Heart attacks kill fewer people

2000/05/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Osasuna

Deaths from heart disease have declined by 20% in the last 20 years. The decline is the global average, the result of the study conducted by the World Health Organization in 21 countries on 4 continents.

The research began in the 1980s and since then 140,000 people aged 35 to 64 have been analyzed. Half of the drop is due to the speed and effectiveness of medical services, early treatment of infarction. On the other hand, people have healthier habits and decrease the frequency of factors that increase the risk of having a heart attack, that is, high blood cholesterol, smoking and hypertension. This means between 15-30% of the decline.

However, and especially in industrialized countries, more women smoke than before. The proliferation of women smokers will likely have long-term consequences.