CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE IN THE ACTIVE MILITARY POPULATION
Abstract:
The active military population has some peculiarities regarding cardiovascular diseases, in the sense that a good cardiovascular health state is one of the basic requirements for the maintenance of the active military status. Given the peculiarities of the profession and especially the fact that this involves a multitude of risk factors and cardiovascular risk behaviors, we considered useful the evaluation of cardiovascular pathology in this professional category. The study included a number of 920 active armed forces, in whom cardiovascular diseases and cardiovascular risk factors were analyzed. The prevalence of cardiovascular diseases in the studied group was low, complaints being predominantly functional. Thus, sinus bradycardia was present in 5.65% of the military population, and sinus tachycardia had a prevalence of 4.02%. Ventricular and supraventricular extrasystolic arrhythmias, without an organic substrate, were present in 1.63% of the studied group (p=0.46). Intermittent Wolf-Parkinson-White syndrome was identified in an asymptomatic, young male subject. Minor right bundle branch block was detected in 5.98% of the subjects, but major right bundle branch block had a prevalence of only 0.21%. Major left bundle branch block was detected in only one male subject. The prevalence of ischemic heart disease was 1.85%, most of the subjects being asymptomatic. Hypertension was present in 14 women (26.92%) and 177 men (20.39%), i.e. 191 subjects (20.76% of the whole group). There was an association between the prevalence of hypertension and that of ischemic heart disease. In hypertensive subjects, the prevalence of ischemic heart disease was 3.14%, in subjects with “normal high” blood pressure, 1.54%, and in normotensive subjects, 1.49% (p=0.05). Mitral valve prolapse was clinically and echocardiographically diagnosed in 4 subjects. One case with minimal mitral insufficiency was also detected. Peripheral arterial disease had a prevalence of 0.65%, the subjects being smokers, dyslipidemic and hypertensive.
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