According to Dr. Jorge Rodriguez, from the Ministry of Health, a report of Medical Records and Statistics of the Social Security Fund (CSS), in 2018, recorded 5,508 deaths due to cardiovascular diseases, which represented 29.1 percent of the total number of deaths that year.

While at least 6,829 people died in 2021 as a result of a cardiovascular disease, that’s about 43 percent of the deaths registered in that year, the physician indicated to the TVN news channel.

As explained by the Pan American Health Organization, in 2019, despite some advances in the last decade, 28 percent of women and 43 percent of men in Latin America and the Caribbean were unaware that they suffered from hypertension.

An alarming situation also highlighted is that millions of people with hypertension were not receiving treatment and, among those who were, only 35 percent of women and 23 percent of men had their blood pressure levels under control.

On the occasion of World Heart Day, which is celebrated every September 29, Rodriguez recommended the population to understand that small changes can make a big difference in their health.

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