INTRODUCTION: Although mortality rates from cardiovascular diseases have shown a 
remarkable decline in many western countries, cardiovascular mortality in 
Lithuania has remained high. It is widely accepted that half of the decline in 
cardiovascular mortality can be attributed to favourable changes in modifiable 
risk factors.
METHODS: In 2006, the Lithuanian High Cardiovascular Risk Programme was started. 
A two-level approach--primary health care institutions and specialised 
cardiovascular prevention units--was applied. The cardiovascular risk profile 
was evaluated for a group of 17,031 middle-aged subjects enrolled into the 
programme at a primary level and 2908 at a specialised level.
RESULTS: Among the persons examined, 61.8% (10,519) were female. Arterial 
hypertension was present in 60.2% of the subjects. Dyslipidaemia was present in 
88.8%. Total cholesterol was 6.02 ± 1.23 mmol/L, LDL cholesterol 3.74 ± 1.09 
mmol/L, HDL cholesterol 1.53 ± 0.52 mmol/L, and triglycerides 1.61 ± 1.27 
mmol/L. Diabetes mellitus was found in 10.3%, abdominal obesity in 45.4%, and 
metabolic syndrome in 43.8% of cases. These values were even greater in 
high-risk subjects.
CONCLUSIONS: In middle-aged subjects the prevalence of dyslipidaemia, arterial 
hypertension, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome was found to be high. We can 
roughly state that almost nine out of ten middle-aged subjects in Lithuania have 
established dyslipidaemia, every second one has established arterial 
hypertension, and four out of ten are obese. Hence, these are the main risk 
factors that should be considered first of all in daily clinical practice.