It is a fact that the modern lifestyle affects people’s health by significantly increasing the negative effects of cardiovascular diseases in developed countries. In recent years there has been an increase in risk factors and consequently an increased loss of people from cardiovascular diseases.

In our country today, although the smoking rate has decreased, more and younger people are hypertensive, more and younger people have elevated cholesterol, sugar levels, and we also have one of the highest rates of childhood obesity in the Western world.

About 250,0000 Greeks have at least one risk factor, i.e. 1 in 4 are at risk of an acute myocardial infarction or stroke, while the percentages increase for those over 45 to 50%, i.e. 1 in 2.

“In the last three years the pandemic and confinement at home have created more stress, depression and the combination of ready-made food with less mobility has increased body weight.

Also, visits to doctors and hospitals decreased due to the fear of infection by the new coronavirus, patients did not undergo clinical laboratory tests even when there were symptoms (e.g. arrhythmias, cardiovascular disturbances, shortness of breath, etc.). Thus, in those difficult days, many cases were referred to the emergency departments with a long delay, and the doctors tried to deal with the problems at their last stage, while these could have been chosen much better if the patients had sought medical assistance in time, he emphasizes Mr. Emmanuel Kallieris Cardiologist, member of the American College of Cardiology, Director of the Heart Attack Intensive Care Unit at Metropolitan Hospital.

Heart and what to watch out for

The heart is a pump which to send the blood into the circulation “beats”, 100,000 times a day, 3,000,000 times a month, 40,000,000 times a year and 500,000,000 times a decade. This means that in order for it to continue to function properly, we must take care to keep it in good condition and comply with the orders of specialist doctors. The regular check-ups needed to know the condition of our heart should not be neglected or skipped for any reason. However, these controls are not the same for everyone.

“People who belong to higher risk groups for cardiovascular disease such as people with a history of cardiovascular problems, smokers, older people, especially if they do not stop smoking, control their cholesterol, control their diabetes and do not exercise, should have regular cardio control (people over 35 years old, at least once a year)”, points out a cardiologist. “Everyone without exception (people with problems and those without) would do well to keep in mind some myths and some truths about cardiovascular problems and their treatment,” he adds.

Myth: “I’m not in danger”

“We cardiologists are often called upon to try hard to convince patients of the risks they are at and to get them to take their medications. Such cases are e.g. women who believe they are not at risk of cardiovascular problems.

The truth is that this is true up to a certain age but not after menopause when the risk increases and becomes almost the same as that of men of the same age.

Young women who smoke and use contraceptives at the same time (even to regulate their cycle) tend to ignore that this combination, (despite the fact that newer contraceptives have fewer side effects) can have serious complications such as pulmonary embolisms or blood clots , which requires attention and control.

Myth: “Cholesterol medicine damages the liver”

Many patients say, “Doc, I don’t take cholesterol medicine because it damages the liver.” This basic misconception may stem from the fact that liver function and cholesterol testing is recommended one month after starting cholesterol-lowering drug(s). Lipid-lowering drugs do not damage the liver. Even if there is an effect on liver function, they are easily replaced by other drugs that do not have this effect. This is exactly why the aforementioned liver function test is recommended: “just in case…” and not because “that’s what these drugs do”.

The truth is that taking the medication and dropping the “bad cholesterol”, i.e. the one that clogs the blood vessels of the brain and heart at 100mg and below, the total cardiovascular mortality is reduced by 25-30%. This means 25-30% fewer people die. Against this truly significant survival rate we cannot juxtapose an “I don’t take cholesterol medicine.”

Myth: “A high ‘big’ (systolic) pressure is not that important”

Many people with hypertension tend to underestimate high systolic (the “big”) pressure. Phrases such as: “I have a blood pressure of 16 and a heart pressure of 9.5, this is elevated” are often heard in hypertension clinics.

The truth is that this 16, -systolic, that is, hypertension-, which is not of interest/which “goes under the patient’s radar”, is also the most important. All complications such as heart failure, kidney failure, strokes, aneurysms are due to systolic hypertension. The safe thing, therefore, for all groups of patients is to visit the specialist when the pressure exceeds 140/90 mmHg.

Myth I don’t smoke cigarettes but vape because it’s safer

The truth is that electronic cigarettes contain various dangerous substances as well as additional solvents and flavors which damage the blood vessels and lungs as shown by many modern studies”, concludes Mr. Kallieris.