ShareKUWAIT: Secretary General of Kuwait Heart Foundation (KHF) Dr Rashid Al-Owayesh said specialized conferences were especially important in providing doctors with the most recent information and scientific research worldwide as well as discussing the latest developments in treating heart diseases in order to enhance the health system in Kuwait.
He made the remarks during the opening of the Kuwait Heart Failure conference that is organized by KHF in cooperation with Sabah Al-Ahmad Heart Center Saturday. The conference deals with several issues related to heart failure and reviewing the most modern treatments in addition to providing doctors with the most recent developments in the field of diagnoses and treatment.
Cardiologist at Sabah Al-Ahmad Heart Center and Conference Chairman Dr Bassam Abu Albanat said the number of deaths due to heart disease in Kuwait have increased after the pandemic after consistently dropping over the past 10 years. He added that it would be a challenge to go back to how things were before COVID-19 and that it might take 10 or more years to restore the low death rates previously achieved in the country.
He pointed to a study published in 2015 that showed the ages of those with heart diseases who are admitted to hospitals in Kuwait and the Arabian Gulf region are 10 years younger than those in Europe and America, with the average age in the West being 59 years.
Owayesh said the conference, in which a large number of local and international elite doctors are participating, aims at providing society with the needed information on heart failure and creating an effective health awareness campaign. The conference is also an opportunity for health professionals to exchange experiences and get to know the most modern means of treatment, especially in the fields of technology and artificial intelligence.
One of the doctors at the conference Cardiologist at Cleveland Hospital in Abu Dhabi Dr Hani Sabour said heart deficiency is one of the causes of death in the region, adding that with the advancement of science, data must be updated continuously in order to help and support patients.
He said heart failure occurs following a heart attack or other diseases that affect the heart. It can also result from gradual damage due to diabetes, hypertension and coronary artery diseases. He added that obesity is one of the main reasons leading to heart muscle failure, in addition to high cholesterol, smoking, and repeated heart attacks. Dr Sabour said there are more than 20 types of medications for the condition, in addition to the scientific advancements. He pointed out that many patients of heart disease or those who have risk factors do not maintain the suitable level of cholesterol to prevent heart diseases.
He said those with heart disease or those who have risk factors such as diabetes, obesity or those who smoke should aim at maintaining the Low Density Cholesterol (LDL) below 70 mg adding that every one point increase in LDL leads to raising the danger of having a heart attack by 25 percent.
