Two-thirds of the risk of high blood pressure can be reduced by increasing physical activity, consuming vegetables and reducing alcohol, according to a study presented at the congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) in Munich.
Hypertension is the leading cause of death as it leads to coronary heart disease, heart attack and stroke. Every year it causes the death of 7 million people in the world (this is 15% of all deaths). Prevention of hypertension should be one of the main activities in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, specialists said during a meeting with journalists.
Prof. Pekka Jousilahti from the National Institute of Health in Helsinki (Finland) referred to his own research showing how our health is affected by greater physical activity, taking care of a proper body weight, consuming vegetables and fruits, and reducing alcohol consumption. On this basis, when analyzing a person’s lifestyle, it is possible to predict with high probability what their hypertension will be, and thus the risk of death, ‘he said.
The Finnish specialist examined almost 20 thousand. women and men aged 25 to 74 who did not show hypertension at the time of observation (it was in the years 1981-2002). Their lifestyle was also defined. It turned out that by adhering to even one health factor, for example by playing sports, the risk of hypertension can be reduced by a third. Adding to the second health parameter, such as eating more vegetables and fruits, reduces the risk of hypertension by 50%. among men and by 30 percent. in women.
Men benefit more from changing their lifestyle, which only confirms how important it is for maintaining their health – said Prof. Jousilahti. In countries where men are more likely to follow a healthy lifestyle, such as the Netherlands and Finland, there is a smaller difference in life expectancy between the sexes. In Poland, men still live on average 8 years shorter than women, in the Netherlands only 3-4 years.
A Finnish specialist advises men to reduce their alcohol consumption in the first place. It also urges you to be more active and change your diet. She claims that a healthy lifestyle also has a significant impact on the risk of cardiovascular disease in women. Therefore, they also should not forget about it.
Smoking is not included in the studies by Finnish specialists. It was emphasized that it has a significant impact on the risk of cardiovascular diseases, but does not significantly affect blood pressure. It was only noted that more and more women smoke cigarettes, which increases the risk of both heart attack and stroke and lung cancer.
From Munich Zbigniew Wojtasiński (PAP)
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