Background: Increasing the prevalence of risk factors of cardiovascular diseases, emphasizes on health policy, priority setting and preventing cardiovascular diseases deaths. This study aimed to assess Potential Impact Fraction of modifying selected risk factors on burden of cardiovascular disease in Iran.

Methods: To calculate Potential Impact Fraction (PIF) of risk factors WHO comparative risk assessment (CRA) methodology was used. Data on the Prevalence of the risk factors were obtained from 3rd national Surveillance of Risk Factors (Diabetes, hypertension, central obesity, Hypercholesterolemia) of Non-Communicable Diseases (SuRFNCD-2007) and data on corresponding measures of effect were derived from Tehran Lipid Glucose Study (TLGS). Then joint effect of risk factors was calculated.

Results: The joint effect of modifying selected risk factors to the theoretical minimum risk level i. e. zero for adult female 59.4% (95% uncertainty intervals: 30.0 – 76.0) and for males 37.0% (95% uncertainty intervals: 21.7-50.2) of burden of cardiovascular disease are avoidable. The corresponding value was greater than in females at plausible and feasible minimum risk levels.

Conclusions: Our study results which were reported based on attributable burden support the rational for implementing a national- wide and repeated screening for risk factors among adults.