• Gustavo Giunta, María Florencia Aguiló Iztueta, Pablo Cutine, Lorena Helman, Daniel Pirola, Ariel Kraselnik, Daniel Antokoletz Huerta, María Isabel Rodriguez Acuña, and Laura Brandani.
• Unidad Metabólica, Sección Lípidos y Aterosclerosis, Fundación Favaloro, Buenos Aires, Argentina. E-mail: ggiunta@ffavaloro.org.
• Medicina (B Aires). 2022 Jan 1; 82 (5): 746-751.

IntroductionIt has been reported in different parts of the world that war veterans are more exposed to cardiovascular risk factors. The objective of this study was to establish the risk factors, the cardiometabolic profile and the prevalence of cardiovascular disease in a group of ex-combatants of the Malvinas War (HdeM).MethodsIn a case-control design, data from 799 HdeM were analyzed and compared with 799 controls matched by age. The sample was selected from the participants of the Cardiovascular Health Prevention Program of the Favaloro Foundation, between January 2017 and December 2019.ResultsThe average age was 56.9 ± 3.9 years. An increase in weight was observed among the HdeM (91.3 ± 16.6 kg vs. 88.2 ± 14.7 kg; p = 0.0001). A higher frequency of arterial hypertension (42% vs. 34%; p < 0.001) and diabetes mellitus (15.1% vs. 10.4%; p < 0.005) was observed in HdeM. Metabolic syndrome was also more prevalent in HdeM (49.2% vs. 39.7%; p = 0.0001). It was observed that the history of acute myocardial infarction was more frequent among the HdeM (3.6% vs. 2%; p < 0.05), with a similar prevalence of stroke (1.2% vs. 1%; p = ns), coronary angioplasty (3.2% vs. 2.1%; p = ns) or myocardial revascularization surgery (0.8% vs. 0.4%; p = ns).DiscussionThe HdeM showed an increase in the frequency of risk factors, metabolic syndrome and acute myocardial infarction. It is important to take this increased risk into account in order to maximize cardiovascular prevention strategies in ex-combatants.

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