Heart Report 2020 of the German Heart Society
Unlike in previous years, the heart report 2020 not only refers to data from 2019 but also considers the current health policy situation at the time of the report's creation in its presentation of the effects of COVID-19 on the cardiovascular system and heart medical care. This is pointed out in the introduction, as well as the fact that a robust data analysis cannot yet be available at this time.
Heart Report 2018 of the German Heart Society
The 2018 edition was presented in February 2019 in Berlin. Positive news is reported here: Compared to the previous year, fewer people died from cardiovascular diseases. However, cardiovascular diseases still rank at the top of the statistics for causes of death. Hospital admissions due to these diseases increased significantly.
Due to the overall higher life expectancy and improved treatment options, cases of age-related heart diseases have particularly increased. Thanks to advanced treatment options, those affected now live longer with chronic heart diseases but also need to be treated in clinics more frequently for this reason.
However, a large part of cardiovascular diseases is still attributable to preventable, lifestyle-related factors. Many people receiving follow-up treatment or rehabilitation due to cardiovascular diseases are still overweight, smokers, or diabetics. The proportion of smokers among rehabilitants has even increased by 10 percent. However, the greatest risk factor remains hypertension. About half of all individuals who were prescribed rehabilitation suffered from it. Almost as many - namely 42 percent - showed lipid metabolism disorders.
Prevention (i.e., precaution) continues to play a key role. The heart report 2018 particularly emphasizes the necessity of prevention in socially disadvantaged areas. Smokers and severely overweight individuals are much more frequently found in these neighborhoods than in better-off areas. Heart attacks among those under 50 also occur more frequently in these districts. The 5-year prognosis for those who have suffered a heart attack is worse than in better-off neighborhoods.
It is urged that the government should promote preventive measures more strongly. Prevention must be taught in daycare centers and schools, and courses should be offered in workplaces. A special focus should be placed on socially disadvantaged regions and individuals with a low educational level. The most important lever to minimize cardiovascular risk factors remains changing personal lifestyle - towards healthy eating, more exercise, nicotine abstinence, etc.
Heart Report 2017 of the German Heart Foundation
The 2017 edition (published at the end of January 2018) reports on a positive development: Fewer and fewer people are dying from a Heart Attack. However, there is a negative trend that more and more people are suffering from heart diseases.
This is partly due to the ever-increasing life expectancy, but it also highlights the importance of preventive measures - that is, the prevention of heart diseases.
The blood pressure in Germany has fortunately decreased on average. The reduced average of systolic and diastolic values can be attributed to better detection and treatment of hypertension. However, the frequency of hypertension has remained about the same over the last few decades. Therefore, no fewer cases of hypertension are being recorded. About a quarter of all adults live with the diagnosis of hypertension. Here too, the greatest and most important lever remains changing lifestyle (more exercise and healthy eating) to prevent the disease.
Health-damaging behavior is one of the eight cardiovascular risk factors identified by the German Heart Society. These include physical inactivity, risky alcohol consumption, smoking, low fruit and vegetable consumption, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and lipid metabolism disorders.
In a telephone survey of more than 62,000 adults, 36 percent of men and 26.6 percent of women reported having three or more of these risk factors. Only 18 percent of women and 13.3 percent of men live completely without any of the mentioned risk factors.
Considering that the overall risk of heart or circulatory disease increases disproportionately with the occurrence of multiple risk factors, it becomes clear how important individual efforts are in terms of maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Source:
This article has been medically reviewed. Last updated by Sabine Croci (06/2022).
Unless otherwise stated, the linked sources were last accessed at the time of the review.
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