CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE: A REVIEW OF POTENTIAL MECHANISMS AND EFFECTS OF THERAPY

As the largest single cause of death on the planet, cardiovascular disease (CVD) in all its forms is an important and life or death matter. CVD is not a single disease, but a cluster of diseases and injuries that affect the cardiovascular system (the heart and blood vessels). These are the most common diseases of the heart and of the blood vessels of the heart and brain. In general, they affect people in later life (with the incidence rising sharply after the 30-44 age range), although, according to a leading cardiologist, by around 35 years old, most who will get a form of CVD already have the beginnings of the disease.