Ritu Mathur
Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University, India
Title: The global epidemic of cardiovascular diseases with special reference to the Indian scenario
Biography
Biography: Ritu Mathur
Abstract
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a group of heterogeneous and interrelated diseases which include coronary heart disease, ischemic heart disease, peripheral vascular disease, atherosclerosis, hypertension and heart failure. These diseases are interrelated and often coexist. CVD remains the number one killer of both men and women in many countries across the world including India. Myocardial infarction or ischemia in one or more of the coronary arteries with tissue damage is the main form of heart disease responsible for CVD deaths. Atherosclerosis is the chronic, local inflammatory response to risk factors such as high levels of low density lipoprotein cholesterol. The other major risk factors include hypertension, age, diabetes mellitus, micro albuminuria, family history of premature CVD, elevated triglyceride levels, low HDL levels, inflammatory markers, fibrinogen, C-reactive protein, elevated levels of Homocystiene and Lipoprotein a, tobacco, stress, faulty diet, insufficient sleep, obesity, physical inactivity, hypertension and metabolic syndrome (frequently seen in Indians). Therapeutic life style changes, medical interventions and nutritional management can prove to be the cornerstone both in the prevention and treatment of CVD. Education and awareness in this regard is the need of the hour to save millions of people around the world from dying from this disease which is the world’s number one killer disease of the 21st century