By Deborah Onyofufeke, Abuja
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Ali Pate on Friday, disclosed that cardiovascular diseases, CVDs, are the leading Non-Communicable Diseases, NCDs, and the foremost cause of death globally taking an estimated 17.9 million lives each year.
He added that these cardiovascular deaths, 85% are due to heart attack and stroke, and over three-quarters occur in low- and middle-income countries.
On this note, professor Pate beckoned on Nigerians to take proper care of their hearts, stressing that the heart is the engine room of the body responsible for pumping life and sustaining blood to all parts of the body.
Represented by the minister of state for health, Dr Tunji Alausa, at a press briefing held in Abuja to commemorate the World Heart Day 2023, Pate stated that the morbidity and mortality due to cardiovascular diseases in Nigeria is underestimated because of inadequate awareness and health seeking behaviours as well as limited screening, diagnostic and therapeutic services including poor data repository.
He advised Saying “Giving the silent and chronic nature of majority of the cardiovascular diseases, it is important to institute long-lasting measures to prevent, detect and managed them early in order to avert complications such as heart attack, heart failure, stroke, and even death”.
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The minister however added that the risk factors for heart diseases are well known and largely preventable.
He added that the ministry has also embarked on an NCDs survey “the FMOH is currently in the field conducting National Steps Survey of NCDs, however, several pockets of studies in Nigeria reports various incidence and prevalence of cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension at a prevalence greater than 30%, stroke incidence at 25.9 per 100,000 persons per year between 2000 and 2015.
“Coronary heart disease prevalence at 0.7%; rheumatic heart disease, which is a disease of the socio-economically disadvantaged at 27 per 1000 children.
“The 2018 WHO Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) Country Profiles show that NCDs accounted for 29% of all deaths in Nigeria with cardiovascular diseases responsible for 11% of all the NCD deaths. The country profile also shows that the risk of dying prematurely from NCDs in Nigeria is 22% Premature mortality in this instance is defined as death occurring between ages 30 and 70 years from any of the common NCDs”.
Pate disclosed that a Nigerian heart foundation acquired cardiac emergency response device for saving lives to support the work being done by the ministry.
He said “To complement the FMOH’s efforts in responding to heart emergencies such as heart arrest, I am glad to inform you that the Nigerian Heart Foundation, a member of the National NCD Multisectoral Technical Working Group, has procured three Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) for deployment at appropriate designated high population areas such as the airports.
“AEDs are portable, life-saving medical devices used to revive sudden heart arrest. I want to commend the Nigerian Heart Foundation for this initiative and encourage other partners to collaborate with government on similar initiatives”.
