This is a subject that concerns everyone... First of all, let's define what it is...
Cardiovascular diseases are diseases of the heart and its vessels, but also of the blood vessels throughout the body.
They therefore include myocardial infarctions, strokes (ischaemic or haemorrhagic), hypertensive diseases and all vascular diseases.
A few figures...
Cardiovascular disease and its complications are the leading cause of death worldwide. In France, they are the second leading cause of death, after cancer. The age-standardised mortality rate has been divided by three since 1980, thanks to advances in treatment and prevention. The Ministry of Health is working to prevent these diseases, in particular by identifying and treating patients with chronic diseases at an early stage.
What are the reasons why our vascular system deteriorates?
The main mechanism by which blood vessels deteriorate is atherosclerosis. This is a stiffening of the artery walls through the deposition of bad cholesterol (atheroma) in the vessel lumen. This deposit also contributes to the obstruction of the vessel, slowing blood flow locally and causing organic suffering, such as angina pectoris (angina pectoris). In this particular case, atheroma has deposited in the coronary arteries (vessels supplying the heart muscle) and when cardiac activity increases the muscle is no longer supplied sufficiently and becomes painful. If this is not managed properly, the coronaries can become blocked: this is myocardial infarction.
These atheromatous plaques can break off and obstruct smaller vessels (ischaemic accidents).
There may also be vascular obstructions caused by clots. Under the effect of inflammation, the blood creates one or more more more or less stable clots. Under the action of muscular contraction, the clot (embolus) can migrate in the circulation and thus reach smaller vessels (pulmonary arterioles, for example) and cause an embolism (obstruction of the pulmonary artery by the migration of the embolus).
How can atherosclerosis be regulated?
As you will have realised, atheroma is bad cholesterol... so it is directly dependent on certain environmental factors. These factors, known as risk factors, are
- smoking
- diabetes
- obesity
- high blood pressure
- a sedentary lifestyle...
So you can influence these factors to a greater or lesser extent!
But don't panic, or feel guilty, because one parameter is beyond your control: hormones! Hormones are directly involved in the metabolism of cholesterol... and cholesterol also plays a part in the synthesis of these same hormones... yet more proof, if proof were needed, that everything in the body is linked!