Cardiovascular diseases are a problem all over the world, but it is mostly Western cultures that struggle with these diseases. Worldwide 17.5 million people died from cardiovascular diseases in 2005. That is 30% of all global deaths.
Physical inactivity and unhealthy diet are some main risk factors which increase risks to cardiovascular diseases. That is because blood contains something called cholesterol. The cholesterols task in the body is to transport fat in the veins. When we eat more fat, our body has to produce more cholesterol. When the cholesterol content in the body gets too high it can lead to arteriosclerosis. That is when fat and calcium forms a layer up to the inside of the veins, and makes the passage smaller, and the blood pressure rise. If some of this layer falls of, it can create a blood clot. If you get a blood clot in the brain or heart, there are big chances of dying.
Comparison:
|
UK |
India |
|
|
|
|
Stroke Deaths per thousands of inhabitants 2002 |
Heart disease Deaths per thousands of inhabitants 2002 |
Rheumatic heart disease Deaths per thousands of inhabitants 2002 |
| India |
0,7‰ |
1,5‰ |
0,1‰ |
| The UK |
1,0‰ |
2,0‰ |
0,03‰ |
See more here: http://www.who.int/cardiovascular_diseases/en/cvd_atlas_29_world_data_table.pdf
From what we can see at the statistics more per cent of the inhabitants in the UK have cardiovascular diseases than in India. We know that cardiovascular diseases can be caused by overweight and obesity. Therefore UK has a bigger risk for getting these diseases because, as we said earlier, people in UK have more problems with overweight.
