Experts urge action on vascular disease
Experts at the Vascular 2013 Congress in Montreal in October stated that collective action must be taken to reduce the growing burden of vascular disease in Canada. Recognizing that 90% of Canadians are facing an unacceptable risk of developing vascular disease, experts at the congress signed a vascular declaration entitled “Making the connection: A call to action on vascular health.”
In the declaration, the experts call for urgent action and outline a collective approach that could vastly decrease the impact of vascular disease on Canadians, while acknowledging that the health sector cannot solve the problem alone.
Five unhealthy behaviors—unhealthy diet, smoking, lack of physical activity, excess alcohol intake, and stress—are well-established risk factors for more than 50 diseases including diabetes, stroke, hypertension, heart disease, dementia, kidney disease, and certain lung and eye conditions. According to the declaration, an integrated, multifaceted approach to address the prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and end-of-life care is needed to reduce the rate of vascular disease in Canada.
Read the declaration at www.canadianstrokenetwork.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/VascularDeclarat....