An in-depth cardiovascular risk factor assessment was carried our in a samp
le of 205 Korean American elderly in Maryland, consisting of 75 males and 1
30 females aged 60 to 89 years (mean age = 69.9 +/- 6.5 years). Six risk fa
ctors were assessed in each participant: high blood pressure, current smoki
ng, high blood cholesterol, overweight, sedentary lifestyle, and diabetes.
The findings of this cross-sectional study suggested that high blood pressu
re was the leading cardiovascular disease risk factor among Korean American
elderly (71%), followed by high blood cholesterol (53%), overweight(43%),
sedentary life style (24%), diabetes (18%), and smoking (7%). Two thirds of
the sample had multiple cardiovascular disease risk factors. The pattern o
f prevalence and risk factors that was observed war consistent with the dis
tribution of multiple risk factors in that the combination of high blood pr
essure, high blood cholesterol, and overweight was most common in Korean Am
erican elderly (62%), These findings indicate that culturally relevant and
salient strategies are needed to reduce multiple risk factors in this popul
ation.