Awareness

Cardiovascular diseases and their risk factors.

Risk factors affect the cardiovascular system in very different ways, but the most relevant component is their contribution to developing atherosclerosis. This is a condition in which the arteries gradually undergo different forms of deterioration, culminating in the partial or total obstruction of their inner lumen.

Cardiovascular diseases are largely, though not exclusively, linked to this mechanism. As an example, a severe cardiovascular event such as a myocardial infarction (heart attack) occurs when, at the end of the atherosclerotic process, an artery supplying the heart muscle becomes completely occluded.

Many years, or even several decades, can pass from the time the atherosclerotic process begins in a blood vessel until a severe cardiovascular event occurs. A large majority of people who suffer severe cardiovascular events have no symptoms while the process of atherosclerosis is taking hold.

ATHEROSCLEROSIS: Development of the disease over the years.

The low presence of symptoms during the early stages of the process constitutes a fundamental concept for understanding the increasing prevalence of these diseases. If we wait until we feel a symptom to take action regarding our health, we will be several decades too late to solve the problem.