Family Health Festival focuses on heart diseases by Farhana Chowdhury
16 February 2011 The Family Health Festival coming under the DSF umbrella is focusing their attention on making more people aware of the dangers of cardiovascular diseases.
Dr Afzhalhussein Yusufali, Consultant Cardiologist, Dubai Hospital said: “About 30 to 40 per cent of people around the globe die from cardiovascular diseases and this figure can also be attributed to the residents in the UAE. More young people are susceptible to obesity and diabetes. We can see people barely 28 to 30 years old dying of a heart attack. People who are obese are likely to suffer a stroke or heart attack in 10 to 15 years time,” said Dr Yusufali.
The Family Health Festival (FHF), endorsed by the Ministry of Health, and sponsored by Astrazeneca, set up screening booths around designated areas in Dubai to give residents a chance to find out their health conditions.
“As an individual, you need to identify your problem to find out a solution. So it is important for people to go for regular check-ups in order to detect health problems early and prevent such diseases,” he said.
The Safe at Heart Initiative is one of the campaigns of FHFD and aims to raise awareness about the growing burden and prevention of cardiovascular disease in the region.
Supported by the Astrazeneca and Emirates Cardiac Society, it was launched to help residents monitor their cholesterol levels and control it.
Dr Yusufali said the Body Mass Index (BMI) rates among Emiratis in the UAE is rising but it is possible to keep it under check with the right amount of information and education.
People should be aware that if high levels of LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol circulates in the blood, it can slowly build up in the walls of the arteries in the heart and brain.
It can form plaque (a thick, hard deposit) together with other substances that can clog those arteries, a condition known as atherosclerosis.
A clot (thrombus) that forms near this plaque can block the blood flow to part of the heart muscles and cause a heart attack. If a clot blocks the blood flow to part of the brain, it results in a stroke.
The results collected through the month-long screening will be released in the next coming weeks, and will add to local data on the status of cholesterol control in the country.
Facts And Figures In Gulf Countries
- Cardiovascular mortality is a leading cause of death in the UAE
- Diets high in saturated fats
- Being overweight
- Lack of regular exercise
- Heredity is a factor in some people
What causes high cholesterol:
- Diets high in saturated fats
- Being overweight
- Lack of regular exercise
- Heredity is a factor in some people
(Provided by Dr Prem Jagyasi, MD & CEO, ExHealth, Dubai Healthcare City) (Courtesy Safe at Heart Study & Report).
