Introduction:

Old age is undervalued; little is thought about the physical and psychosocial well-being of the elderly. Among the risk factors of cerebrovascular disease, there are comorbidities, such as high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia and cardiopathies, or poor lifestyles like cigarette smoking, obesity and little physical activity, all of which are common at this stage of life.

Objective:

To identify, in a gerontological center in Medellín City, the risk factors that older adults present for being affected by cerebrovascular disease.

Methods:

This was a descriptive and cross-sectional research carried out with 37 older adults with medical antecedents and laboratory tests. The levels of glycated hemoglobin, total cholesterol, low-density and high-density cholesterol, as well as triglycerides were measured.

Results:

It was evidenced that the population was mostly male (51.4%), while females accounted for 48.6%. Their age range was mostly between 60 and 70 years (51.4%). The most relevant risk factors were body mass index greater than or equal to 25 (75.7%), arterial hypertension and not doing any physical activity.

Conclusions:

It was possible to determine the main risk factors for these older adults being affected by cerebrovascular disease; in this respect, some results were similar to and others were different from studies worldwide. With promotion and prevention activities, lifestyles of the population can be intervened.

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