Cardiovascular Disease

Cardiovascular disease, otherwise commonly called heart disease and stroke, are the largest single cause of mortality.

According to the World Health Organization and Center For Disease Control and Prevention, of the 56.9 million deaths globally in 2016, 15.2 million (26%) were due to heart disease and stroke. In contrast, a mere 1.4 million (2.4%) were due to road injuries[1][2]. Nearly every year, cardiovascular diseases are the number one cause of death. Over the years there have been many proposed mechanisms and likely candidates for causation. One of the most studied is cholesterol, and due both to that and the contentious nature of cholesterol on online health circles (particularly alt-med and health trends) it is the main focus of this article.

Relevance to Veganism

Vegetarians and vegans are consistently found to have lower risk for cardiovascular disease, and this makes up a large part of the health argument against meat. It makes a strong argument for at least reduction of most animal product consumption and incorporating more healthy plant-based foods, though as discussed elsewhere the health argument doesn't strictly recommend veganism, since very small amounts of animal products are probably not significant and it's hard to make any compelling case for health against leather, fur, or animal tested cosmetics which vegans typically avoid. Regardless of the degree of reduction it compels, any reduction in animal products is a reduction in animal suffering too which is an important goal of veganism (not just making people vegan). There are concerns for unintended consequences that have to be kept in mind, see health argument and one step for more.

Causes

Cholesterol

With death and cardiovascular disease on the rise in the 1950s, research was undertaken to determine the best course of preventive action. While correlations with obesity and sedentary lifestyles were strong, interventions aimed at getting people to lose weight and exercise more have limited effect (and there's some evidence that doctors focusing on weight may actually discourage people from visiting the doctor at all, thus having an unintended consequence). Looking for other causes, it was discovered that a fatty molecule in the blood called cholesterol appeared to increase plaque formation. The more of it one seemed to have, the higher their risk of the disease. Today, and thirteen Nobel Prizes later, there is a near-unanimous scientific agreement on the role of cholesterol in heart disease [3]. There is high-quality evidence that demonstrates this, and medications such as statins and PCSK9 inhibitors have been created with the intent of saving lives and preventing the disease (Libby, 2008). However, on the internet, the role of social media influencers has instilled doubt into the public eye and confusion around this issue through the anti-scientific view of "cholesterol skepticism". For more information on Cholesterol specifically (and different types of cholesterol) and its role in cardiovascular disease see the full article on Cholesterol.