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Countdown to an aging society… Increased importance of vascular health
There are many different diseases that occur due to poor blood vessel health. Cardiac diseases such as myocardial infarction, angina and heart failure, cerebrovascular diseases such as cerebral infarction and cerebral hemorrhage and also previous diseases that cause cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension are considered vascular diseases, diabetes, hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis.
According to Statistics Korea’s 2022 cause of death statistics, a total of 59,135 people in Korea died from cardiovascular diseases, accounting for 15.8% of all deaths, the second highest figure after cancer. Among the 10 leading causes of death, four of them – heart disease (2nd), cerebrovascular disease (5th), diabetes (8th) and hypertension (9th) – are vascular diseases and, when combined, exceed deaths from cancer.
The steadily increasing prevalence rate is also cause for alarm. In the case of stroke, the number of treated patients increases by an average of 1.7% per year, and the incidence of cardiovascular disease breaks new records every year, causing great concern among the government and the medical community. You can’t feel confident just because you’re young. Over the past 10 years, the number of patients in their 20s in Korea receiving treatment for hypertension has increased 1.8 times, from approximately 19,000 to 35,000, and the number of patients receiving treatment for diabetes has increased by 2.2 times, from approximately 17,000 to 38,000. . These are significantly higher than the average growth rates of 1.4 and 1.6 times respectively for all age groups. The analysis suggests that we need to pay attention to vascular health from a young age, not only for old age, but also to maintain current health.
What is the cause of the increase in various vascular diseases? Experts cite the aging of the population as the main cause. Lim Do-seon, professor of cardiology at Anam Hospital of Korea University, said: “As the elderly population increases due to the aging population, the incidence of cardiovascular diseases also increases. This is because the elasticity of blood vessels decreases with aging. and controlling blood pressure and blood sugar becomes more difficult. Last year, the number of people aged 65 and over in Korea was about 9.5 million, accounting for 18.4% of the total population. As expected, Korea will enter a highly aging society in 2025, with an elderly population of 20.6%. According to forecasts by the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2030 the life expectancy of Koreans will reach 91 years for women and 84 years for men. While this is a welcome prediction, it is not pleasant to live long while suffering from an illness. This is why we need to pay more attention to the prevention of cardiovascular diseases that afflict the elderly.
Threats to life such as deteriorated blood vessels, stroke, myocardial infarction, etc.
Changes in eating habits and lifestyle also attract attention as causes of vascular disease. Professor Lim Do-seon said: “As our eating habits have become westernized, we are consuming refined grains, sugar, excessive saturated fat and cholesterol. This causes cholesterol to build up inside blood vessels, causing atherosclerosis and increasing the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.” Transportation has developed. He said: “Also a decrease in physical activity as automotive technology becomes more sophisticated and a decrease in outdoor activities due to the development of IT devices such as smartphones are causes of the increase. .”
Cardiovascular disease is a serious, life-threatening disease, but it is not easy to prepare for it in advance because blood vessels that have progressively deteriorated over a long period of time can suddenly lead to a serious illness. It explodes with a bang for a moment, but there are no obvious symptoms as the fuse burns. Since there are no visible abnormalities, it is difficult to think, “I should take care of the health of my blood vessels from a young age.”
Stroke is a representative life-threatening cardiovascular emergency. Stroke is largely divided into two types. If a blood vessel in the brain is suddenly blocked, it is called a cerebral infarction, while if it bursts, it is called a cerebral hemorrhage. 80% of all strokes are brain infarctions and surgery should be performed as soon as possible. If blood does not flow through the brain’s blood vessels, brain cells can be damaged, putting life at risk or leaving a person with a permanent disability. Myocardial infarction, commonly called heart attack, is equally dangerous. This is a disease in which the coronary arteries that supply blood to the heart are suddenly blocked, causing the heart muscle to die. A blood clot, called a blood clot, blocks a blood vessel. Once a myocardial infarction occurs, one-third of people die before reaching the hospital. Even if you get to the emergency room in time and receive adequate treatment, the mortality rate is 5-10%.
Half of people over the age of 20 suffer from dyslipidemia and their eating habits need to be improved.
Dyslipidemia, which includes hyperlipidemia, hypercholesterolemia, and hypertriglyceridemia, is also a disease that requires vigilance. It refers to a condition in which there are excessive levels of cholesterol and saturated fat in the blood. Although it is common enough to affect one in two adults over the age of 20, it is considered a disease whose importance is overlooked due to lack of awareness. According to the Korean Lipid and Arteriosclerosis Society, the average prevalence of dyslipidemia among adults aged 20 years and older in Korea from 2016 to 2020 was 48.2%, or almost half. Dyslipidemia is considered a key risk factor for atherosclerosis, which increases the risk of various cardiovascular diseases such as myocardial infarction, angina, and stroke. Atherosclerosis is a disease in which arterial walls thicken and harden, losing elasticity due to aging. Blood vessels narrow and, in severe cases, block, causing blood flow problems. It’s easy to think of old water pipes rusting and foreign substances sticking to them, shrinking their diameter. It mainly causes abnormalities in the coronary arteries that supply blood to the heart, and in the cerebral and carotid arteries that supply blood to the brain, leading to cardiovascular disease.
The main cause of blood clots blocking coronary arteries, leading to myocardial infarction, is cholesterol that builds up on the walls of blood vessels. Cholesterol is present throughout the human body and is necessary for the production of cell membranes, various hormones, bile acids, vitamin D, etc. However, if it is excessive, it promotes atherosclerosis. If there is excess cholesterol in the blood, hypercholesterolemia is diagnosed, but the problem is that this disease itself has no symptoms. Hypercholesterolemia causes atherosclerosis, and the cause is often discovered to be high cholesterol only after the development of cardiovascular disease.
Saturated fat is also a problem, but it is less well known and requires caution over the dangers of high cholesterol levels. The remaining saturated fats that are not used as an energy source due to excessive intake float through the blood vessels and accumulate in every corner of the body. It builds up faster than cholesterol and deforms it, making it more likely to enter the blood vessels. Ultimately, it causes atherosclerosis and acts as a cause of cardiovascular diseases.
#care #health #blood #vessels #youre #young
