2022
Overview
Preventive cardiology is the branch of cardiovascular medicine focused on preventing heart and blood vessel disease before it develops and on reducing the risk of further events in people who already have cardiovascular conditions. It addresses the modifiable risk factors that drive conditions such as coronary artery disease, heart attack, stroke, and heart failure, including high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, physical inactivity, unhealthy diet, and smoking. Through risk assessment, lifestyle counseling, and, when appropriate, medication, preventive cardiology aims to lower the likelihood of cardiovascular events and to slow the progression of established disease. Primary prevention targets people who have not yet developed cardiovascular disease, while secondary prevention focuses on those with known disease to reduce recurrence and complications. The field draws on epidemiology, clinical risk stratification, and evidence-based interventions, and increasingly emphasizes population-level strategies alongside individualized care. Within heart research more broadly, preventive cardiology connects the understanding of cardiovascular risk to practical measures that protect heart health across the lifespan, complementing the diagnosis and treatment of established heart disease. This page gathers definitional and scope context relevant to preventive cardiology within the cardiovascular research literature.
Research published in this journal
1 peer-reviewed article, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.