A stable downward trend in mortality from cardiovascular diseases is observed in the Vitebsk region

April 19, Vitebsk / Olga Bogacheva - BELTA /. A stable downward trend in mortality from circulatory system diseases has been observed in the Vitebsk region for the last three years, the chief freelance cardiologist of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee's Healthcare Department, professor at Vitebsk State Medical University, Vladislav Podpalov, told a BELTA correspondent. In 2011, the share of mortality from circulatory system diseases in the region's mortality structure was 45.5%, in 2010 it was 46.2%, and in 2009 it was 47.3%. At the same time, according to the results of the past year, this indicator was lower than the republican one (51.9%) and is the lowest among all regions of the republic. The overall incidence of arterial hypertension in the Vitebsk region for the past year was 1371.3 per 10 thousand adult population. The relative mortality rate from ischemic heart disease per 1 thousand population decreased from 5.1 in 2005 to 4.31 in 2011. Vladislav Podpalov noted a high level of awareness about circulatory system diseases among the region's residents, which is 75%. However, the need to increase the responsible attitude towards their health among people suffering from such diseases remains acute. "Even knowing about their problems, people do not take adequate measures to avoid the development of diseases, often do not listen to or follow doctors' recommendations. The result of such an irresponsible attitude towards one's own health is ending up in a hospital bed with serious problems," the cardiologist stated. -0-