The heart of an average Pole is nine years older than him. This is one of the causes of premature death. For this reason, we cannot catch up with other European countries in terms of life expectancy.
– It is cardiovascular diseases that make us live shorter than other inhabitants of Europe – says prof. Bogdan Wojtyniak from the National Institute of Health. – Worse, we are not reducing these disproportions. In the case of cancer-related deaths, the differences between Poland and Europe are not as great as in the case of cardiovascular diseases. This means that we still have a lot to do, he adds. Every day 476 people die in Poland due to cardiovascular diseases.
How old is your heart?
The age of the heart of Poles was calculated by Polish scientists as part of the NATPOL 2011 study together with experts from the Framingham Heart Study and Boston University. Prof. Michael Pencina from Boston University explains that the age of the heart is determined by the 40-year risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. A healthy-hearted non-smoker with blood pressure and cholesterol levels below the normal range has a heart whose age is equal to the legal age. This means that the heart is as old as its owner. – If the heart of a 50-year-old is assessed at 2011 years, the risk of, for example, a heart attack or stroke in this person is the same as in someone ten years older than him, but with proper health indicators – explains Assoc. Tomasz Zdrojewski coordinator of the NATPOL XNUMX study.
Women’s hearts age faster
Scientists were surprised to discover that the hearts of Polish women over 45 are aging at an alarming rate. A statistical woman in Poland between the ages of 30 and 45 has a heart that corresponds to her statutory age. A statistical Pole of the same age has a heart that is 5 years older than himself. The situation of women changes dramatically after the age of 45. Then their hearts are 10 or 15 years older than they are. The same difference was noted for the statistical male. However, it is even worse when the Polish woman turns 60. Then her heart is older than her by 20 years, while the man’s heart is 15 years older than her.
A man’s heart sells him out in age at thirty. In the following years of life, it continues to overtake the record age, but slowly. On the other hand, the heart of a woman – although she is the peer of the owner, aged 30 to 44 – ages much faster than her with the passage of time, surpassing the hearts of men in this respect. British and American data do not show such drastic results in women. – A statistical Polish woman lives 4 years shorter than a French woman only because of cardiovascular diseases – says prof. Wojtyniak.
The ABC of a healthy heart
The risk is rising
The risk of cardiovascular disease in women over the age of sixty is 20%, which means that for every 100 women of this age, 20 will get it. Professionals are looking for reasons for such an acceleration in the aging of women’s hearts. One of them is the menopause. This is because female hormones protect against atherosclerosis. Prof. Pencina believes, however, that such a rapid aging of this organ is not only related to the menopause. Perhaps the second culprit is overweight and a lack of exercise.
Although the hearts of men do not have such an acceleration in the aging process, they begin to overtake the age of the owner much earlier. As a result, men live shorter than women.
Everything in our hands
Fortunately, with the age of the heart, time can be turned back. Changing the diet, that is, reducing animal fats and increasing the amount of vegetables consumed, playing sports, reducing excess weight and quitting smoking – can rejuvenate our hearts. Medication is recommended for those with a 20% risk of serious cardiovascular problems. For those who have it from 5 to 20% – a change in lifestyle. The NATPOL 2011 study showed that 1990% of Poles owe the reduction in the number of deaths caused by ischemic heart disease to changes in their lifestyle, diet and quitting smoking addiction compared to 54. One of the most prestigious medical journals, the British Medical Journal, will publish the results of the NATPOL 2011 analysis, showing why Poles live 4 years longer than in 1990. Specialists emphasize that we eat less animal fats, eg lard, less pork. We are increasingly using vegetable fats, especially olive oil. We eat more fruits and vegetables and fish. We salt our dishes less. In addition, Poles move more, run, play tennis, ride bikes. The percentage of smokers is 7% lower than 10 years ago. However, all this is not enough if we want to catch up with Europe. To reduce this distance, even more Poles have to change their lifestyles and quit smoking.
Text: Halina Pilonis