Las enfermedades cardiovasculares (ECV) son la primera causa de muerte en el mundo, con más de 20,5 millones de fallecimientos anuales.
CVD is a class of diseases that affect the heart or blood vessels (veins and arteries). More people die from CVD worldwide than from any other cause: over 20.5 million every year. Of these deaths, 85% are due to coronary heart diseases (e.g heart attacks) and cerebrovascular diseases (e.g. strokes) and mostly affect low- and middle-income countries.
Did you know that your heart is the size of your fist and the strongest muscle in your body? It started beating about three weeks after you were conceived. If you live to be 70, it will have beaten two and a half billion times. However, although impressive and strong, your heart can also become vulnerable from habitual risk factors like smoking, diabetes, cholesterol, eating an unhealthy diet, or living with high blood pressure.
El sistema también puede debilitarse por una cardiopatía preexistente y otros factores fisiológicos, como la hipertensión o el colesterol alto en sangre. Cuando las funciones del corazón se ven comprometidas, se habla de enfermedad cardiovascular, un término amplio que engloba cualquier trastorno del sistema cuyo centro sea el corazón.
