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According to Professor Jelena Čelutkienė, president of the Lithuanian Society of Cardiologists, these statistics are sad, because since 2015. the decreasing curve of vascular mortality begins to rise again: in 2020. 9.8 percent died from these diseases . more than in 2019. Among the reasons for such a jump are the indirect consequences of the COVID-19 disease and the avoidance of visiting doctors.
“Another worrying number is the number of deaths from diseases of the circulatory system in the home. Compared to the previous year, in 2020. At the end of the year, the number of deaths in the home increased by up to 90 percent. There may be more of a reason this happened, but it is clear that people visited a cardiologist and family doctor much less frequently during quarantine.
The most affected are chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, heart failure, ischemic heart disease. The course of the disease was more severe in these patients and the risk of dying from a coronavirus infection was much higher ”, comments prof. J. Čelutkienė.
According to various sources, 40% of pandemics occurred in Europe due to myocardial infarction. fewer patients. According to the professor, people tended to avoid seeking help and suffering. The levels of primary, secondary and tertiary care have dropped significantly during the quarantine. This avoidance of resorting to specialists was also observed in the fact that the people who came to the hospital were in a much more serious condition than before.
According to the professor, one of the main risk factors that increase the likelihood of cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol, can also worsen the course of COVID-19 disease.
Statistics from the American Journal of Cardiology showed that people taking cholesterol-lowering drugs, statins, had a 30 percent risk of developing a severe coronavirus or dying. less than those who had to take these medications but did not. Patients taking statins had a shorter hospital stay of about 39 percent.
“You also need to pay attention to the importance of vaccines,” says the professor.
Unfortunately, a large proportion of older people at risk are not yet vaccinated. I think we should follow the example of Denmark, where vaccines are carried out proactively, reaching patients, rather than waiting for them to present their own. “
To reduce the growing number of deaths from cardiovascular diseases, the professor urges not only to get vaccinated against dangerous infections, but also to take regular medication, eat healthy, kick bad habits, engage in physical activity and, most importantly, visit a doctor from family or cardiologist, perform all necessary tests.
