Health Department of Karaganda region

On September 29, at a briefing at the Regional Communications Service of Almaty dedicated to World Heart Day, Chairman of the Board of the Research Institute of Cardiology and Internal Diseases, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor Roza Kuanyshbekova said that cardiovascular diseases are the most common cause of morbidity and adverse outcomes , disabilities in people around the world. Every year, humanity loses up to 20 million people of different age groups from heart disease, equal to a large metropolis such as Shanghai, Tokyo, or Delhi.

In Kazakhstan, the situation related to CVD is also difficult, every 33 residents have symptoms of diseases of the circulatory system, every 12th has clinical symptoms of high blood pressure, out of 19 million - 1.5 million are registered for arterial hypertension, the share of coronary heart disease and hypertension accounts for 60% of all circulatory system disorders.

As Roza Tokhtanalievna notes, the main reasons for the development of heart and vascular diseases are a changed lifestyle - in the age of current speeds, a person is forced to move a lot, but in fact moves little. The muscles do not receive the necessary load and weaken, including the heart and blood vessels. Inactivity, low physical activity, metabolic disorders, further excess weight. Secondly, the diet has changed, tasty and healthy homemade food has been replaced by instant foods, fast foods, ice cream, flour with a large amount of fats and preservatives, which cause atherosclerotic changes in blood vessels, clogging them and causing heart attacks and strokes. If previously cardiovascular diseases were diagnosed in older people, today symptoms of the disease are found in young people, adolescents and even children.

According to the World Heart Federation, 80% of premature deaths from heart attacks and strokes can be prevented by leading a healthy lifestyle, controlling tobacco use, diet and physical activity.

“Our country has a screening program; starting from the age of 30, we can and should undergo preventive examinations in primary health care organizations. Regular medical examination will allow us to identify risk factors, the earliest symptoms of the disease and prevent future unfavorable course,” says Roza Kuanyshbekova.

According to her, the introduction of the Disease Management Program in Kazakhstan, which included the most common diseases not only in our country but also in the world, such as arterial hypertension, chronic heart failure and diabetes mellitus, showed: people began to understand that their health directly depends on them. The modernized clinical examination program, taking into account modern requirements, including telemonitoring, control visits, and work with a multidisciplinary team, is aimed at informing the patient about his health and teaching self-management and self-help.

It is worth noting that the COVID 19 pandemic has seen an increase in mortality from all causes, primarily from cardiovascular disease and stroke. Reasons: the infection itself causes a tendency to form blood clots and provokes an exacerbation of cardiovascular diseases. Post-Covid causes the onset of diseases of the cardiovascular system in itself: arterial hypertension, arrhythmias, coronary heart disease, chronic heart failure, diabetes mellitus occur - because hypoxia gives rise to these diseases against the background of hypokalemia (low concentration of potassium ions in the blood) and hypomagnesemia ( decrease in magnesium concentration in the blood). Mortality from pneumonia increased not so much - by 12%. They die not from pneumonia itself, but from its complications.

The European Congress on Cardiovascular Diseases updated recommendations for the prevention of cardiovascular disease in clinical practice (a stepwise approach to cardiovascular disease prevention). Kazakhstan has been transferred from countries with a very high risk to the zone of countries with a high risk of cardiovascular diseases. This happened due to greater coverage of the population with interventional methods for treating heart diseases. By the way, all neighboring countries remain in the zone of countries with a very high risk of cardiovascular diseases.

For example, at the Research Institute of Cardiology and Internal Medicine, interventional cardiologists and x-ray surgeons successfully perform high-tech cardiac operations for endovascular implantation of the aortic valve.

Innovative technologies are used in the field of catheter treatment of complex cardiac arrhythmias. Surgeries are being performed to implant a subcutaneous cardioverter-defibrillator in patients at high risk of sudden cardiac arrest. Minimally invasive operations on heart valves and coronary artery bypass surgery are performed without an incision in the sternum, cryoablation on an open heart for the immediate treatment of cardiac arrhythmias in combination with coronary artery bypass grafting or correction of heart defects.

A healthy lifestyle, physical activity, and regular medical supervision are the key to longevity and a healthy human heart.

Press service of the Research Institute of Cardiology and Internal Medicine