The concept of risk factors
The rapid increase in mortality from diseases developing on the basis of atherosclerosis is probably related to the rapid changes taking place in the way societies live.
According to unofficial statistical data, approximately 1 million Poles suffer from coronary artery disease, of whom around 100,000 have a heart attack each year, a condition associated with significant mortality.
Research conducted by many centers around the world led to the creation of the concept of risk factors. These factors include hypercholesterolemia, that is, an elevated level of cholesterol (fats) in the blood; arterial hypertension; smoking and alcohol abuse; diabetes; being overweight; signs of left ventricular hypertrophy on a resting ECG; a family history indicating the occurrence of the disease at a young age among relatives; a diet rich in fats, especially saturated fats, cholesterol, simple sugars and salt; low physical activity; and, additionally, factors such as an elevated uric acid level, thyroid dysfunction, a sedentary lifestyle or a specific pattern of behavior may influence the development of the disease.
Susceptibility to ischemic heart disease is more strongly associated with the male sex than the female sex and increases with age in both sexes. All the factors listed above, because they predispose people to ischemic heart disease, are called risk factors for this disease. Most of them can be controlled.
It should be emphasized that the coexistence of two or more risk factors significantly increases the risk of ischemic heart disease.
Please analyze the information provided in relation to your own situation. Awareness and the knowledge conveyed should help gradually eliminate these factors. Achieving this often depends on oneself. A doctor should be a friend—correcting habits and doing everything possible to make the patient believe. Otherwise, delaying action and the accumulation of risk factors will lead to the expected consequences. Prevention is better than cure. It is certainly much more worthwhile: it teaches respect for one’s surroundings and makes life happier.
At the next meeting with Readers, I will discuss the individual risk factors in such a way as to make us believe that it is not too late.