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‘Heart diseases need to be tackled in childhood’

Speaking at a pre-event Press conference, Dr Andrew Eisenhauer, interventional cardiologist at Harvard Medical School, London, said that when a patient is brought for heart treatment at the age of 40-50, he has already been suffering from the disease for several years.

“It is important that calorie intake be controlled during childhood so that it does not turn into a risk factor later in life,” he explained. “Children need to be made aware of the importance of a healthy diet coupled with regular exercise,” he explained.

Titled ‘2008: A New Era for Cardiovascular Risk Reduction,’ the conference was inaugurated by Dr Ali Ahmed bin Shukr, under-secretary at the Ministry of Health. The conference has been organised by Partners International Medical Services and is supported by an educational grant from Pfizer.

The UAE’s Ministry of Health, along with the ministries of all other GCC countries, are working to encourage greater coordination and cooperation between physicians across the region to fight the incidence and impact of heart diseases.

Dr Shukr said: “Important new discoveries are being made everyday, both in terms of advancing the treatments available for patients, and ensuring that people are being advised correctly to help them avoid developing these serious diseases.”

Both the Middle East and Africa are seeing an upsurge in chronic illnesses resulting from both demographic changes and lifestyle issues. Since 1980, obesity rates have tripled or more in some parts of the Middle East and Africa. “A recent study has suggested that by 2025, about 90 per cent of all people suffering from cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) will be in the Middle East and Africa. This is an extremely worrying figure. It’s not only genes to blame for as lifestyle and eating habits play a major role in determining the onset of CVDs,” said Dr Gilbert Mudge, course organiser and member of the Harvard Faculty.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates, 16.7 million people around the globe die of CVDs each year. Conditions relating to heart disease are prevalent throughout the Middle East. The prevalence of hypertension in Kuwait, for example, is 26.3 per cent, 32.1 per cent in Qatar, 45.3 per cent in Egypt and 33 per cent in Oman.

The two-day conference has attracted 200 specialists from across the Middle East and Africa.

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