Heart disease as a permanent problem

Background. Chronic noncommunicable diseases remain actual for a long time due to their impact on life expectancy and health of the world's population. Heart diseases as representatives of chronic non-infectious diseases are extremely actual. They remain the leading cause of disability and premature death for humankind. The purpose of the study: to analyze the incidence and mortality of the population from heart diseases in certain developed countries of the world, European countries, in particular in Ukraine, the risk factors that cause them, and to determine possible directions of preventive and rehabilitation strategies to improve the epidemic situation in Ukraine. Materials and methods. Data from meta-analyzes and systematic reviews from academic databases; data from state and health care statistics; methods: bibliosemantic, comparative, medical and statistical analysis, generalization. Results. It was found that the number of years lived by mankind with disabilities increased by 4.5 % over 10 years due to heart diseases. It is shown that the level of morbidity and mortality is significantly higher in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, in particular, in Ukraine, in comparison with Sweden, Great Britain, Canada, the USA and Western European countries. It was revealed that the highest levels of mortality caused by risk factors for the population of all these countries and regions are associated with High Blood Pressure, nutrition, High Blood Cholesterol, however, in terms of values, they significantly prevail in the countries of Eastern Europe, in particular, in Ukraine, with an increase over 2009 – 2019 due to High Blood Pressure – from 494.88 to 536.51 per 100 thousand people, nutrition – from 397.29 to 430.66 per 100 thousand people, High Blood Cholesterol – from 345.98 to 373.13 per 100 thousand people. The population and personal strategies for the prevention of heart diseases and rehabilitation of patients depending on the clinical condition in Ukraine have been substantiated. Conclusions. The impact of heart diseases on the population health is constantly increasing. It confirms the permanence of the problem and requires constant attention and effective measures from the governments of countries and health systems.

Brown Algae Potential as a Functional Food against Hypercholesterolemia: Review

Brown algae have been part of the human diet for hundreds of years, however, in recent years, commercial and scientific interest in brown algae has increased due to the growing demand for healthier diet by the world population. Brown algae and its metabolites, such as carotenoids, polysaccharides, phlorotannins, and proteins, have been associated with multiple beneficial health effects for different diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, one of the main causes of death in Europe. Since high blood cholesterol levels are one of the major cardiovascular risks, this review intends to provide an overview of current knowledge about the anti-hypercholesterolemic effect of different brown algae species and/or their isolated compounds.

Awareness of Causes and Health Risks Associated with High Blood Cholesterol among Men in Awka Etiti, Anambra State, Nigeria

Aim: The study aimed to determine the awareness of causes and health risks associated with high blood cholesterol (HBC) among men in Awka-Etiti, Nigeria. Study Design: A descriptive survey research design was used. Place and Duration: Awka-Etiti, Anambra State, Nigeria in 2019. Methodology: The sample of the study comprised three hundred adult men aged 25 and above. A structured questionnaire was the main instrument used for data collection. Face validity was used to check for the validity of the instrument. The split-half method was used to check the reliability of the instrument and obtained a coefficient of 0.61. Results: Generally there were low levels of awareness of causes (56%) and a moderate level of awareness for risks (65%) associated with HBC in the study area. Younger age and older age as well as higher educational attainment were identified determinants of better awareness of causes and associated risks of HBC. Significance test found associations between age and awareness of causes of HBC (P=.006); and age and awareness of associated risks of HBC (P=.001). There were no significant associations between marital status and awareness of causes of HBC (P=.221); and marital status and awareness of associated risks of HBC (P=.221). Conclusion: There are still poor awareness levels of HBC among some minority groups in the study population. Public Health education and promotion of healthy lifestyles are recommended to reduce this burden.

Hypercholesterolemia Interferes with Induction of miR-125b-1-3p in Preconditioned Hearts

Ischemic preconditioning (IPre) reduces ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury in the heart. The non-coding microRNA miR-125b-1-3p has been demonstrated to play a role in the mechanism of IPre. Hypercholesterolemia is known to attenuate the cardioprotective effect of preconditioning; nevertheless, the exact underlying mechanisms are not clear. Here we investigated, whether hypercholesterolemia influences the induction of miR-125b-1-3p by IPre. Male Wistar rats were fed with a rodent chow supplemented with 2% cholesterol and 0.25% sodium-cholate hydrate for 8 weeks to induce high blood cholesterol levels. The hearts of normo- and hypercholesterolemic animals were then isolated and perfused according to Langendorff, and were subjected to 35 min global ischemia and 120 min reperfusion with or without IPre (3 × 5 min I/R cycles applied before index ischemia). IPre significantly reduced infarct size in the hearts of normocholesterolemic rats; however, IPre was ineffective in the hearts of hypercholesterolemic animals. Similarly, miR-125b-1-3p was upregulated by IPre in hearts of normocholesterolemic rats, while in the hearts of hypercholesterolemic animals IPre failed to increase miR-125b-1-3p significantly. Phosphorylation of cardiac Akt, ERK, and STAT3 was not significantly different in any of the groups at the end of reperfusion. Based on these results we propose here that hypercholesterolemia attenuates the upregulation of miR-125b-1-3p by IPre, which seems to be associated with the loss of cardioprotection.

Spatial Co-Clustering of Cardiovascular Diseases and Select Risk Factors among Adults in South Africa

Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are part of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity in developing countries, including South Africa, where they are a major public health issue. Understanding the joint spatial clustering of CVDs and associated risk factors to determine areas in need of enhanced integrated interventions would help develop targeted, cost-effective and productive mediations. We estimated joint spatial associations and clustering patterns of 2 CVDs (stroke and heart attack) and 3 risk factors (hypertension, high blood cholesterol (HBC) and smoking) among adults in South Africa. Methods: We used cross-sectional secondary adult (15–64-year olds) health data from the South African Demographic Health Survey 2016. Age and gender standardized disease incidence ratios were analyzed using joint spatial global and local bivariate Moran’s Index statistics. Results: We found significantly positive univariate spatial clustering for stroke (Moran; s Index = 0.128), smoking (0.606) hypertension (0.236) and high blood cholesterol (0.385). Smoking and high blood cholesterol (0.366), smoking and stroke (0.218) and stroke and high blood cholesterol (0.184) were the only bivariate outcomes with significant bivariate clustering. There was a joint stroke-smoking local “hot spots” cluster among four districts in the urban western part of the country (City of Cape Town; Cape Winelands; Overberg and Eden) and a joint “cold spots” cluster in the rural north-western part of the country. Similar joint “hot spots” clustering was found for stroke and high blood cholesterol, which also had “cold spots” cluster in the rural east-central part of the country. Smoking and high blood cholesterol had a “hot spots” cluster among five districts in the urban western part of the country (City of Cape Town; Cape Winelands; Overberg; Eden, and West Coast) and “cold spots” around the rural districts in east-southern parts of the country. Conclusions: Our study showed that districts tended to co-cluster based on the rates of CVDs and risk factors, where higher rates were found in urban places than in rural areas. These findings are suggestive of a more contagious and spatial diffusion process among interdependent districts in urban districts. Urbanization or rurality needs to be considered when intervention initiatives are implemented with more general approaches in rural areas. The finding of “hot spot” co-clusters in urban areas means that integrated intervention programmes aimed at reducing the risk of CVDs and associated risk factors would be cost-effective and more productive.

MODERN UNDERSTANDING OF RISK FACTORS AND PREVENTION OF BRAIN INFARCTION(LITERATURE REVIEW)

Stroke is the leading cause of death and disability in the world. Statistics from Uzbekistan show that over 60,000 new strokes occur each year. At the same time, more than 160 new cases occur daily in the country. In Tashkent alone, 25-30 cases of stroke occur every day. In Tashkent alone, 25-30 strokes areobserved daily [1,7]. The main risk factors for atherothromboembolic ischemic stroke are, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, smoking and diabetes; and the main risk factors for cardiogenic ischemic stroke are atrial fibrillation and coronary heartdisease. Strategies to reduce the frequency of strokes include the prevention of primary and secondary (repeated) stroke, as well as the rehabilitation period of patients. With a qualitative approach, the mortality and disability of patients is reduced

PREVENTION AND RISK FACTORS FOR BRAIN INFARCTION(LITERATURE REVIEW)

Stroke is the leading cause of death and disability in the world.Statistics from Uzbekistan show that over 60,000 new strokes occur each year. At the same time, more than 160 new cases occur daily in the country. In Tashkent alone, 25-30 cases of stroke occur every day. In Tashkent alone, 25-30 strokes are observed daily [1].The main risk factors for atherothromboembolic ischemic stroke are, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, smoking and diabetes; and the main risk factors for cardiogenic ischemic stroke are atrial fibrillation and coronary heart disease.

Cardiovascular risk factors among high-risk individuals attending the general practice at king Abdulaziz University hospital: a cross-sectional study

Background Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the primary cause of death worldwide, accounting for 31.0% of all deaths and more than 18 million deaths annually. The 2008 World Health Report indicated that 144 (35%) of the 413 deaths per 100,000 in 2002 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) were due to CVD. Primary prevention is an important focus of most of the cardiovascular prevention guidelines around the world. In this study, we aimed to describe the prevalence of extrinsic risk factors for CVDs in a high-risk population attending general practice in Jeddah, KSA. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional survey at King Abdulaziz University Hospital in Jeddah. Patients started on lipid-lowering and/or antihypertensive and/or antidiabetes treatments without a history of established cardiovascular disease were interviewed. The questionnaire was adopted from the EUROASPIRE III study. Results Two hundred and fifty high-risk individuals (80.0% female) were interviewed. Overall, 72% of the patients had been diagnosed with hypertension, 61.2% of patients had dyslipidemia, and approximately two-thirds of patients had diabetes mellitus. Most of the patients (88%) were non-smokers. The mean waist circumference of patients was 101.6 ± 14.1 cm, which suggests most were clinically obese. About 54.8% of the patients followed an unhealthy diet and 52.0% were physically inactive. There were significant differences between women and men in relation to dyslipidemia (p = 0.007), unhealthy diet (p = 0.034), being overweight (p = 0.018), and high blood cholesterol (p = 0.002). We observed significantly greater prevalence of hypertension (p = 0.073), unhealthy diet (p = 0.015), being overweight (p = 0.018), and high blood cholesterol (p = 0.000) in those patients with dyslipidemia. Conclusion Our study presents novel findings in the KSA. Women were more likely to have high-risk CVD risk factors compared with their male counterparts in this sample. Gender-specific prevention programs in the KSA should be considered to more appropriately target at-risk individuals, to reduce preventable morbidity and mortality associated with CVDs.