ABSTRACT
Consensus statement on smoking and vascular risk About 22% of the Spanish population are daily smokers. Men are more likely to smoke than women. In Spain, women between 15-25 years of age smoke as much or more than men. Every smoker should be assessed for: physical dependence on nicotine (Fagerström test), social and psychological dependence (Glover Nilsson test), level of motivation to quit (Richmond test), probability of therapy success (Henri-Mondor and Michael-Fiore tests), and stage of behavioral change development (Prochaska and DiClementi). Advice on smoking cessation is highly cost-effective and should always be provided. Smoking is an enhancer of cardiovascular risk because it acts as a pathogen agent in the development of arteriosclerosis and is associated with ischemic heart disease, stroke, and peripheral artery disease. Smoking increases the risk of chronic lung diseases (COPD) and is related to cancers of the lung, female genitalia, larynx, oropharynx, bladder, mouth, esophagus, liver and biliary tract, and stomach, among others. Combined oral contraceptives should be avoided in women smokers older than 35 years of age due to the risk of thromboembolism. In smoking cessation, the involvement of physicians, nurses, psychologists, etc. is important, and their multidisciplinary collaboration is needed. Effective pharmacological treatments for smoking cessation are available. Combined treatments are recommended when smoker's dependence is high. For individuals who are unable to quit smoking, a strategy based on tobacco damage management with a total switch to smokeless products could be a less dangerous alternative for their health than continuing to smoke.
Subject(s)
Smoking Cessation , Smoking , Humans , Female , Male , Adult , Smoking/adverse effects , Adolescent , Young Adult , Cardiovascular Diseases/prevention & control , Cardiovascular Diseases/etiology , Spain , Tobacco Use Disorder/therapy , Heart Disease Risk FactorsABSTRACT
Hypertension is one of the most frequent causes for seeking primary care attention and its prevalence increases with age, affecting 68% of people older than 60 years. Data indicate that the prevalence of hypertense individuals older than 65 years has increased from 48% in 2002 to 58% in 2010. High blood pressure is related to 1 out of every 2 deaths from cardiovascular causes in the Spanish population ≥ 50 years and causes 13.5% of premature deaths worldwide, both in persons with hypertension and in those with high-normal blood pressure. Although few clinical trials have been performed in the older population, especially in the very old, there is evidence that diastolic and systolic blood pressure control reduces cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in older hypertense individuals. Consequently, the updates of the various clinical practice guidelines continue to include among their objectives-with some nuances-good blood pressure control in this population group. The present article reviews new evidence on the approach to hypertension in the elderly, which has modified some of the recommendations made in the clinical practice guidelines of several scientific societies.
