- The cardiologist at the Ribera Almendralejo hospital recalls the importance of avoiding cardiovascular risk factors that we can control "since aspects such as age, sex or genetics cannot be controlled"
- The new Cardiology consultation launched in this health center wants to help the population of Almendralejo to prevent cardiovascular accidents, with complete check-ups for patients and personalized attention, recommended especially for patients with risk factors
Dr. Pablo García, cardiologist at the Hospital Ribera Almendralejo, ensures that healthy lifestyle habits "can prevent up to 80% of heart attacks." “There are cardiovascular risk factors that we cannot control, such as age, sex or genetic factors, but we can intervene in those that depend on us and our habits”, she assures.
With the start-up of the Cardiology consultation in this hospital, managed by the Ribera healthcare group Since January, Dr. García, who defines himself as "a clinical cardiologist expert in empathizing with patients", considers it important that patients identify and control these risk factors as soon as possible, to prevent possible cardiovascular accidents. "Risk is the probability that a certain event will occur within a specific period of time," he explains, which applied to the heart means "knowing how many ballots I have to suffer a heart attack or stroke within a period of ten years, for example" . And those ballots vary according to the number and intensity of the risk factors that we have.
The classic cardiovascular risk factors, according to Dr. García, are high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking and high cholesterol levels. To these must be added the "involved factors" such as obesity, sedentary lifestyle, sleep disorders, pollution or the type of diet. And he recalls that "there are factors that can be measured in blood tests with certain markers, others that are assessed from imaging tests, such as coronary calcium, and others with stress tests." The most important thing, he adds, "is to carry out clinical follow-up, especially in certain age groups and in patients who have one or more of the previously mentioned risk factors."
The cardiologist from the Ribera group at the Ribera Almendralejo Hospital also explains that cardiovascular risk is calculated using a population with certain characteristics. "That is why the risk is populational and then it is extrapolated to specific subjects", he assures, and gives an example: "If you are hypertensive, diabetic, smoke and are between 50 and 55 years old, the risk of a population of hypertensive, diabetic and smokers of that age range, but that is an estimate, although it is very useful to decide what treatments we should give the patient and what diagnostic tests should be carried out”. Doctor Pablo García talks about this topic and many others related to Clinical Cardiology in his blog and also on their social networks.
About the hospital and the Ribera group
Since January 2021, the bank group manages the Almendralejo Hospital, following an agreement with cajalmendralejo, with the aim of converting this center into a first-rate hospital and socio-sanitary complex in Extremadura. The agreement with the Almendralejo Town Hall and the Extremadura Health Service make this hospital an example of public-private collaboration, to which the Ribera group offers its experience and proven excellence, after more than two decades of managing health centers in national and international projects. In Spain, Ribera is present in four Autonomous Communities and manages eight hospitals, four of them university, and more than 60 health centers in the Valencian Community, Madrid Community, Galicia and Extremadura. It has several international projects, as well as a purchasing center, Ribera b2b, a Futurs technology division and a Ribera lab division. Ribera's shareholders are the American insurance company Centene Corporation (90%) and Banco Sabadell (10%).
The Ribera group is working on the renovation of the infrastructures of the Ribera Almendralejo hospital, together with Cajalmendralejo, owner of the facility. Currently, the hospital has 60 professionals, it has just launched outpatient clinics for Cardiology, General Surgery, Digestive System, Ophthalmology and Gynecology, in addition to the Covid tests and post-vaccination test. But the health group's commitment to the project will mean the creation of new direct and indirect jobs, as well as involvement in the social, business and cultural fabric of the municipality, with initiatives focused on prevention and health education.
