Reader\'s Digest Australia & New Zealand - June 2018

READER’S DIGEST

June• 2018 | 37

Butbecausethediseasecanhidein
someone’s body for years without
symptoms,findingthepeoplewho
needtreatmentisabigchallenge.

Cardiovascular

Disease

Cardiovascular disease is the
leadingcauseofdeathinAustralia
(with45,392deathsin2015)and
New Zealand (where more than
10,000 people die every year).
THEGOODNEWS
Eightypercentofpremature
deaths from heart disease and
stroke are preventable.
HOWITHAPPENED
Lifestylechangesandbetter
treatments have lowered mortality
ratesfromheartdiseaseandstroke.

Although CVD (including coronary
heart disease, heart failure and stroke)
is the number one cause of death
globally, at least 80 per cent of prema-
ture deaths due to heart disease and
stroke are preventable, says the World
Health Organization (WHO).
“Sincethe1970s,mortalityfrom
heart disease has decreased by
70percentinAustralia,”says
Professor Garry Jennings,
chiefmedicaladvisorforthe
Australian Heart Founda-
tion.“Webelievethatabout
half of the reduction in the
number of deaths are due to
better treatments, while the

other half are due to lifestyle changes

througheducation.Therearealso

newandimproveddrugstoprevent

clotting.Wehavemorewaystore-

duce blood cholesterol, in particular,

anewclasscalledPCSK9inhibitors.”

Until recently, stents were only

used in people with heart disease

whowerestable.Todaystentscan

be used during a heart attack. The

technology around stents has been

refined, and there are now stents

that contain drugs that can prevent

plaque from regrowing after surgery.

Stroke treatment, too, has made

greatleaps.Quicktreatmentisstill

importanttosurvival,andtolimit

damagetothebrain.Developments

overthelastfewyearsincludeacute

intervention, where a special catheter

is used to ‘suck’ the clot blockage out

ofthearteryasthestrokeishappen-

ing,butalsouptoeighthourslater.

Alongwithtreatment,lifestyle

changeshavehelpedpreventcount-

less deaths from heart disease and

stroke. A large international study

published inhe Lancetin Septem-

ber 2017 found that just 150 minutes

ofmoderatephysicalactivityaweek

decreases the risk of heart disease

byeightpercent.Ahealthydietis

also important for protecting

your heart. A 2014 study found

thateatingadietrichinfruit,

vegetables, nuts, reduced-fat

dairyandwholegrains

decreased heart disease risk

by 20 per cent.