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(Circulation. 2007;116:973-974.)
© 2007 American Heart Association, Inc.

Editorial

Diet and Primordial Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in Children and Adolescents

Stephen R. Daniels, MD, PhD

From the Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado, School of Medicine, Denver.

Correspondence to Dr Stephen R. Daniels, University of Colorado at Denver and Health Science Center, Department of Pediatrics, 1056 E 19th Ave, B065, Denver, CO 80218. E-mail daniels.Stephen@tchden.org

Key Words: Editorials • atherosclerosis • diet • fatty acids • pediatrics • prevention

An extract of the first 250 words of the full text is provided, because this article has no abstract.

It is now clear that the process of atherosclerosis begins in childhood. A series of pathology studies, starting with autopsy examination of young soldiers killed in combat in the Korean War¹ and the war in Vietnam² to more recent studies such as the Pathobiologic Determinants of Atherosclerosis in Youth (PDAY) study³ and the Bogalusa study,^4,5 have demonstrated that fatty streaks in the aorta and coronary arteries develop early in life and that even the more advanced and more concerning fibrous plaques are present in a proportion of adolescents and young adults. The PDAY and Bogalusa studies also have demonstrated that the traditional risk factors such as high body mass index, high blood pressure, and dyslipidemia are strongly associated with the presence and extent of arterial lesions.^3,4 The Bogalusa cohort also has demonstrated that the presence of multiple risk factors is associated with an even higher risk for atherosclerotic lesions.⁵

Article p 1032

It is also well known that atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death in developed countries.⁶ Not uncommonly, the first clinical episode related to atherosclerosis is sudden cardiac death.⁷ Taken together, these data argue very strongly for the prevention of atherosclerosis and for prevention efforts to begin early in life. This might best be labeled primordial prevention because it is aimed at the prevention of development of risk factors in the first place. However, pediatric prevention of cardiovascular disease also includes primary prevention that focuses on control of cardiovascular disease risk factors once they are . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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