Hypertension expert discussed the risk factors of this disease and its relationship to COVID-19
According to a I am a student Chinese, 73,314 COVID-19 patients reported that mortality was higher among those suffering from chronic diseases such as: cardiovascular 10,5%, diabetes 7.3%, chronic kidney disease 6,3%, hypertension 6% and cancer 5,6%.
Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, there are many discussions that have been opened about the relationship between hypertension and COVID-19, because people with this pathology -- excessive blood pressure on the walls of the arteries- have a higher percentage of an enzyme that allows the virus to enter cells through a protein.
However, facing controversy, recent studies conducted in Spain have shown that there is no robust evidence to link the use of antihypertensive drugs and an increased risk of infection or severity of the disease, quite the opposite of this controversy Dr.. Jorge Jalil, Professor Division of Cardiovascular Diseases at the Pontifical Catholic University. Vice President of the Society of Hypertension and Researcher at the Center for New Drugs for Hypertension (CENDHY) noted "we have seen that hypertensive patients who are receiving their treatment, better face COVID-19. No stop treatments, it has been confirmed that the use of these drugs does not make patients worse and is likely to protect them".
Through the conversation held at accDIS' last seminar, Dr. Jorge Jalil, took the opportunity to review the scenarios of cardiovascular risk factors, starting with the use of cigarettes, "according to the latest Public Health Survey conducted in 2017, there was a significant decrease of 29,1%, specifically in women".
Another of the most important factors for suffering from cardiovascular disease, it has to do with sedentary lifestyle, "in Chile 87,6% of the population is sedentary", emphasized the expert, who also explained that obesity is another very worrying reality in the country, which is not only related to this pathology, but also carries other chronic diseases, "1 in 4 people has a normal weight, while the rest, 75% of the population suffer from obesity", Said.
With regard to high blood pressure, Chile has remained stable for the past 10 years, throwing as a result that the 27th,6% of the population is hypertensive, however reviewing the age groups it is shown that the prevalence of this condition occurs in people 45 years and older. These conditions were noted in the recent report submitted by the Department of Epidemiology, DIPLAS – MINSAL, where cases reported by COVID-19 without and hospitalized had a high prevalence of high blood pressure, Diabetes, asthma and obesity, explained the doctor.
On the other hand, diabetes also falls among the chronic diseases that have prevalence in the country, which, like high blood pressure, produces inflation, cardiovascular remodeling and probably accelerating in other noncommunicable diseases, said Dr. Jalil.
During the seminar, the researcher also referred to the importance of reducing salt intake, because this is a factor that raises blood pressure, "but we don't talk about that salt we use in the salt shaker, but rather we should decrease preserved food, which contain large portions of salt". To finish, added that another habit we should incorporate into our diet is potassium consumption, which is found in vegetables.