Historical data on cardiovascular health in Surinamese men

OBJECTIVES: Cardiovascular risk factor burden was recently reported to be high in the Caribbean country Suriname. However, historical data for comparison were lacking. We report here rediscovered and hitherto unpublished aggregated data of what was apparently the first population study on measured blood pressure, diabetes, and cardiovascular health in men in this country, assessed in 1973. Data had been collected to raise the awareness of the local population for cardiovascular disease risk. DATA DESCRIPTION: We provide a table of the cardiovascular risk profile, including exercise, smoking, hypertension and diabetes of 243 Surinamese adult non-institutionalized men living in an urban setting in the capital Paramaribo in 1973. These data may help understand the cardiovascular risk factor escalation of the population in time as well as aid in projections of future cardiovascular disease in this middle income country.