Background: Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in Lebanon. This study set out to assess the knowledge and practices of the Lebanese regarding atherothrombosis and its risk factors.

Methods: A total of 2010 interviews were conducted with adults aged 30 years and older throughout Lebanon between December 2003 and February 2004.

Results: The responses revealed that 88.9% were aware of atherothrombosis however, only 23.6% correctly defined it. The main determinants of appropriate knowledge were regional distribution, and educational level. The respondents identified the majority of atherothrombosis risk factors and consequences however only half of the respondents mentioned alcohol and diabetes as risk factors and few mentioned peripheral arterial disease as a consequence. The television was the source of health information for 75.6% of the study population. However, only 27% considered they had enough knowledge about atherothrombosis. The health seeking behavior was satisfactory nevertheless there was a lack of a healthy lifestyle. Almost 70% of the respondents did not exercise and 58.5% were overweight and obese. Among the respondents 6.8% reported a previous atherothrombotic episode, and only 86.8% of them were on medications. The costs of the medications were the main reason for discontinuing medication use.

Conclusion: There is a need for a national television campaign targeting lifestyle modification and risk factor knowledge on the one hand. On the other hand, target-specific campaigns are needed in underprivileged areas of Lebanon with high rates of illiteracy and poverty. In addition, policy makers need to address and improve socio-economic characteristics as these play an important role in disease prevention.