President of the SEC influences women’s cardiovascular health

2023-11-20 09:35:39

The new president of the Spanish Society of Cardiology (SEC), Luis Rodríguez Padial, highlights in an interview with EFEsalud the need to “put the emphasis” on women’s cardiovascular health. The expert considers in this sense that there is not as much awareness with pathologies related to the heart as with others such as breast cancer, despite the fact that they are the leading cause of mortality.

Head of Cardiology Service at the Toledo University Hospital Complex, Rodriguez Padial In the conversation, he highlights the challenges that lie ahead as head of the SEC. He also analyzes the current state of cardiovascular health not only for women but for the entire population and highlights threats, such as obesity.

Some of the challenges

Face the presidency of the SEC with pride and responsibility and his objective is to leave it better than it was, as all presidents try to do when they are elected, he adds.

Among these objectives, the president wants to implement the available tools to measure the activity of cardiologists and the quality of what they are doing, as well as exchange the available information and the sooner the better.

“Right now that we have practically 17 health systems, I think we are all aware that there is very little global information about the entire country,” says Rodríguez Padial.

Collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the communities so that the application of the Cardiovascular Health Strategy of the National Health System (SNS) “Arrive successfully” is another objective.

“Globally it is a good strategy but it must be applied on paper. We all have many strategies that are in the closets and that are not applied later,” he adds.

We must not lower our guard

And another of those challenges is raising awareness about women’s cardiovascular health.

The expert assures that neither they nor the doctors nor society in general are aware, at times, that cardiovascular pathologies are the most important cause of death once women reach menopause.

“Sometimes they let their guard down regarding prevention and treatment measures and that is the result of many things, which is why we want to put the emphasis on their cardiovascular health,” says the president of the SEC.

He assures that women are very aware of other problems that are also very important, such as breast cancer, for example, but Rodríguez Padial insists that they are not so clear that cardiovascular disease causes more deaths and that 80% of these pathologies can be prevented.

“But a more important message is that the measures you take to prevent cardiovascular disease largely also prevent you from other types of pathologies, including many cancers, not all, but many,” says the expert.

Rodríguez Padial. Photo provided.

Specifically, regarding the SEC, the president considers that it is already attentive to these problems but that it should play “a more relevant role”, in fact, they are going to organize an annual meeting with experts “to talk about the issue and disseminate it.”

Also from the SEC they want launch studies and research projectswithin its possibilities, to delve deeper into women’s cardiovascular health and so that treatments can be more individualized, since men and women are physiologically very similar but there are also some differences that can make them respond differently to certain drugs. .

Threats of the heart

Rodríguez Padial x-rays the risk factors of cardiovascular health. Dangers like tobacco, cholesterol, the hypertension, diabeteslsedentary lifey the obesitywhich carries within itself “the germ of other diseases.”

Due to the lack of prevention and monitoring of unhealthy habits, the expert assures that there is an increase in cases of diabetes in young peopleby increasing obesity.

EFE PHOTO/. EFE/Ernesto Mastrascusa

In fact, remember that Spain is the “world leader” in obesity, a pathology that leads to diabetes and after this comes coronary heart disease. Hence, the importance of prevention and awareness campaigns stands out.

“Cardiovascular disease affects many other things. It produces kidney failure, it sets in motion a generalized inflammation mechanism in the body that affects practically all organs, not just the heart,” explains the president of the SEC.

A large majority who take less care of themselves

And, the expert maintains, among citizens, there is everything, a population group that takes good care of itself and then “there is a large majority that takes less care of itself.” That’s why campaigns are necessary and points out that, for example, on television there are few advertisements that promote regular exercise, a healthy diet and maintaining an adequate weight.

“Prevention is cheaper than using medications or performing catheterizations. For us as cardiologists, logically if they have to be done, they are done, but we would like the disease to be prevented and for action to be taken even before the risk factors appear,” she says.

And you have to raise awareness from an early agebecause it has been seen that the child learns and takes that knowledge to the family. It is “a good engine and transmitter of information” to adopt healthy living habits, which are essential.

The new medications

Rodríguez Padial also comments new diabetes medications that help against obesity and that ensures that they will have an increasingly growing role.

“Once the patient arrives who is already obese, who is diabetic and who has pathologies, the truth is that it is very difficult to make him lose weight and these drugs, in that sense, are quite useful,” he explains, adding that They can cause you to lose between ten and fifteen kilos of weight, even in some cases up to 20.

And that, continues the president of the SEC, will improve diabetes and other risk factors. In fact, sometimes they may allow you to stop another medication for hypertension or high glucose, thus They are “really useful” drugs..