Cardiologist has listed ten things that individuals must do to stay healthy and avoid heart attack and other Cardiovascular Diseases.
According to records, over 17 million people die annually due to Cardiovascular Diseases (CVD).
The heart is a major component of the body that serves as an engine of the body and the President of the Nigerian Cardiac Society, Professor Amam Mbakwem, is urging individuals to adhere to good eating habits.
“If the heart is sick, the body will not be okay and if the heart stops beating, then the body is dead,” she said.
Professor Mbakwem, who is also a Professor of Medicine and Consultant Cardiologist was addressing the 8th Annual Conference of the Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun state.
She pointed out that 25% of deaths caused by CVD annually in the world was Sudden Cardiac Death.
She stressed that natural death may occur due to cardiac causes and it may be heralded by abrupt loss of consciousness within one hour of the onset of acute symptoms in person with or without known pre-existing heart disease.
The Cardiologist emphasised that sudden cardiac death was a non-traumatic and unexpected fatal event occurring within one hour.
10 Steps To Prevent Heart Attack
She said: “To stay healthy and prevent heart attack and Sudden Cardiac Death, 10 steps should be strictly adhered to”.
The ten steps include; reduction of salt and sugar intake, reduction of Alcohol consumption and smoking, engaging in periodic medical check-up and consulting the physician regularly, engaging in regular moderate exercise and having adequate rest and sleep for at least 6-8 hours per day.
According to her, there are two peaks at which the age of an individual affects the CVD – age 6-12 (sudden infant death) then 45-75yrs.
“It always increases with age and the risk of this is higher in men than in women,” she pointed out.
In his speech, the Acting Vice-Chancellor of OAU, who was represented by the Dean, Faculty of Pharmacy, Professor Lekan Adebanjo, commended the faculty for organising a conference with the theme “Healthy Heart: Healthy Life”.
He said: “The heart is one of the most important organs of the body and it is significant but most of us take care of other organs of the body”.
Professor Adebanjo stressed that “failure to care for the heart might causes premature death” and appreciated the leadership of the faculty for focusing on the heart for this year’s conference.
He commended the effort of the faculty in reaching out to the community so that the society could benefit from the outcome of the researches in their laboratories.
The Chairman of the Local Organising Committee, Dr. Oluwadare, said that this year’s lecture focused on sudden cardiac death, which he pointed out was an untimely death from heart related causes occurring within a short time.
“This will reawaken our consciousness that the risk factors for sudden cardiac death are within or around us.
“And it is important to emphasise that death is an irreversible process.
“The heart is one of the major component of the body, as it pumps blood around the body through the blood vessels,” he told the gathering.
The conference started with series of health campaign measures and medical screening and it has been wonderful.
