Cardiovascular diseases is leading cause of death in Caribbean - CARPHA

Cardiovascular diseases is leading cause of death in Caribbean – CARPHA

Oct 02, 2019 News

Cardiovascular diseases [CVDs] are the number one cause of death and illness among the population in Caribbean countries.
Guyana, by virtue of it being a part of Caricom, has been included in this bracket of countries and has been dealing with the increase scourge of CVDs.
Stressing this daunting state of affairs is the Caribbean Public Health Agency [CARPHA].

CARPHA’s Dr. Glennis Andall-Brereton

CVDs are disorders of the heart and blood vessels and include coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, rheumatic heart disease and other conditions.
According to CARPHA, persons of African and Asian ancestry are at higher risk of developing these diseases than other racial groups. Therefore, persons living in CARPHA Member States are at very high risk of becoming affected.
“Some people are born with conditions that predispose them to heart disease and stroke. A pre-existing heart condition and other physiological factors, including diabetes, hypertension or high blood cholesterol also increase the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases,” CARPHA has revealed.
According to CARPHA, most people who develop cardiovascular diseases do so because of a combination of risk factors such as poor diet, lack of physical activity overweight and obesity, raised or high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking of tobacco and excessive use of alcohol.
“The more risk factors you expose yourself to, the higher your chance of developing CVDs,” CARPHA added.
But there is yet hope. Studies show that cardiovascular disease risk can be reduced through consumption of healthy foods including adequate amounts of fruits and vegetables, reducing body weight to normal levels, increasing physical activity, reducing blood pressure to normal levels, lowering cholesterol, cutting out smoking and avoiding harmful use of alcohol.
Although some risk factors for CVDs such as age or family history, cannot be controlled, Dr. Glennis Andall-Brereton, Senior Technical Officer for Non-Communicable Diseases at CARPHA urges all to “take responsibility for your health by making changes to reduce risk factors. Reducing risk factors improves your chances of leading a heart-healthy life.”
In light of the impact of CVDs, CARPHA has been encouraging its member states to “take action and lower your chances of developing cardiovascular disease…to demonstrate your commitment to enhancing the quality of your own life and that of our loved ones.”
CARPHA CVDs position was amplified on Sunday when World Heart Day 2019 was observed. In the quest to reduce CVDs, CARPHA has committed to helping its Member States in moving towards improving population health by reducing risk factors, to achieve reductions in premature deaths from cardiovascular disease and other non communication diseases in the population.
“With cardiovascular disease being the leading cause of illness and death in our Caribbean countries, what can you do to look after your heart? Make a simple promise…for my heart, for your heart, for all our hearts,” CARPHA said in a statement to mark World Heart Day.
World Heart Day is observed annually on September 29 and aims to inform people about cardiovascular diseases and promote preventative measures to reduce the risk of these diseases.