess factors associated with awareness. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 14 hospitals with a total of 382 patients. Levels of awareness were evaluated by the comparison of self-report with measurements and laboratory test results. Healthy behaviors and adherence to treatment were evaluated. Factors associated with better awareness were studied using multivariate regressions, while adherence to treatments and healthy lifestyle were described for the different risk factors and in the Framingham Risk Score categories. RESULTS: Our work revealed a moderate-to-high level of awareness (58.7% for overweight/obesity, 75% for hypertension, 85.7% for diabetes, and 86.4% for dyslipidemia) among patients for most cardiovascular risk factors, but a low-to-moderate level of adherence for some interventions such as physical exercise, weight loss, and smoking cessation. CONCLUSION: The results emphasize on the importance of educational campaigns on healthy habits and screening to improve early diagnosis, increase patients’ awareness of their risk factors, and, therefore, optimize primary prevention.