Population-based study of cardiovascular health in Atahualpa, a rural village of coastal Ecuador

The American Heart Association (AHA) recently defined the metrics needed to categorize cardiovascular health (CVH), to implement strategies directed to reduce vascular deaths among US populations . The same could be applied to developing countries, where stroke and cardiovascular diseases will be the next health epidemics due to changes in lifestyle and increased life expectancy . Indeed, the rate of vascular deaths in Latin America is higher than in the developed world; this excess mortality fraction could be related to modifiable factors, including: inadequate access to medical care, increasing obesity and diabetes mellitus, and uncontrolled arterial hypertension . To optimize existing sanitary resources it is mandatory to know the CVH status of a given population using standardized metrics. Here, we present the CVH status of Atahualpa inhabitants, a village representative of rural coastal Ecuador.

Source: International Journal of Cardiology - February 13, 2013 Category: Cardiology Authors: Oscar H. Del Brutto, Milton Santamaría, Elio Ochoa, Ernesto Peñaherrera, Rocío Santibáñez, Freddy Pow-Chon-Long, Mauricio Zambrano, Victor J. Del Brutto Tags: Letters to the Editor Source Type: research