World Heart Day 2008
Know your risk for heart disease
World Heart Day is an international campaign by World Heart Federation against heart disease and stroke which is going to be observed tomorrow. This annual campaign aims at increasing public awareness of growing threat of heart disease and stroke. Globally, cardiovascular diseases (heart diseases) are the number one cause of death and projected to remain so. Heart disease and stroke cause 17.5 million deaths each year, as many deaths as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and diabetes plus all forms of cancer and chronic respiratory disease combined. Eighty per cent of the victims are from low- and middle-income countries like Bangladesh although it is largely preventable. With simple and affordable steps we can reduce the major risk factors which hasten the heart disease to develop. Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) include coronary heart disease (heart attacks), cerebrovascular disease (stroke), raised blood pressure (hypertension), peripheral artery disease, rheumatic heart disease, congenital heart disease and heart failure. The major causes of cardiovascular disease are tobacco use, physical inactivity, and unhealthy diet. Other factors include high cholesterol level, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, stress, obesity, family history of heart disease. Controlling the risk factors helps the heart to age more slowly and dramatically reduces the risk of heart disease. The message of World Heart Day is a positive one and emphasises the importance of a heart-healthy lifestyle to leading a better, longer life. Each year World Heart Day focuses on a specific theme. This year's campaign encourages people to Know Your Risk! and to find out what they can do to reduce it. Heart attacks and strokes are mainly caused by a blockage that prevents blood from flowing to the heart or the brain. The most common cause is a build-up of fatty deposits on the inner walls of the blood vessels that supply the heart or brain. The blood vessels become narrower and less flexible, also known as atherosclerosis (or hardening of the arteries). The blood vessels are then more likely to become blocked by blood clots. When this happens, the blocked vessels cannot supply blood to the heart and brain, which then becomes damaged. An early form of fatty deposits, known as fatty streaks, can even be found in some children younger than 10 years. These deposits get slowly worse as the person gets older. So it is never too early and never too late to start taking care of your heart. The level of risk for heart disease and stroke is a combination of modifiable and non-modifiable factors. Among them high blood pressure is one of the most important factor. There are usually no obvious signs of high blood pressure but the good news is that it is easy for health-care professionals to detect and usually controllable with lifestyle changes and/or medication. Many of us are unaware of the risk factors and whether our own lifestyle and family history could be contributing to our risk of developing heart diseases and stroke. By finding out your level of risk you are taking a simple but significant step towards preventing your life being affected by hypertension. If you know your blood pressure, in particular, your blood cholesterol and your blood sugar levels combined with your height, weight and waist measurement, your health-care professional will be able to advise you what specific actions should be taken to reduce your risk of suffering from heart disease or stroke. So you can have a heart for life. Heart diseases and stroke can be better prevented by regular exercise, avoiding tobacco use and second-hand tobacco smoke and a healthier diet — low in salt and fat and rich in fibres, fresh vegetables, fruit and maintaining a healthy body weight. Studies have shown that increased consumption of fruit and vegetables from less than three to more than five servings a day is related to a 17 percent reduction in coronary heart disease. Regular light exercise like walking for a particular period (say 30-45 minutes) can reduce the risk to a significant level. High blood pressure in particular is closely related to excessive consumption of salty foods. Comprehensive action requires combining approaches that seek to reduce the risks throughout the entire population with strategies that target individuals at high risk or with established disease. Examples of population-wide interventions that can be implemented to reduce CVDs include: comprehensive tobacco control policies, taxation to reduce the intake of foods that are high in fat, sugar and salt, building walking and cycle ways to increase physical activity. Effective and inexpensive medication is available to treat nearly all CVDs. For an example, after a heart attack or stroke, the risk of a recurrence or death can be substantially lowered with a combination of drugs — statins to lower cholesterol, drugs to lower blood pressure, and aspirin. Operations used to treat CVDs include coronary artery bypass, balloon angioplasty (where a small balloon-like device is threaded through an artery to open the blockage), valve repair and replacement should be more accessible for all sections of population through a nationwide planning. There is a need for increased government investment through national programmes aimed at prevention and control of CVDs. Integrated approaches should be taken which will focus on the main common risk factors for CVD. By adopting these, the picture really can change for the better.
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