IJCS | Volume 32, Nº2, May/June 2019

291 Figure 1 - Midpoint between the last rib and the iliac crest border in both genders. Chaves and Reis Abdominal or waist circumference? Int J Cardiovasc Sci. 2019;32(3)290-292 Viewpoint point; (3) at midpoint between the last rib and the iliac crest; and, (4) immediately above the iliac crest. After comparing the several anthropometric measurements, a significant difference was found only in women, according to the following order: measurement 2 < 1 < 3 < 4. 10 This result was perhaps expected by the authors and confirms the importance of standardization of the measurement site, in the case of female patients. Considering this context, it is essential to reflect on and consider whether the current nomenclature to assess cardiovascular risk does not cause methodological confusion for the different health professionals, impairing the accuracy of future studies, to the detriment of imprecision during the measurement. It should be noted that in most classes taught in undergraduate courses, training courses in physical assessment and postgraduate courses, measurements of abdominal circumference and waist circumference are approached in the theoretical / practical scenario from completely different points. The measurement standardization that technically evaluates the risk of cardiovascular disease is necessary, both in relation to the methodological process of measurement, and the nomenclature use. Otherwise, given the current scenario, individuals who would theoretically have moderate risk or low risk for cardiovascular disease could have overestimated results. Figure 1 represents both genders and their respective measurements for waist circumference. The measurement was carried out at midpoint between the border of the iliac crest and the last rib, the same protocol proposed by the WHO, 5 ESC 6 and ISAK 8 . The image use was granted and authorized for publication by the Research Group on Cardiopulmonary Evaluation and Rehabilitation (GECARE). Author contributions Conception and design of the research: Chaves TO, Reis MS. Writing of the manuscript: Chaves TO, Reis MS. Critical revision of the manuscript for intellectual content: Chaves TO, Reis MS. Potential Conflict of Interest No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported. Sources of Funding There were no external funding sources for this study. Study Association This article is part of the thesis of associate professor submitted by Tiago de Oliveira Chaves andMichel Silva Reis, from Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ).