Perceived Nonpsychological Etiologies of Cardiovascular Diseases are Unable to Predict Heart Risk Perception

Dear Editor, Heart risk perception is an important predictor in adopting a healthy lifestyle and prevention of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs).[1] Numerous reports in the general and clinical population with more than three cardiac risk factors indicate that most people underestimate their risk of CVDs.[2-4] Incorrect understanding of people about cardiovascular risk affects their health behaviors.[2] In addition to heart risk perception, prevention of CVDs requires an understanding of the illness risk factors.[5] Perceived heart risk factors (PHRFs) include five classes of biological (gender, age, family history), environmental (smoke and toxic substances, water and air pollution, war), physiological (diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity), behavior (nutrition, smoking and drug abuse, sedentary lifestyle, work pressure physically), and psychological risk factors (anger and hostility, stress, anxiety, and depression).[6-9] In the primary prevention phase, the identification of the factors associated with heart risk perception can be effective in controlling the fatal cardiac events. Thus, it is necessary to examine the relationship between PHRFs and heart risk perception.