Reason - Western lifestyle
In Western countries, plaques and lime deposits begin to appear in the arteries at the age of 25. Smoking, being overweight, high blood cholesterol and advanced hypertension are often behind these problems.
Autopsies of people who suddenly died of a heart attack show that in many cases fat accumulated on the walls of the coronary arteries, although the victims themselves did not notice this.
“Nearly all 40-year-olds have plaque and lime deposits in their hearts. In Western countries, similar problems appear at the age of 25, but vasoconstriction and unpleasant symptoms are not yet a cause for concern,”says Heikki Huikuri, professor at the University of Oulu, cardiologist.
Atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries is a predominantly male disease. Smokers with hypertension and high blood cholesterol are at greatest risk, although they may not have severe symptoms.
Early signs are difficult to detect, but a severely narrowed coronary artery can increase the risk of coronary death. Other cases of sudden cardiac death can be caused by carditis and fibrosis.
Lifestyle plays a big role
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The development of atherosclerosis may be associated with heredity. Other diseases, such as diabetes, also increase the risk. According to heart experts, the most common cause of fatty deposits in coronary arteries and blood vessels is a certain lifestyle.
Heikki Guikuri reminds that the best way to prevent coronary death is to change your lifestyle.
“Smoking, being overweight, high blood cholesterol and hypertension increase the risk of heart attack,” Guikuri says.
A colleague, Raimo Kettunen, has been working for a long time in the clinic with patients with heart disease. She is of the same opinion.
“It looks like atherosclerosis is a lifestyle-related disease,” she says.
Kettunen also recalls recent studies that have emphasized the importance of adequate physical activity in humans. Physical activity gives shape not only to muscles and mood, but also to the heart and the circulatory system. This can help, for example, in stressful situations where the release of the stress hormone increases the risk of a heart attack.
Health and Social Development researcher Heli Kuusipalo believes that the level of physical activity of people in recent years has decreased markedly.
"The decline in physical activity in recent years has become a characteristic feature of people in Western countries," he says.
The problem of obesity of the heart has been talked about for a long time
Researchers at the University of Oulu are particularly careful to study the condition of the heart of people who suddenly died of a heart attack at a young age. Researchers collected autopsy reports across the country.
Heart obesity in adolescence and youth began to be studied back in the 1950s. Raimo Kettunen talks about American research.
"Researchers were shocked that autopsies on the bodies of American soldiers who died in the Korean War revealed signs of obesity in the heart of many people under 40."
Treatment prospects for atherosclerosis have improved
Recently, a big step forward has been made in the treatment of atherosclerosis. The disease is less likely to result in death, and the risk of death in patients treated for atherosclerosis is not as bleak as it used to be.
“If a coronary artery becomes clogged in a person who has had no previous symptoms, then about a third will have cardiac arrest. However, two-thirds end up in hospitals, and good predictions can be made about them. The risk of death in patients receiving treatment does not differ from the risk of death in healthy people,”says Heikki Guikuri.
In Finland, the number of people who have died from atherosclerosis has continued to fall since the 1950s. The level of treatment has improved and the Finnish lifestyle has changed.
In Finland, special attention was paid to the health of the nation and the way of life during the large-scale "Project North Karelia" (Pohjois-Karjala Projekti). The goal of the public health campaign, which lasted from the 1970s to the 1990s, was to reduce coronary deaths precisely through lifestyle changes - that is, quitting smoking and consuming salty and fatty foods.
Risto Degerman