Clinical and epidemiological aspects of patients who underwent coronary angiography

Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality. These diseases are associated with multiple risk factors. This is an observational study that aimed to characterize patients who underwent coronary angiography, according to the socio, clinical and epidemiological variable and to identify the coronary heart disease risk factors and the patients'previous knowledge about the procedure. We interviewed 107 clients in the catheterization lab of a large teaching hospital in Minas Gerais. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The average age was 60.13 years, 51.4% were male, 75.7% had hypertension, 37.4% had a history of myocardial infarction, 46.7% had dyslipidemia, 58.9% were smokers, 25.2% consumed alcohol, 70.1% were sedentary, 35.5% were overweight, 19.6% were obese and 28.9% had diabetes mellitus. Most patients reported being familiar with the procedure and had already been submitted to it previously. In view of the epidemiological aspects identified among this population the study findings highlight the need for the implementation of new programs directed to the prevention of coronary disease.