Main environment-related health problems

Cardiovascular diseases

The data

These diseases are one of the leading causes of death in developed countries.

They are the first cause of death in Spain, accounting for 31.2% of all deaths. Within the group of cardiovascular diseases, ischaemic heart diseases are the main cause of death among men (20,226 deaths) and cerebrovascular diseases are the main cause of death among women (17,529 deaths) (Ministry of Health, Social Policy and Equality data for 2010).

In the specific case of Catalonia, 2011 was the first year in which, taking the two sexes together, malignant tumours (28.8%) have caused more deaths than cardiovascular diseases (28.5%).

By age groups, mortality by diseases of the circulatory system holds third place in women aged 15-44 and in men aged 35-44. They are the second cause of death for men aged 45-84 and for women aged up to 74. Beyond these ages, they become the leading cause of death in both sexes. (Government of Catalonia data. Health Plan 2011-2015).

They are the most prevalent health problem. Being chronic diseases, they affect both personal health and public health, and are associated with a risk of complications, lower quality of life and dependence, socioeconomic costs and increased demand on care resources.

 

Risk factors

Cardiovascular diseases are associated with a large number of known risk factors, many of them related with the environment in which we live and work, on which it is often possible to act efficiently and effectively:

  • Lifestyles, basically lack of physical activity and unhealthy diet.
  • Obesity.
  • Air pollution. According to several European studies, air pollution causes 350,000 premature deaths a year in Europe. Of these, 16,000 correspond to Spain. In Catalonia, the number of deaths from air pollution is 3 times higher than from traffic accidents and almost 11 times higher than from accidents at work. Traffic is the main source of this pollution, with the private vehicle as chief contributor.
  • A relationship between excessive noise and cardiovascular disease has been proven in a number of studies. In fact, the risk of heart attack increases 14% for every 10 decibels above the maximum noise levels recommended by the WHO. In the case of people over 65, this risk increases by up to 27%.
  • Stress is harmful for health, particularly for the heart, as it increases the heart rate and blood pressure.

 

Recommendations

The basic recommendation is to promote measures aimed at modifying the environment, favouring physical activity and reducing atmospheric pollution.

Accordingly, one of the most important measures to be considered when designing towns and cities is to foster active transport, so that walking or cycling are the best options, at least for short trips. Prioritizing public transport also helps increase the distances that people travel by foot or bicycle. A good design of both active and public transport improves health and environmental quality.