Three Interventions Could Cut Cardiovascular Deaths

Lowering blood pressure, cutting sodium intake, and eliminating intake of trans fat could cut the incidence of premature death from cardiovascular disease by 94 million people worldwide during the next 25 years, according to a study published online June 10 in Circulation.

Vasilis Kontis, Ph.D., from Imperial College London in the United Kingdom, and colleagues quantified the projected impact on global mortality (from 2015 to 2040) for three feasible, high-impact interventions: scaling up treatment of high blood pressure to 70 percent, reducing sodium intake by 30 percent, and eliminating the intake of artificial trans fatty acids.

The researchers report that the combined effect of the three interventions delayed 94.3 million deaths during the 25 years. Just increasing coverage of antihypertensive medications to 70 percent would delay 39.4 million deaths, while reducing sodium intake by 30 percent would delay another 40 million deaths. An additional 14.8 million deaths could be delayed by eliminating trans fat. South Asia would see the largest estimated impact of trans fat elimination, while sub-Saharan Africa had the largest proportion of delayed premature deaths out of all delayed deaths.

"National and international efforts to scale up these interventions should be a focus of cardiovascular disease prevention programs," conclude the authors.

One researcher disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical and insurance industries.

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