A large study from Denmark has found that heart screenings may help reduce the risk of death, stroke, and heart attacks in older men—especially those between 65 and 69 years old.
The study involved more than 45,000 men and was presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in 2022.
Cardiovascular disease remains the number one cause of death worldwide. Although better treatments have lowered the death rate, there’s still a lot of room for prevention. That’s what the DANCAVAS trial set out to test: whether early screening and treatment for several heart-related conditions could save lives.
The study included all men aged 65 to 74 in 15 parts of Denmark. From 2014 to 2017, 46,526 men were randomly assigned to one of two groups. One group received a detailed heart screening and treatment if needed. The other group followed normal medical care without special screening. The average age of participants was nearly 69.
The screening included several tests: a heart scan to look for calcium buildup in the arteries and signs of aneurysms, blood pressure tests on the arms and legs to find poor circulation, and blood tests to check for high cholesterol and diabetes. If anything abnormal was found, men were offered treatments such as medication or surgery.
After 5.6 years of follow-up, 12.6% of men in the screening group had died, compared to 13.1% in the group without screening. That’s a 5% reduction in the risk of death, but it was not statistically significant overall. However, in men aged 65 to 69, the risk of dying dropped by 11%, which was significant.
The researchers also looked at a combined result of death, heart attack, or stroke. In the whole group, those in the screening group had a 7% lower risk of this combined outcome. In the 65 to 69 age group, the risk dropped by 11%. The chance of having a stroke alone also went down slightly in the screening group.
The study didn’t find any big differences in heart attacks, amputations, or aneurysm ruptures between the groups. But more people in the screening group were prescribed medications like blood thinners and cholesterol-lowering drugs. Slightly more had surgery to repair aneurysms as well.
Professor Axel Diederichsen, who led the study, said the results suggest heart screening is most helpful for men younger than 70. While the overall reduction in death was small, the reduction in major heart problems in younger men was meaningful.
This research shows that heart health checks—when combined with timely treatment—can make a real difference, especially if started before age 70. More studies are needed to see if similar benefits would apply to women or to other age groups.
If you care about heart health, please read studies about how eating eggs can help reduce heart disease risk, and herbal supplements could harm your heart rhythm.
For more health information, please see recent studies about how drinking milk affects risks of heart disease and cancer, and results showing strawberries could help prevent Alzheimer’s disease.
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