Heart disease behind most Mallorca deaths

HEART diseases are the main cause of death in Balearic Islands, according to data from the Health, Family and Social Welfare Council.

In 2010, cardiology departments in public hospitals in the Balearic Islands attended to 35,339 external consultations, of which 31 per cent were first time patients.

More than 4,320 patients were admitted to public hospitals on the islands with cardiac pathologies, most of them at Son Dureta (2,314), and the rest at Son Llatzer (901), Manacor (523), Can Misses (455) and the Inca Regional Hospital (128), according to the report carried out to coincide with World Heart Day, which is today.

In Spain, there are 125,000 deaths from cardiac diseases, 80 per cent of which could be avoided.

Preventing risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, smoking and high cholesterol, amongst others, is key to lowering death rates and controlling cardiac diseases, according to the Son Espases University Hospital Cardiac Surgery Department,.

Other factors, such as age, gender and family history cannot be controlled, but as well as not smoking, keeping checks on high blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol and fat intake, daily exercise is recommended, as is keeping to an ideal weight, controlling infections and avoiding stress, alcohol and drugs.

Some 430 patients underwent heart surgery at Son Espases in 2010 with different ailments, such as coronary, valve, aorta and congenital problems.

By Jennifer Leighfield