AN ESTIMATED 17 million people worldwide die from heart diseases each year, according to World Health Organisation statistics. Surprisingly, a quarter of these people are under the age of 65.
The Health Ministry, in accordance with the Cyprus Cardiological Institute have organised their annual Heart Disease Prevention Week. The increase in heart disease over the past few years can be explained by many factors, according to Health Minister Charis Charalambous.
“The increase in heart disease is a direct result of the lifestyle that today’s society has adopted.
To be specific, they have stemmed from the mechanisation of society as well as globalisation and economic growth,” he told a news conference yesterday.
“An unbalanced diet? an inactive lifestyle and smoking are the most important reasons that lead to high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels and obesity; which are the main factors that lead to heart disease,” Charalambous went on to say.
Recent reports by the World Health Organisation claim that about one in two adults living in Europe at the moment are overweight.
In his speech, the Health Minister provided the statistics for Cyprus which, though not as high as the general trend, are definitely a cause for concern. In Cyprus, more than half the population has high cholesterol levels, and nearly one in four individuals has high blood pressure.
The Minister also outlined the plan of action for the prevention of heart disease. The plan includes promoting a Mediterranean diet to primary school children, the introduction of a healthy breakfast at schools as well as measures to make youths aware of the dangers of smoking.
Manager of the Cyprus Cardiological Institute, Marios Hannides, spoke about ‘Heart Week’, which is taking place from November 20 to 25.
“This year’s message for the event is ‘How young is your heart?’ and it is really tragic that here in Cyprus, where we have achieved a very high level of diagnosing and treating heart conditions, we have failed on the issue of prevention. Heart disease is currently the biggest cause of death in our country. Unfortunately one in two deaths is attributed to heart disease,” he said.
Hannides went on to describe measures undertaken this week to make the public more aware of the dangers of heart disease. “Like every year, stools have been set up in Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaca and Paphos. At these stools, cardiologists, nurses and health advisers will be present.
There, the public will be able to attain useful information, as well as have their cholesterol, weight and blood pressure tested free of charge”, he ended.
