| Heart’s Day |
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EFE – The world heart federation and the World Health Organization (WHO), are encouraging people this year, in the Heart’s Day, to leave the salt shaker aside. Under the motto of “Know your risk factors” this Sunday will take place the ninth edition of the World Heart Day.
WHO estimates that cardiovascular diseases and heart attacks have caused 17.5 million premature deaths in the year 2005 and estimates that by 2015 this figure could rise up to 20 million if the population does not become aware of the fact that is in their hands the chance to avoid it. This increase is associated fundamentally with a harmful diet (too energetic, salty and poor in fruits and vegetables), lack of physical activity and tobacco use, all of them habits that sooner or later end up damaging our health.
Chronic diseases like hypertension, high cholesterol levels and high glucose levels, overweight and obesity are often the result of such a lifestyle. And the main risk factors, according to WHO, of at least 80% if the casualties caused by cardiovascular disease or heart attack.
Some years ago, all those chronic diseases were regarded as a rich country problem, but today the tendency has changed and have also become main risk factors in developing countries. It is estimated, according to Pan-American Health Organization figures, that two out of three deaths in Latin America and the Caribbean are related to this diseases, and that this rate will increase in 17% over the next eight years.
Illness and death are not the only consequences of these chronic diseases, also the economies of the countries are heavily strained by the epidemics. In some Caribbean countries, between 5 % and 8% of the GDP is invested in the treatment of diabetes and hypertension only.
Little Changes, big benefits
This year campaign stressed the control of hypertension, an ailment that, not always evident, severely damages the heart and arteries. Luckily is easy to detect in a simple medical check. With values over 140/90 mm Hg, the probability of suffering cardiac disease or a heart attack is multiplied by three in relation with people with normal arterial tension.
Hypertension affects currently over a billion people over the world and it is estimated that by 2025 the incidence could reach 1.500 million people, according to studies published in 2007 by American Heart Association. The WHO and FAO experts secure that little changes in our alimentary habits could reduce arterial tension in a very significant way. So much that, for example, eliminating three grams of salt from our daily diet would have as a result a 20% decrease of heart attack deaths and more than a 15% of the cardiovascular disease deaths.
WHO recommends a maximum intake of 5 grams of salt a day, which is approximately a coffee spoon. An amount of salt that does not come only from the salt shaker; 75% of the salt we consume is already on the prepared food that we buy. That’s why the British Food Standards Agency recommends to look on the nutritional facts on the label and choosing, whenever possible, the one that has 0,3 grams of salt every 100 grams.
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| Doctor´s Office |
. Sodium Excess: know the harmful consequences it has on your body
. Benefits of a healthy and sodium free life. |
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