Alarming cardiovascular diseases in Nigeria

Recent research has shown that cardiovascular disorders have overtaken infectious disease as Nigeria’s number one killer. Making this assertion, a Professor of Cardiovascular Diseases at Babcock University, Ilishan Remo, Ogun State, Kamar Adeleke listed the health challenges to include Stroke (Cerebrovascular Accident) hypertension, heart failure and heart attack (Coronary Artery Disease). He said the diseases have taken over from Malaria as the nation’s leading killer disease. Kamar lamented that the increasing incidence of the diseases is seriously affecting life expectancy in Nigeria, which now stands at between 51 and 52 years, thereby ranking the country among the lowest in Africa.
Cardiovascular diseases are a generic term encompassing an array of conditions for coronary artery disease, and are now a leading cause of death. In 2008, 30 percent of all global deaths were by cardiovascular diseases. Deaths by the diseases are also higher in low and middle-income countries as over 80 percent of deaths caused by the diseases occurred in those countries, even as it is estimated that by 2030, over 23 million people will die from cardiovascular diseases each year.
In Nigeria, undetected hypertension or high blood pressure was the major reason why more people are suffering and dying of stroke and heart disease.
Medial experts say cardiovascular diseases are caused by a buildup of plaque in the arteries that supply blood to the heart, which in turn can lead to chest pain, arrythmias, heart attacks and heart failure. Other causes include years spent in a noisy workplace, which takes a toll on both hearing and heart health. Cardiovascular diseases are also known to rise dramatically among people who spend two or more hours a day sitting in front of a computer screen, television or video-game box, including those suffering from high blood pressure. Others causes are smoking, diabetes, and insulin resistance obesity and family history of heart disease.
It is fact that many Nigerians with heart diseases do not know that they have high blood pressure until their hearts start failing. We are not just worried that the number of cardiovascular disease is going up, it is of concern that many Nigerians do not know how to manage them. Aside the fact that about 50 percent of Nigerians are at risk of cardiovascular diseases, 30 to 50 million of them in their reproductive age are more at risks. Incidentally, because the diseases have no symptoms, it is possible for majority of people to be victims Therefore, early detection will go a long way in ameliorating the complication. However, studies reveal that healthy lifestyles can help reduce cardiovascular diseases, as evidences show that eating oily fish (herring, sardines, mackerel, salmon, kippers, pilchards, fresh tuna, etc) helps to protect against heart disease. In addition, fruit and vegetables, as well as being low in fat, also contain antioxidants and
Vitamins, which may help to prevent atheroma from building up.
Regular exercise can help to lower stress levels and decrease incidence of cardiovascular disease. Most importantly, there is need on the part of government to create more awareness on the dangers of the disease. We are therefore calling on the government and other stakeholders to improve the capacity of health care workers by engaging them in regular training in order to check the increasing killer disease in the country.