Introduction Cardiovascular morbidity and mortality increase in women after menopause. Various scoring models assess qualitative risk of cardiovascular disease. The Framingham Heart Study global risk score is among the most widely used.

Objective Determine level of coronary heart disease risk among women aged ≥60 years in a Havana health catchment area (geographic area whose residents are served by the Mártires del Corynthia Polyclinic, in the Plaza de la Revolución municipality of Havana).

Methods A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in 2006. Universe: all women (3,396) aged ≥60 years in the catchment area, attended at the primary care level by the Polyclinic and 42 neighborhood family doctor-and-nurse offices. Equal probability sample: 1,082 women meeting the inclusion criteria, chosen through single-stage cluster sampling considering a <10% error margin for estimates for this parameter, a 95% confidence interval (CI) and a design effect of 1.5. Absolute frequencies and percentages were calculated to summarize the qualitative data obtained. Results were presented as tables.

Results The most common cardiovascular risk factors found in this study were: physical inactivity, 74.9%; hypertension (HTN), 70.6%; abdominal obesity, 53%; reported family history of coronary heart disease (CHD), 41.8%; diabetes mellitus (DM), 21.8%; and cigarette smoking, 17.2%. Scoring according to number of risk factors present in each individual, 79.3% of these women fell into the high- or moderate-risk categories.

Conclusion The large number of women categorized as high- or moderate-risk for coronary heart disease in this population emphasizes the need for preventive actions aimed at reducing these figures.

Keywords Cardiovascular diseases, vascular diseases, ischemic heart disease, coronary heart disease, postmenopause, woman, aged, risk factors, risk assessment, hypertension, high blood pressure, lifestyle, diabetes mellitus, obesity, abdominal adipose tissue, body mass index, physical inactivity, tobacco use