02 Mar 2020

Heart diseases are growing at an alarming rate, according to health policy, research and development director in the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Mr Onkemetse Mathala.

“Heart diseases are silent killers in our societies because their symptoms are not well known to the public,” he said during a heart disease awareness walk hosted by the Institute of Health Sciences in Gaborone on Saturday.

Mr Mathala further noted that young people often made the mistake of believing that heart diseases were only for the old people.

“High blood pressure, high sugar intake, obesity, history of heart diseases, smoking, lack of exercise are all risk factors which can lead to heart attacks,” he noted.

He said reckless behaviour such as those of drug and alcohol abusers gave heart diseases a platform to claim lives prematurely.

Mr Mathala, therefore, emphasised on the need to prioritise one’s health through healthy eating.

A heart attack survivor and natural science lecturer at IHS Mr Hebert Letsebe, said they deemed it important to have the walk given the kind of institution IHS was.
“We do not just want to teach our students about such topics as heart diseases, but be practical and go with them to the societies and disseminate this information,” he said.
He said, through this campaign, they wanted to stop premature deaths caused by heart-related diseases.

He added that with the campaign, they hoped to spread awareness so that people could do the right thing and care for their hearts.

A cardiologist, Dr Ks Rao, said cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) were the number one cause of death globally, taking an estimated 17.9 million lives each year.

He explained that CVDs were a group of disorders of the heart and blood vessels, which included coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, rheumatic heart disease and other conditions.

“Four out of five CVD deaths are due to heart attacks and strokes and one-third of these deaths occur prematurely in people under 70 years of age,” he said.

He said of all the body parts, the heart was the hardest working part of the body and that it pumped four to five litres of blood every minute.

He also said people should watch out on cholesterol intake because the higher the cholesterol the higher the risk of getting one’s arteries blocked.

“Everyone should know their weight and know how to keep it contained, taking balanced diets and keeping fit,” he said.

Dr Rao said individuals at risk of CVD might demonstrate raised blood pressure, glucose, and lipids as well as overweight and obesity which could all be easily measured in primary care facilities.  ENDS