Heartbreaking statistics

Cardiovascular disease — pathologies of the heart, blood vessels and the vascular system of the brain — claims more lives than anything else, accounting for nearly one-third of deaths worldwide. Among CVDs, ischaemic heart disease (failure to supply blood to the heart) is caused primarily by clogged arteries (atherosclerosis), it results in the most fatalities among men and women but also represents the largest disparity in heart-disease type between the sexes. Those deaths are projected to increase until at least 2030.

More heart disease ahead

Over the next twenty years, significant increases in deaths from coronary diseases — ischaemic heart disease and stroke — will only be outpaced by cancer, while deaths from many other diseases will decrease.

When arteries clog

Fatty material, cholesterol, cellular waste and other substances can build up in the endothelial cell lining of an artery, leading to plaque formation and blockages that starve the heart of oxygen and cause a heart attack. Cholesterol and triglycerides, high blood pressure and cigarette smoke, which accelerates atherosclerosis, seem to be the leading plaque promoters.

Global heart-disease burden

The rate of ischaemic heart disease among men varies around the world, and similar variation exists for women (see Fig. 1).

figure 1

Figure 1

Principles of prevention

The World Heart Federation splits CVD risk into two categories. Members of certain groups — men, the elderly and those with a family history of heart disease — are simply at elevated and 'non-modifiable' risk. Other risk factors shown below can be modified by lifestyle changes.

High cholesterol follows high income

People living in high-income countries suffer from high total cholesterol twice as much as people in low-income countries, according to data from the World Health Organization in 2008. So the richest countries might benefit the most from preventive measures, such as improved diet.