Throughout this article I will mention some of the symptoms of microvascular disease. However, since it is difficult to pin a certain symptom to a certain disease, especially since there are many microvascular diseases, you will have to read between the lines a bit. So pay attention and keep your eyes open for symptoms of microvascular disease.



The past 20 years, scientists showed that dislipidemy, arterial high tension, and in some cases of diabetes, the high quantity of sugar in blood or hyperglycemia are the most important factors and the easiest ones to control in cardiovascular diseases. Cholesterol is responsible for 54% of the heart attacks of the population. Reducing the level of cholesterol is an important objective in treating cardiovascular diseases.



For patients with type 2 sugar diabetes, the therapy centered on combining the medication with a change in one’s lifestyle does not stop the progress of micro vascular diseases, which indicates that extra interventions are still required for reducing the appearance of heart diseases, beyond decreasing the level of LDL cholesterol.

Residual Risk Reduction Initiative (R3) is a unique worldwide project, started by well known experts, which recognize the importance of lethal or non lethal risks induces by macro or micro complications for patients with dislipidemy or arteriosclerosis. The R3 initiative was officially launched during a press conference which took place at the AHA 2008 Annual Scientific Sessions in New Orleans. At the conference, an appeal was made for reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases connected to cholesterol excess, risks which are not included yet in the treatment standards, but which are present for millions of patients with heart diseases and diabetes.

In June 2009, 158 important leaders joined the R3 initiative for creating the National Coordination Commission in their own countries. During the first year, R3 managed to initiate the process of establishing several national organizations in more than 40 countries worldwide.

The information presented in 2009 at the European Cardiology Congress will help doctors understand better the risks of macro or micro cardiovascular diseases for patients with arthrosclerosis or type 2 sugar diabetes, who receive medical care after the present standards. The new information offers new leads for identifying new intervention objectives. Both studies have been coordinated by the Clanning Laboratory, Brigham Women’s and the Harvard Medical School. It is possible that these studies show more leads in the role of lipids or HDL cholesterol in preventing the risk of cardiovascular diseases.



In less than a year since R3 initiative was launched, these epidemiologic studies will help establishing the proportions and the impact of cardiovascular diseases risks, while data from other important studies, like ACCORD-LIPIDS, AIM HIGH and HPS2-THRIVE, - which are still in progress, will reveal a combination of treatments based on modifying all the three lipid parameters- LDL-C, HDL-C and triglycerides-which might help identifying several answers for these questions. The first study, which is still in progress- the ACCORD Lipids study that tests the benefits on macro and micro vascular medication based on agents that stop the cholesterol secretion, will present its first results during a scientific congress in 2010.