Heart Disease - Prevention is better than cure

Dateline: 04/05/98

Heart Disease has always been a public health problem. People are living longer and are healthier than before. A ever-increasing number however will suffer from one form of heart disease or the other in their now-extended lives.

The enormity of the problem

The World Health Organization estimated that 12 million deaths were related to cardiovascular diseases in 1992. One half of all deaths in developed countries like the USA were from heart disease. In developing nations too, the increase in coronary heart disease is reaching epidemic proportions. India and China, which together account for over 50% of the earth's population, together tot up 4.5 to 5 million deaths from heart disease every year.

And that doesn't count the sufferers who don't die, but live with complications and restrictions imposed by their disease. Though not measurable directly, the cost of treating heart disease in American women alone was estimated to be around $250 billion in 1997.

The outlook isn't entirely gloomy, though. Over the past two decades, there has been a significant decline in the incidence of heart disease. In Japan and Australia, 50-60% decline in heart attacks has been recorded since 1980.

What is responsible for this improvement ?

The causes for the decline in heart disease are probably

• decreasing modifiable risk factors - smoking, cholesterol, exercise
• better treatment facilities for heart attacks and strokes
• emphasis on primary prevention rather than treatment

So do you want to become just another heart disease statistic ? I thought not.

Today, 5th April, is World Health Day.
Make a resolution today.
Decide you will work on modifying your heart disease risk profile now.

But how do I go about it ? Read on.

Next : What are the risk factors for heart disease ?