On September 29, 2024, the global community marked the World Heart Day (WHD). The annual commemoration is driven by the World Heart Federation (WHF). At this year’s occasion, with the hastag “#UseHeartforAction” , the President of the Nigerian Cardiac Society, Prof. Augustine Odili, revealed that over 20.5 million people die of heart disease every year, with more than 75 per cent of the deaths occurring in low and middle income countries.
The cardiovascular expert lamented the astronomical increase in the prevalence of heart diseases, describing them as a group of disorders of the heart and blood vessels, including coronary heart disease, heart failure, kidney disease, strokes, peripheral artery disease, rheumatic heart disease and other conditions.
Alarmed by the upward rise of the ailments, especially in developing countries like Nigeria, Prof. Odili attributed the phenomenon to rapid urbanisation, an increase in air pollution, and lifestyle issues. He noted that almost eight out of every 10 deaths occurred in low-income countries as a result of cardiovascular diseases, stressing that situation called for a radical approach.
Prof. Odili asserted that the number of CVD disease-related deaths is expected to rise above 23 million by 2030 and advocated a healthy diet, physical activities such as brisk walking, cycling, and jogging, and effective stress management, among others, as some of the ways to greatly improve heart health.
He listed some of the risk factors for heart disease to include lifestyle, such as lack of physical exercise, smoking tobacco, consuming alcohol, and eating unhealthy diets rich in salt and saturated fats and low in fresh fruits and vegetables.
Available statistics revealed that over one billion of the world’s seven billion population are sickened by the ailment commonly referred to as a silent killer. The annual fatalities from CVDs are more than victims of cancer, HIV/AIDS and malaria combined with the developing world accounting for about 80 per cent.
Understandably, the level of awareness is very low in such countries, despite the annual WHD ritual that commenced more than a decade and half ago. Many people living in the rural areas know little or nothing about their cardiovascular health. Heart attacks have caused many sudden deaths among supposedly healthy-looking people in both urban and rural communities. This is because in some cases, heart failures come without any signs of illness. When such deaths occur, they are attributed to attacks by witches in the village or the enemy next door.
It is also public knowledge that among the urban dwellers and even the enlightened ones, little or no attention is paid to medical examinations like subjecting themselves to regular blood pressure checks. The culture of self-medication, though invariably propelled by the prevailing poverty and hardship, especially in Nigeria, is not helping matters. Even when symptoms like severe headaches manifest, sufferers usually reach for pain killers, while the causes are not investigated until the damage is done.
Over-eating by the rich, unhealthy diets, high cholesterol, high glucose level and lack of exercise help the disease to blossom. High salt intake and cigarette smoking also fuel the scourge. Available statistics show that high consumption of salt accounts for approximately 2.5m people dying annually from CVDs.
Consumption of tobacco is already established as another major cause of heart diseases. While government at all levels has been making attempts at discouraging cigarette smoking especially in public places, manufacturers of the product have devised ways and means of keeping their stranglehold on smokers through aggressive marketing and attractive packaging of the product.
Statistics also show that between five and six million people die of tobacco-related diseases yearly, taking along a huge number of secondary smokers, i.e. those who hang around smokers. In a similar vein, about 2.5m lives are lost annually to alcohol consumption. It has also become more imperative to heighten the campaign against the CVDs in view of the prevalence of obesity and physical inactivity among children and young populace. Hitherto, hypertension was common among the older people. This trend is abnormal and should be reversed to save the future generations from unhealthy prospects.
We recognise the deliberate efforts by some government establishments and private organisations at encouraging their employees and individuals to engage in monthly road walk. Also worthy of commendation are the free medical services rendered occasionally by some Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), some of which examine the cardiac health of beneficiaries. It is obvious that many Nigerians are walking corpses. The ordinary ones among them have gradually lost the sense of keeping fit by eating good food and doing exercises, as they toil daily just to survive.
While acknowledging the health benefits of regular exercises, it is, however, advisable that individuals should be sure of the state of their hearts before hitting the road. There have been instances where people collapsed and died in an effort to keep fit.