Suffice it to remember that in 2020, 119,853 people died from cardiovascular problems, which represented 24.3% of total deaths, a percentage that represents the first cause of death, above cancer.
In his opinion, this data should make the whole of society reflect and a greater effort and investment of public resources is needed in prevention and especially in promoting cardiovascular health, starting with children and in schools.
“You have to carry out activities from childhood, because you cannot wait or focus on risk factors when they have already appeared but have been dragging on for years (cholesterol, high blood pressure…)”, he declared in an interview with EFEsalud.
For this reason, it defends that healthy cardiovascular habits (exercise, nutrition) must be promoted from childhood with early actions and insist that toxic habits (tobacco, alcohol…) must be avoided to reduce the load and the appearance of ailments that affect to the heart.
Only when we have created sufficient awareness in civil society of the relevance of cardiovascular health will we be able to have a population that not only self-manages its health, but also makes possible a healthier society, more involved and with more years in quantity and quality of life. ”.
Cardiovascular health: Covid impact
Regarding the imprint of Covid on cardiovascular ailments, he has referred that it has affected very negatively, especially in the toughest months of the pandemic.
The data “shows that the activity in interventions and consultations fell between 30 and 40 percent in those months”, because the patients did not go to the hospital out of fear and there was a higher mortality rate in that phase, “but we have already recovered the activity normal”.
Íñiguez, who was president of the Spanish Society of Cardiology (SEC) between 2015 and 2017, He has been in favor of scientific societies having the same legal status as medical colleges.
Because at an institutional level, he explains, the medical associations represent the professionals from the labor and corporate point of view, but the societies represent them from the field of knowledge and “if one wants to ensure quality care, based on scientific criteria, no one more qualified than scientific societies.
On a separate note, and in line with the controversy raised by the labeling of wine in the European Union, the president of the FEC has not hesitated to state that it has been shown that excessive alcohol consumption is very harmful not only for the heart but also for other organs, “But no one has shown and there is no study to support that a reasonable amount of wine, such as a glass at mealtime, is detrimental to health.”
Thus, he has remarked that one drink a day, therefore, is not harmful, as long as it is low-grade alcohol.
Cardiovascular health: give life to the heart
On its website the Spanish Heart Foundation explains seven strategies “to give life” to our hearts in 2022.
– Control risk factors
Almost 60% of Spaniards have two or more cardiovascular risk factors, which exponentially multiplies the chances of suffering from heart disease. Lack of sleep, which affects 36.2% of the population, and overweight, which affects 33.8%, are the most frequent, but not the only ones.
Hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, obesity, a sedentary lifestyle, stress and smoking also occur in high percentages, and controlling them is key to preventing heart disease from appearing.
– Give up smoking
According to the WHO, around 8 million people die each year from tobacco. Therefore, quitting smoking is an essential decision to gain health.
The body enjoys some of the benefits of quitting even shortly after putting out the last cigarette: Within 12 hours after smoking a cigarette, carbon monoxide and nicotine levels drop, and the lungs and heart begin to burn. repair smoke damage.
– Exercise and more exercise
Physical exercise is, together with a healthy diet, the best way to keep our cardiovascular health in shape. Not only to prevent heart disease, but also to improve the quality of life of those who already suffer from it.
At the cardiac level, both the force with which the heart contracts and the heart rate increase and this, together with the increase in heart rate, serves to increase the volume of blood that circulates through the body in one minute.
The WHO recommends moderate aerobic physical activity for at least 150 to 300 minutes per week, or vigorous aerobic physical activity for at least 75 to 150 minutes per week.
– Mediterranean diet
A diet that consists of the consumption of fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains, avoiding as much as possible both free sugars and trans fats and limiting the intake of saturated fats in favor of unsaturated fats, present in fish, avocados, nuts and olive oil, is a gift for the heart.
It is the basis of the Mediterranean diet, which helps control hypertension, diabetes mellitus, obesity and high cholesterol levels.
– The importance of rest
Getting the sleep we need is essential. This was revealed by a study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology , where it is concluded that those people who, in addition to leading healthy lifestyle habits such as regular physical activity, maintaining a balanced diet, moderate alcohol consumption and not smoking , sleeping a minimum of seven hours a day, reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by up to 65 percent.
The same study estimated that in these people the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease is reduced by 83% compared to those who do not follow any healthy lifestyle.
– Sugar in balance
Diabetes is an important cardiovascular risk factor that continues to grow. To prevent it, it is essential to control blood glucose levels.
Obesity and a sedentary lifestyle are the main causes of diabetes: between 50 and 80% of diabetics are obese, and the reason is that, by accumulating fat that is distributed around the organs, it reduces the secretion of insulin in the liver and make the tissues more resistant to it.
– Reduce the consumption of trans fats
If trans fats, which are mainly found in processed products such as cookies, industrial pastries, precooked foods, snacks, ice creams, creams and shakes, are consumed in large quantities, they can negatively affect our body, especially cardiovascular health.
The reason is that they increase total cholesterol levels, blood triglyceride levels, and inflammation.
0 Comments:
Publicar un comentario