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Background: The impact of risk factors (RF) on morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular disease (CVD) for most Portuguese-speaking countries (PSC) is little known., Objectives: We aimed to analyze the morbidity and mortality from CVD attributable to RF and its variation, from 1990 to 2019, in PSC, based on estimates from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2019 study., Methods: We evaluated changes in cardiovascular RF, mortality rates and age-standardized disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) between 1990 and 2019. The correlation between percentage changes in mortality rates and the sociodemographic index (SDI) of each PSC was evaluated by the Spearman method. A p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant., Results: Elevated systolic blood pressure (SBP) was the main RF for mortality and DALYs for CVD for all PSC. Mortality from CVD showed a downward trend in 2019, more accentuated in Portugal (-66.6%, 95%CI -71.0 - -61.2) and in Brazil (-49.8%, 95%CI -52.5 - -47.1). There was a trend towards an inverse correlation between SDI and the percent change in mortality, which was significant for dietary risks (r=-0.70, p=0.036), high LDL cholesterol (r=-0.77, p=0.015) and high SBP (r=-0.74, p=0.023)., Conclusions: In addition to SBP, dietary and metabolic RF justified a greater variation in the burden of CVD correlated with SDI in the PSC, suggesting the need to adopt health policies adapted to the reality of each country, aiming to reduce their impact on population.

Background: Arterial compliance reduction has been associated with aging and hypertension in supine position. However, the dynamic effects of orthostatism on aortic distensibility has not been defined., Objective: We sought to determine the orthostatic influence and the interference of age, blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) on the great arteries during gravitational stress., Methods: Ninety-three healthy volunteers (age 42 ± 16 years). Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) assumed as aortic stiffness was assessed in supine position (basal phase), during tilt test (TT) (orthostatic phase) and after return to supine position (recovery phase). Simultaneously with PWV acquisition, measures of BP and HR rate were recorded., Results: PWV during TT increased significantly compared to the basal and recovery phases (11.7 ± 2.5 m/s vs. 10.1 ± 2.3 m/s and 9.5 ± 2.0 m/s). Systolic BP (r = 0.55, r = 0.46 and r = 0.39) and age (r = 0.59, r = 0.63 and r = 0.39) correlated with PWV in all phases. The significance level for all tests was established as α = 0.05., Conclusion: We conclude that there is a permanent increase in PWV during orthostatic position that was returned to basal level at the recovery phase. This dynamic pattern of PWV response, during postural changes, can be explained by an increase in hydrostatic pressure at the level of abdominal aorta which with smaller radius and an increased elastic modulus, propagates the pulse in a faster way. Considering that it could increase central pulse reflection during the orthostatic position, we speculate that this mechanism may play a role in the overall adaptation of humans to gravitational stress.