85% of deaths from cardiovascular disease (CVD) are due to heart problems or strokes.The appearance of these conditions is closely linked to risk factors such as high blood pressure, which is the cause of half of these deaths, and dyslipidemia (high cholesterol levels), which accounts for 4.4 million deaths a year, that is, the 24% of CVD-related deaths.
Excessive consumption of salt, the intake of foods rich in saturated fats and trans fats, physical inactivity, tobacco and alcohol consumption, and being overweight are risk factors for hypertension.
On the other hand, headache, spontaneous nosebleeds, irregular heartbeat, vomiting, nausea, anxiety, fatigue, visual disturbances, and muscle tremors are symptoms of hypertension.
“The aim is to reduce the prevalence of arterial hypertension in approximately 25 million patients by 2025, which represents 25% compared to the reference values of 2010. To achieve this, it is important to collaborate in prevention and education efforts so that people acquire a healthier lifestyle, greater physical activity, avoid tobacco and alcohol consumption, maintain a balanced diet without excess salt, reduce and manage stress and periodically measure blood pressure.
If a person is older than 20 years, we recommend that they review their risk factors every four or six years,” said Dr. Esteban Coto, AstraZeneca Medical Director for Central America and the Caribbean.Low- and middle-income countries are home to the largest number of people with this condition – the largest source of premature deaths – totaling about 1.28 billion adults between the ages of 30 and 79.
Adults are unaware they have hypercholesterolemia
High cholesterol or hypercholesterolemia is another pathology that adults suffer from and are not aware of.The importance of recognizing it lies in the fact that high levels of bad cholesterol (LDL) can cause problems that are avoided if you do not consume excessive saturated fats, if you do not smoke, if you do physical activity and if you maintain little body fat.
The high cholesterol level has the particularity that it does not present symptoms, so the patient must resort to blood tests for its diagnosis, where the results must be analyzed with the treating doctor. This test looks at several types of fat in the blood: total cholesterol, HDL (good) cholesterol, LDL (bad) cholesterol, and triglycerides (fats in the blood).
“We all need cholesterol to stay healthy; every cell in our body uses it and some of it comes from the food we eat. To keep it at adequate levels, it is recommended to eat healthy foods, review product labels, engage in physical activity, not smoke, and reduce the consumption of saturated fats,” recalled Dr. Coto.
