JEDDAH – The fast pace of modern day life places enormous pressure on the health conditions of most individuals. In the face of day-to-day stress, the heart that dictates our survival is also susceptible to illnesses, sometimes fatal. It is very vulnerable to damage from our habits such as, smoking, eating an unhealthy diet or putting it under stress. When the heart's functions become compromised, this is known as cardiovascular disease (CVD), a broad term that covers any disorder to the system that has the heart at its center. CVDs rank as the world's leading cause of death. An estimated 17.3 million people died from it in 2008, representing 30 percent of all global deaths. Of these deaths, an estimated 7.3 million were due to coronary heart disease (a condition that leads to a heart attack) and 6.2 million were due to stroke. Annually, the World Heart Federation set aside Sept. 29 to mark World Heart Day and motivate individuals to literally listen to their hearts more closely. The significance of such a day gains added meaning with the global direct and indirect costs of CVDs estimated at $863 billion in 2010 and projected to rise to $1.04 trillion in 2030. The need to prioritize heart health is more pronounced in Saudi Arabia where cardiovascular risk factors emerge as a major health threat among its population. According to Pfizer's recent Africa Middle East Cardiovascular Epidemiological (ACE) Study, CV risk factors are significantly high in a relatively young study population in Africa and Middle East. An epidemiological, cross-sectional, multi-center and multi-country study in the region, the ACE study evaluates the prevalence of CV risk factors. Prof. Othman Hussein Metwally, Head of Cardiology Department, King Fahd Hospital, Jeddah said: “More people die annually from CVDs than from any other cause. It is therefore vital that individuals understand the risk factors of CVD and take remedial action to protect themselves and their loved ones.” Primary CV risk factors include overweight/obesity, lack of physical activity, smoking, dyslipidaemia, diabetes mellitus and hypertension, each of which is controllable. The ACE study identified dyslipidaemia, disorders of fat metabolism, is often due to diet and lifestyle – as being the single largest CVD risk factor, affecting 70 percent of those tested. Abdominal obesity ranked in second place with 68 percent affected. The research noted that females in the region had a higher prevalence of obesity and abdominal obesity than males. Among the respondents, 43 percent had raised blood pressure and obesity affected 37 percent of the study population. The prevalence of diabetes mellitus was found to be 25 percent and 14 percent were found to be smokers. “Awareness plays an important role in curbing such risk factors and reducing the burden of CVDs. Several risk factors such as high blood pressure and increased cholesterol show no symptoms until devastating complications set in such as a debilitating stroke or heart attack. The community needs to be educated and encouraged to address these risk factors despite their silent nature. The World Heart Day provides an ideal platform to raise awareness on matters of the heart,” said Metwally. As the famous saying goes – an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. This certainly holds true to the matters of the heart. Metwally advised ways to prevent CVDs: “One of the keys to preventing CVD is getting risk factors under control. Eating a heart-healthy diet that includes foods that maintain the levels of cholesterol and fatty molecules will certainly reduce overall cholesterol levels and bad cholesterol (LDL- cholesterol), which are harmful to the heart. This approach will also help increase the so called good cholesterol, (high-density lipoproteins (HDL)) cholesterol while reducing other harmful, fatty molecules called triglycerides.” He underscored the importance of exercising, as well as controlling associated conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, weight, stress and habits such as smoking. — SG
