It is estimated that heart diseases and strokes are the leading causes of death worldwide. For this reason, various international agencies consider these health conditions as a global epidemic. Just in our country more than 109,000 people died of heart diseases in 2012.
According with Marco Antonio Ríos Martinez, General Director of the National Institute of Cardiology Ignacio Chavez (INCar), prevention should be the principal key to developing public health strategies.
The INCar general Director pointed out that heart diseases attack both men and women, especially after the age of 50. He also explained that Mexico ranks first in obesity and overweight; when it occurs in children, it can cause them to suffer cardiovascular disease in their adulthood.
Martinez Rios said that one of the first actions governments should take is promoting preventive medicine. This can help to significantly reduce risk factors of heart disease through healthy habits like a balanced diet and exercise.
He also said that timely patient care should be ensured and access to specialized services provided; regardless of whether or not the patient is beneficiary of any public health institution.
As part of World Heart Day, which is held every September 29, the specialist said that strategies in the fields of teaching and education are vital to combat heart disease. For this reason, the INCar and the UNAM have established commitments to train highly specialized specialists focused on prevention.
Martinez Rios said that at the INCar undergraduate and graduate courses, six specializations and 16 subspecialties are now being taught. The specialist said that the institution he presides is a “university hospital.”
Through: DGCS UNAM
