KUWAIT: Despite the huge advancement in medical science, cardiovascular diseases have become more prominent due to poor lifestyle choices, eating habits, and a lack of physical activity. While that might be discouraging for many, countries around the globe, including Kuwait, will observed World Heart Day on September 29, an event that promoted awareness of heart diseases and ways to counter them. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the main culprits causing deaths are cardiovascular diseases, which account for 16 percent of all deaths globally.
In 2000, over two million people died due to heart-related diseases, with the number jumping horrifically to around nine million in 2019. According to WHO estimations, the number might even reach around 23 million by 2030 if no preventative plans were set in motion. On the numbers of those suffering from heart disease in Kuwait, Dr Abeer Al-Bahho, head of the health reinforcement department at the Health Ministry, told KUNA that cardiovascular diseases were the number one cause of death in the country, according to a study carried out in 2021.
The study showed that there were 78.9 deaths from cardiovascular diseases for every 100,000 of the population, she revealed, noting that the global percentage had reached 85 percent, around 18.6 million annually. Symptoms vary for cardiovascular disease, including tightness in the chest, numbness of legs, hands, and arms, and various others, said Dr Al-Baho, adding that eating healthy and exercising presented a huge chance for people to ward off heart disease.
Unfortunately, Kuwait is leading the global list for obesity and diabetes worldwide, factors that might contribute to cardiovascular diseases, Consultant Cardiologist Dr Farida Al-Hadid said in a similar statement.
Al-Hadid indicated that she had led a study from 2003–07 focusing on employees at government institutes, revealing that the effort had shown that 24 percent of employees were suffering from high blood pressure, a factor that might lead to heart disease. There are many causes for heart disease, she affirmed, noting that genetics, heavy smoking, and bad health habits might also play a part in this matter. A failing heart will have an impact on various organs, according to the consultant.
She indicated that she was partaking in several research projects in Kuwait and abroad, adding that such an effort was to address heart diseases, whatever the cause, to find preventative solutions and viable courses of treatment. On her part, head of cardiology at the Adan Hospital, Dr Samah Al-Kharji, affirmed that heart disease, as in the case of other ailments, could be prevented if one followed a healthy lifestyle and avoided harmful substances such as smoke and junk food, for example.
She indicated that diseases related to the collaging of arteries were on the rise due to the high consumption of fatty foods and a lack of exercise, noting that substituting junk food with a healthy dosage of vegetables and fat-free proteins plus working out helps steer people away from cardiovascular diseases.
Meanwhile, the head of the Health Ministry’s department of nutrition, Dr Sana Al-Majed, said on her part that avoiding tension as much as possible was key to preventing the heart from failing. Other factors include eating healthily, working out, and focusing on overall well-being, she added, saying that even genetic-related causes were curable to some extent. - KUNA