Heart diseases claim 0.6m lives in country: Prof Soomro

MN Report

KARACHI - An estimated eight million people are suffering from cardiovascular diseases in Pakistan and of them 2.5m reside in Sindh, while heart ailments claim 0.6m lives across the country annually.

This was stated by head of the city’s Civil Hospital’s (CHK) cardiovascular department, Prof Dr Khalida Soomro, at an awareness seminar titled “Heart-Healthy Environment” held here to mark the `World Heart Day’. It was followed by an awareness walk organized by the CHK’s cardiology department in collaboration with Dow University of Health Sciences at Arag auditorium.

Prof Khalida said that heart diseases are the leading global causes of deaths and majority of deaths have been occurring in low and middle-income countries.

Voicing concern over increasing incidence of cardiovascular diseases among young generation, she said that high blood pressure, high cholesterol, excessive use of tobacco and unhealthy lifestyle are the major causes behind the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases.

Prominent cardiologist Prof Dr Nadeem Qamar said prevalence of heart diseases are on the rise in the country due to lack of awareness and unhealthy lifestyle.

Stressing the need for adopting preventive measures to avoid cardiovascular diseases, he suggested that research and public awareness centres should be established across the country so as to reduce the spread of heart diseases through sustained awareness campaigns. 

Prof Junaid Ashraf said that cardiovascular diseases have been claiming millions of lives annually across the world although such a high mortality rate could be prevented by adopting healthy lifestyle. 

He said regular exercise could reduce the risk of heart attacks, besides sound sleep was essential for healthy heart as it helps in preventing obesity, high blood pressure, heart attack, diabetes and depression.
Dr Fariduddin said that heart healthy diet which includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, plant-based cooking oil and fish could reduce the risk of heart diseases.    

Prof Saleem Illyas, Prof Rauf Memon, Prof Raza-ur-Rehman, Dr Nawaz Lashari, Dr Rehan Umer and Dr Arshad Ali Shah also spoke on this occasion.