2023-09-29 08:21:02
by Maria Giovanna Faiella
Every hour in our country 25 people lose their lives due to a cardiovascular disease, over 220 thousand deaths every year. Free screenings in the square and in the pharmacy
Every hour 25 people lose their lives due to cardiovascular diseases, over 220 thousand every year. Pathologies that affect the heart are the main cause of deaths in the adult population. Informing people about the importance of taking care of heart health, starting with the prevention of risk factors, the objective of World Heart Day, which occurs on 29 September.
Many cardiovascular events could be avoided
Cardiovascular diseases continue to be the leading cause of death in the adult population; and yet, explains the president of the Italian Society of Cardiology (Sic), Pasquale Perrone Filardi, full professor of cardiology at the Federico II University of Naples: Thanks to scientific progress and the therapeutic tools we have available, today it is possible to prevent about 80 percent of cardiovascular events.
Free screenings in the square (and in the Chamber of Deputies)
A signal on the importance of prevention also comes from the Chamber of Deputies: to shine a spotlight on the topic, around a hundred parliamentarians, officials and staff members of the Chamber underwent monitoring of their cholesterol levels.
Doing prevention activities means saving lives, so we need to invest in primary and secondary prevention: there is a desire to go in this direction, said the Honorable Annarita Patriarca, member of the XII Commission of the Chamber of Deputies, during the meeting organized to present an awareness campaign on cardiovascular prevention which includes, in addition to information leaflets, the possibility of measuring cholesterol levels for free. Two main events organized in the squares on the initiative of Novartis, with the patronage of the Italian Association of Decompensated Italians and the Italian Heart Foundation: 30 September in Rome in Piazza San Cosimato, 4 October in Naples in Piazza Ugo la Malfa.
Cardiovascular prevention from an early age
Cardiovascular prevention also involves healthy lifestyle habits. The president of the Italian Society of Cardiology underlines: It must start from childhood and adolescence, and the kids at risk must be identified; for example, – says Perrone Filardi – it’s one thing to have high cholesterol that persists in the arteries for 50-60 years, which increases cardiovascular risk in the years to come; another, to have it for a more limited period. It also applies to other risk factors, such as hypertension: around 20-25 percent of young people have altered blood pressure: discovering hypertension in a young person means acting promptly to reduce it, therefore also decreasing the cardiovascular risk.
Main risk factors (modifiable)
Only half of Italians are aware of the cardiovascular risk, according to a survey conducted by IQVIA for the Italian Heart Foundation, with the non-conditioning contribution of Armolipid.
It should be remembered that among the main modifiable cardiovascular risk factors, as they are linked to habits and lifestyles, there are: smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, poor diet, sedentary lifestyle; factors which, in turn, can cause diseases that affect heart health, such as: diabetes (not properly controlled, promotes atherosclerosis, increasing cardiovascular risk), obesity, hypercholesterolemia (cholesterol in excessive quantities in the blood increases, among other things, the risk of it being deposited in the walls of the arteries), blood pressure (if high, it forces the heart to overwork and accelerates the formation of atherosclerosis in the walls of the arteries).
Follow the therapies
To protect cardiovascular health, in addition to changing bad habits (for example, carrying out moderate physical activity and avoiding smoking), it is important to keep diseases that can harm the heart under control with adequate care. It happens, however, that many patients do not follow the prescribed therapies correctly or even abandon them, as Sergio Lai, director of “Strategic Projects” of the Italian Heart Foundation, explains: About 50 percent of patients with COPD, hypertension, diabetes, cholesterol (conditions that “weigh” on cardiovascular diseases, ed.), do not adhere to therapies.
Adds Maria Rosaria Di Somma, managing director of the Italian Association of Heart Failure Patients: Prevention, correct lifestyles, knowing the risk factors, early diagnosis, but also taking care of patients are fundamental.
The heart of women
Women are penalized in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases – underlines Professor Perrone Filardi -. Furthermore, while on the one hand it is known that in fertile age the risk of cardiovascular pathologies is lower than for men, it is not equally known that when the period of fertility ends the cardiovascular risk for women aligns with that of men, or exceeds it.
Knowing how to recognize the symptoms of cardiovascular diseases in time, often atypical in women (see also here), such as, for example, epigastric or interscapular pain, breathlessness, fatigue, can make a difference. Disorders that should never be underestimated, so it is best to talk to your doctor, who will evaluate any further information.
Woman’s heart campaign in the pharmacy, free checks
On the occasion of World Day, Cittadinanzattiva and Federfarma launch the cardiovascular risk prevention campaign Woman’s heart in the pharmacy: from 16 October to 3 November, women aged 40 and over will be able to go to the pharmacies in Brescia, Ancona and Palermo, which are participating in the initiative, to have their blood pressure checked, electrocardiogram and find out their index for free of cardiovascular risk (low, moderate, high).
Could it be interesting for you:
What are the symptoms of heart attack and cardiovascular disease? The signals change depending on age and gender
Heart-friendly diet for women: what to eat to reduce cardiovascular risk?
September 29, 2023 (changed September 29, 2023 | 08:20)
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
#Heart #diseases #cases #prevent #Symptoms #atypical #underestimated #time.news