Wednesday October 5, 2022 – Author:
dr
People in economically and socially disadvantaged regions and those with a high proportion of smokers are exposed to a significantly increased risk of coronary heart disease. This is shown by the new “Health Atlas KHK” of the AOK.
In the case of “coronary heart disease” (CHD), the heart disease vessels constrict gradually over many years. The result is a reduced oxygen supply to the heart muscles – and an ever greater probability of the occurrence of cardiac arrhythmias and cardiac insufficiency to life-threatening complications such as heart attacks and sudden cardiac death. CHD is a chronic disease and is now considered a widespread disease. According to an analysis by the Scientific Institute of the AOK (WIdO), there are currently 4.9 million people in Germany with coronary heart disease. This means that an average of 8.3 percent of the adult population aged 30 and over is affected. Not only the lifestyle – the place of residence also determines whether you can get coronary heart disease.
Coronary artery disease: large regional differences
“CHD is rightly described as a widespread disease, but the range between the regions is very large,” commented the deputy WIdO managing director Helmut Schröder on the results of the study. “There are very low CHD prevalence rates in many districts in southern Baden-Württemberg and southern Bavaria, while Saarland and the eastern German federal states with the exception of Berlin all have above-average values.” CHD occurs in sparsely populated, rural regions moreover, with an above-average frequency of 9.6 percent, in large cities with more than 500,000 inhabitants the value is only 7.0 percent. Helmut Schröder explains it as follows: “The fact that the population in rural areas is on average older and therefore has a higher risk of illness plays a decisive role.”
CHD risk: Smallest in Hamburg, largest in Saxony-Anhalt
“It is becoming clear that economically and socially disadvantaged regions and regions with a high proportion of smokers are more affected by CHD,” says a statement from the AOK. The WIdO analysis provides the following picture of the situation in Germany: A comparison of the federal states shows the lowest rates of disease in Hamburg (6.3 percent) and in Bremen and Baden-Württemberg (7.1 percent each). The proportionally most patients are in Thuringia (10.8 percent) and Saxony-Anhalt (13.0 percent).
More heart disease in regions with many smokers
The WIdO health atlas also highlights the influence of the various risk factors on the development of coronary heart disease. The analysis confirms the connection with smoking known from the scientific literature: In regions with a particularly high proportion of smokers, the proportion of CHD patients is 9.3 percent, in regions with few smokers, on the other hand, it is only 7.4 percent. A comparable connection is also found for regions with a high proportion of high blood pressure or diabetes patients.
Many cases of CAD are preventable with a heart-healthy lifestyle
Coronary heart disease cannot be cured in the sense that the harmful deposits typical of the disease in the heart disease vessels can be removed and the causes can thus be combated. However, according to the AOK, a considerable part of the cases of illness might be prevented. “From the large regional differences it can be deduced that the prevention of CHD is of great importance,” says Helmut Schröder from the WIdO heart-healthy lifestyle with sufficient exercise, healthy nutrition and no smoking is promoted.” Those responsible in the regions might use information on harmful effects of tobacco use start preventively in childhood and adolescence in order to curb the spread of the disease in the future.
