New guide from MedUni Vienna on heart health published
Vienna (OTS) – Around 17.3 million people die from cardiovascular diseases every year. According to projections by the World Health Organization (WHO), the number will increase to 23.6 million per year by 2030, despite the enormous advances in heart medicine. The prognosis is to be seen in connection with the increasing importance of risk factors such as obesity, diabetes and stress, especially in the western world. Against the background of this development, Christian Hengstenberg and a team of authors from MedUni Vienna have written the book “Protecting, strengthening, restoring heart health”. The scientifically sound and generally understandable guide has just been published by MANZ-Verlag in MedUni Vienna’s “Gesundheit.Wissen” series.
Practically all risks to heart health can be “minimised and often even eliminated” through changes in lifestyle and/or medication, encourages Christian Hengstenberg, Head of the Department of Internal Medicine II and the Division of Cardiology at MedUni Vienna, to prevent them. According to studies, e.g. For example, just five to ten minutes of daily exercise clearly increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. It has also been scientifically proven that a reduction in the systolic (“first”) blood pressure value by just 5 mmHG reduces the risk of suffering a heart attack by ten percent. The heart health of smokers, whose heart attack risk is twice as high as that of lifelong non-smokers, has been proven and measurably benefited from smoking cessation even at an advanced age.
Due to its increasing prevalence, obesity and its consequences such as high blood pressure, elevated blood fat and blood sugar levels and type II diabetes mellitus are of particular importance in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. “In these cases, drug therapies are often necessary to avoid damage to the cardiovascular system,” emphasizes Christian Hengstenberg. “But here, too, lifestyle changes are very beneficial.” Weight reduction, a change in diet and regular exercise can significantly reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in those affected.
heart attack from stress
Dealing with (negative) stress is of particular importance in preventing heart problems. “If heart attack patients are asked what they think led to their illness, almost half of those affected state stress as the cause,” reports Christian Hengstenberg from practice. Chronic stress in particular represents an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, which has been proven in studies. However, acute stress can also have a direct impact on the heart. Ways to cope with stress are therefore an indispensable part of a (heart) healthy life.
Christian Hengstenberg and his team from the Division of Cardiology at MedUni Vienna’s Department of Internal Medicine II show other important factors for protecting the cardiovascular system in their recently published guide. In addition, the authors give an overview of the most common cardiovascular diseases as well as the diagnostic and therapeutic options with which heart health can be restored, or even better: maintained.
Book tip:
“Protect, strengthen, restore heart health”, Christian Hengstenberg (ed.), MedUni Vienna’s “Gesundheit.Wissen” series, available from MANZ-Verlag, ISBN: 978-3-214-04243-1 210 pages, 23.90 euros in bookstores and under https://shop.manz.at
Questions & contact:
medical university Vienna
Mag. Johannes Angerer
Head of Communications and Public Relations
+431 40160-1150, +43 664 80016 11501
johannes.angerer@meduniwien.ac.at
http://www.meduniwien.ac.at
