Cuartas SA, Pérez TMÉ

Language: Spanish
References: 0
Page: 367-380
PDF size: 164.53 Kb.

ABSTRACT

Introduction: there was enough evidence that confirm the onset of atherosclerosis in childhood. Objective: to contribute to reflecting on the bioethical aspects related to genesis and prevention of cardiovascular risks in childhood and to compare the scientific and ethical information that the pediatrician should take into consideration. Methods: systematic international literature review of original and review articles in Spanish and English about bioethics and the origin of atherosclerosis in childhood. This literature has been published in Pubmed database in the last ten years (www.ncbi.nim.nih.gov/pubmed). Development: the onset of the atherosclerosis process is explained as a new area of knowledge to prevent cardiovascular diseases. The state responsibility was analyzed against the globalization process and the rise of cardiovascular risk that links oxidative stress, obesity and atherogenesis. The main bioethical principles in the daily practice were described along with the ethical conflicts; the role of the pediatrician, both in the prevention and the diagnosis of infant atherosclerosis, was also reviewed. Final thoughts: cardiovascular prevention is an ethical commitment to the future, since atherogenesis is a reversible and controllable disorder. The preventive actions not only involve the medical team but also the family, the State and the general society. They required the efforts of each of them in fulfilling their functions and in their working place.