ABSTRACT
Introduction:
Cardiovascular diseases are responsible for a high degree of morbidity and mortality in the world population. In healthy populations, the estimated cardiovascular risk has been calculated from predictive models derived from prospective and observational studies. The Framingham score is an algorithm traditionally used as a primary strategy to prevent cardiovascular disease in asymptomatic patients over a period of 10 years. Some risk factors are considered to determine this score such as serum levels of total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, systolic blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, smoking and age of patients.
Objective:
To evaluate if the practice of physical activity is an important variable capable of modulating cardiovascular risk obtained by the Framingham score.
Methods:
Data from 1004 individuals, divided into adults (18 to 59 years) and elderly (>60 years) were considered using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software for statistical analyses and the significance level was established at 5% (P<0.05) for all tests applied.
Results:
The correlation between age, sex, smoking, hypertension and serum levels of HDL and the Framingham score was confirmed in both the adult and elderly group. Additionally, our analyses demonstrate a statistically significant correlation between the practice of physical activity and the risk calculated by this score, making it clear that adult or elderly individuals who practice moderate or intense physical activity have a lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease within 10 years.
Conclusion:
Our data demonstrate that moderate or intense physical activity can modulate the Framingham score and, as well as the age, sex, smoking, hypertension and serum levels of total cholesterol and HDL cholesterol, should be considered as a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases.
Keywords:
cardiovascular diseases; risk factors; physical activity.