Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in developed countries. Taking care of certain habits can help to avoid the appearance of certain risk factors that aggravate them.
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What are cardiovascular diseases?
Cardiovascular diseases affect the arteries of the heart and the rest of the body, especially the brain, kidneys and lower limbs. Experts in Internal Medicine assure that they are very serious ailments and the main cause of death in developed countries.
The main cardiovascular pathologies are myocardial infarction and stroke, including thrombosis, embolism and cerebral hemorrhage.
What is cardiovascular risk?
Cardiovascular risk is the probability that an individual has of suffering this type of disease within a certain period of time and depending on the following factors:
- Hypertension or high blood pressure: causes excess strain on the heart increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, eye and kidney problems and nervous system diseases. People with hypertension who are also obese, smoke or have high blood cholesterol levels are at greater risk. The prevalence of hypertension is approximately 45% in men and 43% in women, and increases with age.
- High cholesterol: it occurs when the blood contains too many low level lipoproteins (LDL, commonly known as “bad cholesterol”) that accumulate on the walls of the arteries, forming a plaque and initiating the disease called “Arteriosclerosis”.
- Diabetes: heart problems are the main cause of death among diabetics, between 50 and 80%, especially those suffering from type 2 diabetes.
- Obesity: being overweight can raise total blood cholesterol levels, cause hypertension, increase the risk of coronary artery disease and diabetes.
- Smoking: increases blood pressure, which in turn increases the risk of stroke in people with hypertension. Although nicotine is the main agent in tobacco smoke, other chemical compounds contribute to the accumulation of fatty plaque in the arteries. They also affect cholesterol and fibrinogen (a blood clotting agent) levels, increasing the likelihood of creating a blood clot that can lead to a heart attack.
- Sedentary lifestyle: exercise burns calories, helps control cholesterol and diabetes levels, lowers blood pressure and increases life expectancy compared to sedentary people. It also strengthens the heart muscle and makes the arteries more flexible.
- Family history of cardiovascular disease: a family history of cardiovascular disease increases cardiovascular risk. For example, if parents or siblings had heart or circulatory problems before the age of 55.
- Age: older people are at greater risk of heart disease. Approximately 4 out of every 5 deaths due to heart disease occur in people over the age of 65.