Focus on: Promotion of Cardiovascular Health (II)
Promotion of Cardiovascular Health at Three Stages of Life: Never Too Soon, Never Too LatePromoción de la salud cardiovascular en tres etapas de la vida: nunca es demasiado pronto, nunca demasiado tarde

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Abstract

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, with an especially devastating impact in low-to-medium income countries. Cardiovascular disease has been elevated to this position by a combination of factors that include urbanization and its attendant effects, such as obesity, a sedentary lifestyle, changes in dietary habits, and smoking. Given the enormous extent of the problem and the complexity of its causes, which include cultural, social, political, and health care factors, an equally sophisticated and comprehensive strategy is required to combat cardiovascular disease on a global scale. Because exposure to cardiovascular risk factors occurs from early ages, this strategy must be expanded and adjusted throughout the life of an individual. Thus, our efforts should be concentrated not only on cardiovascular disease treatment and prevention, but also on health promotion and primordial prevention. In this review, we present different strategies yielding encouraging results at the population level, from childhood until old age, that aim to protect against the challenges facing the scientific community when combating cardiovascular disease.

Resumen

La enfermedad cardiovascular es la primera causa de muerte en el mundo, y su impacto está siendo especialmente devastador en países de rentas medias-bajas. La combinación de factores como la urbanización y sus efectos derivados, como la obesidad, el sedentarismo, los cambios en hábitos dietéticos y el tabaquismo, se han combinado para situar la enfermedad cardiovascular en esa posición. Dado el enorme alcance de este problema y la complejidad de sus causas, que incluyen factores culturales, sociales, políticos y sanitarios, la estrategia para combatir la enfermedad cardiovascular a escala global debe ser igualmente sofisticada e integral. Como la exposición a los factores de riesgo cardiovascular se da desde edades tempranas, se debe expandir y ajustar esta estrategia a lo largo de la vida del individuo. Por ello, es necesario centrar los esfuerzos no solo en el tratamiento de la enfermedad y la prevención cardiovascular, sino también en la promoción de la salud y la prevención primordial. En esta revisión se presentan diferentes estrategias que han proporcionado resultados esperanzadores a escala poblacional, desde la infancia hasta la vejez, para defenderse de los retos a los que la comunidad científica se enfrenta para luchar contra la enfermedad cardiovascular.

Section snippets

INTRODUCTION

Coronary disease is largely a consequence of lifestyles that are not particularly heart-healthy. Hypertension, obesity, a sedentary lifestyle, smoking, hypercholesterolemia, and diabetes mellitus maintain a direct relationship with the lifestyle of each individual. Recent data show that these life habits are acquired early on in life, specifically at around 3 years to 8 years, and, moreover, that they persist from childhood to adulthood. Thus, promotion of cardiovascular health in childhood

CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH PROMOTION IN CHILDHOOD: THE SI! (SALUD INTEGRAL) PROGRAM

The preclinical substrate of atherosclerotic disease (lipid material) begins at early ages and its development largely depends on nonheart-healthy behavior that determines exposure to risk factors. Low exposure of adults to risk factors is associated with a decrease in cardiovascular death, increase in survival, and improved quality of life.1

Population studies have revealed the importance of health promotion, primordial prevention (defined as preventing the adoption of risk factors), and

Grenada Heart Study

The Grenada Heart Study resulted from conversations between the principal investigator and a panel of representatives from the United Nations concerned by the imminent CVD epidemic who were looking for a suitable model in countries with limited incomes.

Located in the Caribbean Sea, the island of Grenada has a population of 104 487, the majority of African descent. Because the island has recently undergone a process of Westernization, it currently has rates of hypertension and diabetes mellitus

VASCULAR DISEASE IN OLD AGE: RELATIONSHIP WITH DEGENERATIVE DISEASE

Atherosclerosis is an omnipresent disease that affects almost the entire arterial tree. One of the more representative examples of the systemic nature of atherosclerosis may be the relationship between coronary disease and NDD, whose main manifestation is dementia.

Dementia includes AD, vascular dementia, and poststroke dementia. Although AD is the form of dementia that is most frequently diagnosed in the older population, the cognitive alterations caused by vascular disease, such as subclinical

CONCLUSIONS

Cardiovascular disease is complex and responds to different risk factors, most of which are modifiable and acquired in the earliest stages of life. Once behaviors are acquired, they are carried over to adulthood. Modern society has developed environments that typically fail to help individuals to acquire and maintain heart-healthy life habits. All of these factors have led to the adoption of new intervention models that aim to facilitate heart-healthy and persistent behavior from childhood. In

CONFLICTS OF INTERESTS

None declared.

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