Today we meet again on this blog to commemorate and celebrate a date that, as we understand, should be very important.
On September 29, World Heart Day is celebrated , an initiative of the World Health Organization (WHO) to raise awareness about the importance of taking care of our heart.
However, awareness of this issue remains low in many countries.

Some important facts

According to WHO data, globally, 7 of the 10 leading causes of death in 2019 were non-communicable diseases and the world’s leading cause of death is ischemic heart disease, responsible for 16% of all deaths in the world.

https://www.who.int/es/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/the-top-10-causes-of-death

In Spain, and according to the INE, 24.3% of deaths are caused by diseases of the circulatory system, with myocardial infarction being the leading cause of death. https://www.ine.es/dyngs/INEbase/es/operacion.htm?c=Estadistica_C&cid=1254736176780&menu=ultiDatos&idp=1254735573175

Other indicators show that 61% of the Spanish population does not do regular physical exercise and 33% does not eat a balanced diet – even though we have the best diet in the world.
This only deepens the gap with the WHO’s recommendations.

There are also a large number of people who use tobacco on a daily basis and do not take measures to reduce their stress, knowing that these factors increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Although this is an alarming figure, there is still a high number of people who are not aware of the potential health risks if care for their heart and cardiovascular system as a whole is not implemented.

Let’s talk about prevention

Risk factors for cardiovascular disease are related to each other and also to other psychosocial factors, public policies of health systems, and other cross-sectoral factors.
These interrelated determinants provide a conceptual platform for developing a comprehensive, long-term strategy for the prevention and control of cardiovascular disease.
To implement such a strategy, it is necessary to intervene in a coordinated manner across various sectors in order to integrate health promotion and disease prevention and treatment.

Emotional well-being reduces the risk of suffering a heart attack

The components that make up the regulatory strategy and health policies and standards have the capacity to directly affect individual results through intervention on vehicles of environmental risk.
In this sense, the ideal would be to intervene intersectorally, so that not only health policies are acted upon, but also sectors that have an impact on population health (such as the marketing of manufactured foods rich in salt and saturated fats, agriculture, transport, urban development and education), so that they are planned in such a way that they do not reduce cardiovascular health.

The second category of strategies is health promotion through communication and education.
Communication campaigns in workplaces, schools and communities have the potential to encourage changes in risky behaviours.
In a coordinated strategy, they also have the possibility of promoting policies, regulations and clinical interventions from the health system.

The third component of the scheme is to have a health system with high-quality clinical response capacity for the prevention, treatment, and management of the disease, not only in the identification and treatment of high-risk individuals, but also with the capacity to intervene in risk behaviors in addition to increasing adherence to medical recommendations.

This comprehensive strategy represents an ideal vision of a solution that is conceptually simple (follow a healthy diet, practice sports regularly, do not smoke and have regular contact with the health system).
Reality, of course, complicates this ideal model considerably.
Individual behaviour change is complex and individual choices are strongly influenced by social and environmental factors.
Governments have to balance different priorities competing for limited resources, and in this sense, chronic diseases have historically lost the battle against other health problems, precisely because of their long “incubation period”.
DOI: 10.1016/j.rec.2014.01.024

Let’s get to work for this day

One of the activities planned for this September 29 is a challenge that invites you to walk, run or ride a heart-shaped bicycle in your city.
Regardless of the distance you travel, it is emphasized that every step counts for your heart health.
The idea behind the initiative is to see people doing some “cardio” activity in as many cities as possible for World Heart Day.

In addition, as activities to stimulate the celebration, an allusive playlist has been created, which can be listened to from the Spotify platform.

Exercise, relax and sleep well

For the occasion, the Pan American Health Organization also offers a free application that consists of a cardiovascular risk calculator that estimates the possible risk of 10 years of myocardial infarction, stroke or cardiovascular death.
The Pan American Health Organization, with financial support from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), transformed the published color-coded charts into an online electronic calculator for use on computers and smartphones, updating the previous Cardiocal app from 2014.

Another prevention intervention would be the use of nutritional supplements.
From our own Salengei list, we highlight one that is the most likely to benefit the heart: Active Cardisterol and we explain why.
Its formula with omega 3, monakoline k, policosanol, coenzyme Q10 and B vitamins, is designed for the control of cholesterol and homocysteine.
Click here to read our post about the benefits of this product.

Also, the WHO proposes a series of activities that, apart from wanting to be carried out on this day, should mark a routine behavior in prevention.
These activities aim to reduce sedentary lifestyles.

• Physical activity is good for your heart, body, and mind.
• Any amount of physical activity is better than none, and the more, the better.
• Every physical activity counts.
• Muscle strengthening benefits everyone.
• Too much sedentary lifestyle can be unhealthy.
• Everyone can benefit from increasing physical activity and reducing sedentary habits.

https://www.who.int/es/publications/i/item/9789240014886

Global threats

The lack of physical exercise is revealed as a new global threat.
According to an article published by the newspaper El País in August 2021, according to this media, the number of young people who practice a sport has stagnated since 2012 and 80% do not follow the WHO’s recommendations for this area. https://elpais.com/ciencia/2021-08-16/la-falta-de-ejercicio-fisico-una-nueva-amenaza-mundial.html

In concomitance with the above, it has been seen that there are behaviors that are opportunities for intervention in adolescence, which is the period of life where habits that will last over time are formed.
In this regard, the journal The Lancet says that, globally, 80% of adolescents are not active enough, and many adolescents spend two hours or more of recreational screen time per day.
Adolescent physical inactivity likely contributes to key global health issues, including cardiometabolic and mental health disorders.

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)01259-9

Conclusion

It is not news that cardiovascular disease is a reality that claims many lives worldwide every year.
As it is a non-communicable disease, there are several alternatives, strategies and interventions focused on prevention.

The sooner we can implement them, the better results will be obtained in the medium and long term, with benefits that will result not only at the individual level but also at the societal and governmental level, which will translate into lower treatment costs.

We must take into account that most of these prevention measures are FREE and only demand a minimum investment of time and persistence over time.