The recent World Health Organisation (WHO) alert on likely increase in the number deaths from cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) to 23.6 million annually by 2030 from the present 17.6 million per year is disturbing. The warning should worry health authorities in Nigeria and other developing countries where the condition is prevalent.
In its latest report entitled “Global Atlas on CVD Prevention and Control,” the global health body stated that over 80 percent of CVD deaths take place in low and middle-income nations, including Nigeria. According to the
organisation, CVDs are diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels such as arteries, capillaries and veins. The term also refers to any disease that affects the cardiovascular system, especially cardiac disease, vascular diseases of the brain, kidney and peripheral arterial disease.
Although the causes of cardiovascular disease are diverse, the organisation said that atherosclerosis and/ or hypertension are the most common. The risk factors for heart disease and stroke listed by the report include raised blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels, smoking, inadequate intake of fruits and vegetables, overweight, obesity and physical inactivity.
Sadly, the report notes that while a large proportion of CVDs is preventable, the disease continues to rise because of inadequate preventive measures. For heart health, WHO recommends physical activity for at least 30 minutes every day.
This, it says, will prevent heart attacks and strokes. The organisation also encourages the eating of at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day in addition to limiting salt intake to less than one teaspoon a day. It also attributes the rise in prevalence of the disease to ageing and lifestyle changes. We commend the WHO for the timely alert and call on the nation’s health authorities to take seriously the warning on the rise in cardiovascular diseases and rise up to the challenge.
They should do something to avert the impending deaths from heart diseases. Let governments at all levels in the country embark on enlightenment programmes on how to stem the rise in CVDs. Government should do this in view of palpable ignorance of the public on the diseases’ causative factors, preventive measures and remedial procedures. We urge Nigerians to engage in physical activities and take to healthy nutrition that will ensure optimum heart health.
Fortunately, Nigeria has abundant fruits and vegetables that are required to keep CVDs at bay. We should eat more of our local foods, as they do not predispose people to heart diseases, when contrasted with the over-processed foreign ones that some Nigerians now patronise with relish, especially fast foods. It is also heartwarming to know that the Federal Government is working assiduously with stakeholders to ensure that the Tobacco Control Bill and the Mental Health Bill are passed by the National Assembly.
This is very important considering the fact that smoking is a major contributor to cardiovascular diseases. Besides, the Minister of State for Health, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, also revealed that government has made provision in the 2012 and 2013 budgets for purchase of modern diagnostic equipment for CVDs and non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
In view of the debilitating nature of CVDs, we enjoin the federal, state and local governments’ health authorities to team up and ensure that Nigerians do not die from these diseases. While efforts are being intensified by the nation’s health systems to respond to the disease, we advise that more should be done in taking care of those already afflicted with the condition. Let the government organise more awareness campaigns on the disease and encourage members of the public to go for regular medical checks.
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