Prevention: From the cradle to the grave and beyond

Present cardiac prevention mainly focuses on risk reduction later in life, and focuses also mainly on reducing risk factors for coronary heart disease. However, multiple studies have gathered evidence that the development risk of cardiovascular disease starts early in life and that even preconceptional influences play an important role in lifetime risk. Therefore, the importance of well-timed prevention strategies to reduce cardiovascular disease is well established. In this article, we discuss different risk factors for future cardiac disease, and how we can respond to lesser known cardiac risk factors in the different stages of life.