before the age of 75 years in Europe, 42% are due to CVD in
women and 38% in men.
It is defined as a disease of the heart and blood vessels, most commonly manifested as Coronary Heart Disease (CHD), which is caused by the narrowing of arteries (stenosis) that supply the heart due to a build-up of fatty material (an atheroma).
Stenosis can result in a variety of conditions, including a mycardial infarction, angina and other such forms of Chronic Heart Disease.
Cardiovascular Disease is strongly correlated to lifestyle habits, including the consumption of tobacco, unhealthy diets, physical inactivity and psychosocial stress, with the World Health Organisation (WHO) stating that over three quarters of all CVD mortality could be prevented by adequate changes to lifestyle.
The incidence of CVD is higher in male groups than in female groups and tends to increase with age. High Low Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol and low High Density Lipoprotein Cholestserol influences a person's risk of developing CHD, along with smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity. It is by controlling these risk factors that CHD can be treated effectively.
In 2012 the Joint Task Force (JTF) of the European Societies on Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in Clinical Practice (ESC) released a new set of guidelines on CVD, designed to differ from those set in 2007 by being more easily accessible to people with various questions and taking into account new scientific knowledge. It defines the characteristics of people who tend to stay healthy as:
†No use of tobacco.
† Adequate physical activity: at least 30 min five times a week.
† Healthy eating habits.
† No overweight.
† Blood pressure below 140/90 mmHg.
† Blood cholesterol below 5 mmol/L (190 mg/dL).
† Normal glucose metabolism.
† Avoidance of excessive stress.
There are two forms of treatment for CVD; primary and secondary prevention. The difference is that secondary prevention is for preventing further damage to people with preexisting cardiovascular disease, whereas primary prevention if for people without any evidence of CVD. Prevention includes lifestyle measures such as smoking cessation and diet modification. Drugs can also be used to control blood pressure and lower cholesterol, with beta-blockers being prescribed for people who have already suffered a myocardial infarction.Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in people with diabetes mellitus. Aggressive control of hypertension and lowering cholesterol levels with statins reduce the risk of cardiovascular events.
Acknowledgements:
http://www.escardio.org/guidelines-surveys/esc-guidelines/GuidelinesDocuments/guidelines-CVD-prevention.pdf
http://www.nice.org.uk/TA094
