European guidelines for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention - Telephone number for Health

A. Firstly, to assist those at low risk of cardiovascular disease to maintain this state lifelong. People who stay healthy tend to have certain characteristics, which can be summarised in what has become known as “telephone number for health”:

0 3 5 140 5 3 0
0  = No tobacco.
3  = Walk three kilometres or for 30 minutes a day.
5 = Eat five portions of fruit or vegetables a day.
140 = Blood pressure less than 140mmHg systolic.
5 = Total blood cholesterol <5mmol/l.
3  = LDL cholesterol <3mmol/l
0 = Avoidance of overweight and diabetes.

For high risk subjects, especially those who have established cardiovascular disease or diabetes, more rigorous targets are recommended:

• Blood pressure under 130/80mm Hg if feasible.
• Total cholesterol under 4.5mmol/l (175 mgs/dl) with an option of under 4mmol/l (155 mgs/dl) if feasible.
• LDL cholesterol under 2.5mmol/l (100mgs/dl) with an option of under 2mmol/l (80mgs/dl) if feasible.

The term “if feasible” is chosen carefully. It means if medically realistic and feasible, but also if economically feasible in the country to which the guidelines is being applied.

A final objective is to consider cardio-protective drug therapy in high-risk subjects, especially those with established atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.