Dubai: The average age of people suffering heart attacks in the UAE is 10 years lower than the world average, a senior official has said.
Dubai has become the first in the Middle East to host the World Heart Congress, beating stiff competition from Singapore and Japan.
Top cardiologists said hosting the Congress here will drive home the message that the epidemic of heart disease is shifting track into developing nations and that risk factors for heart disease are growing fast.
"We are at the stage where Europe was in the 70s," said Dr Fahd Omar Baslaib, president of the Emirates Cardiac Society, explaining how people are dying due to bad lifestyle choices, such as smoking.
He pointed out that average age of people suffering heart attacks in the UAE is 10 years lower than the world average.
In an exclusive interview, Johanna Ralston, CEO of the World Heart Federation, told Gulf News, a majority of all deaths in the UAE are due to heart disease. "Development will be seriously impeded if this is not curtailed," she warned.
Preventing risk factors
Dubai is taking a leadership role in preventing the risk factors of cardio-vascular diseases, she said. The UAE will take part in the Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) alliance meeting at the UN General Assembly in September this year. "In the meeting, governments will be asked to set targets for the prevention and control of cardio-vascular diseases," the CEO said.
Professor Sidney Smith, President of the Geneva-based World Heart Federation, which is coordinating this huge event, said it is working with food manufacturers to provide healthy food to the public and change the diets of people.
Citing the case of New York City where food was legislated and fast-food outlets were asked to cut down on trans-fats and salt in foods, he hinted on taxation which could cut down on sugar and salt content. But that depended on the region and governments, he said.
Ralston said taxing cigarette and tobacco products is one way to cut down on smoking and cut down on deaths due to smoking.
Professor Smith said between 12,000 to 15,000 health experts will take part in the Congress in Dubai in April next year. He said innovative strategies will be discussed to prevent heart attacks and strokes and some of the sessions will be open to the public to educate them on how to take care of their health.
Dr Balsaib said it is important to reach out to people to make them aware that heart attacks can be prevented by cutting down smoking, doing daily exercise and good food habits. The high prevalence of diabetes is also contributing to these incidents, he said.
Dr Obaid Mohammad Abdullah Al Jasem, head of cardio-thoracic surgery, Dubai Hospital, said the compliance from patients here is very poor. "Prescribing pills [to cut down cholesterol] is not enough when patients throw away the pills,' he said.
- 22 per cent of deaths in UAE due to heart disease
- 41 per cent of the UAE population suffer from hypertension
- 6 per cent growth every year in obesity among school children
- 20 per cent growth in obesity every year among adults
