ProCor: Preventing Global Cardiovascular Disease
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) has reached epidemic proportions in many developing countries, becoming the world’s leading cause of death. Globally, the total number of people dying from CVD and other chronic diseases is double that of all infectious diseases (including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria), maternal and perinatal conditions, and nutritional deficiencies combined.
Twice as many deaths due to CVD occur in the developing world as in industrialized countries, and CVDs account for as many deaths in young and middle-aged adults as HIV/AIDS. CVD affects people at a younger age in developing countries, adding to the already unaffordable burden of disease in countries whose economies are struggling to grow, decimating the workforce upon which development depends, straining inadequate health care budgets, and increasing poverty and disability among families.
While the scope of the cardiovascular disease pandemic is staggering, there is cause for hope: 80% of all deaths due to CVD are preventable. Millions of lives and billions of dollars can be saved – in all countries, regardless of income – by addressing four major risk factors: physical inactivity, poor diet, tobacco use, and stress and depression. This approach is the only viable solution to combating CVD in middle and low-income countries with national health budgets that cannot support the high-tech, high-cost methods used to treat CVD in wealthy countries.
|
