Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in the world: more people die annually from cardiovascular disease than from any other cause.
The term cardiovascular disease refers to any disease that affects the cardiovascular system, especially heart disease, vascular diseases of the brain and kidney, and peripheral arterial disease. The causes are diverse, but hypertension and/or atherosclerosis are the most common. In addition, morphological and physiological changes resulting from aging alter the cardiovascular function and lead to an increased risk of these diseases, even in healthy asymptomatic individuals.
In the fight for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, this effort focuses on the treatment of hypertension, which is one of the main cardiovascular risk factors. In addition, the possible association with other prominent risk factors, such as hypercholesterolemia, smoking and diabetes, brings a new and significant increase in the morbidity and mortality of cardiac causes.
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