Ignoring medication a leading killer in UAE emergency rooms

Abu Dhabi: Patients’ denial about their medical condition and ignoring medication are now considered some of the most common causes of death in emergency rooms in the UAE, doctors said at an Abu Dhabi Medical Congress & Exhibition.

“If [patients] come to the hospital late because they’re in denial about their condition or they don’t recognise that they’re ill; and if they refuse treatment, this can cause major health deterioration,” Dr Ayesha Al Memari, Emergency Medicine and Critical Care Consultant at Mafraq Hospital, said earlier this week.

She added that the two most common causes of death are heart attacks, as well as trauma, which may be caused by car accidents.

“It’s sad because we can reduce this rate by teaching the public how to do Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), which will help if the ambulance is late, for example,” Al Memari noted.

CPR is an emergency procedure performed to manually preserve brain function until professional medical help is available for those having a heart attack.

Work-related accidents such as falling from heights, and getting injured from machinery are also very common cases in emergency rooms in the UAE, which may end in death, another speaker said.

Dr Firas Al Najar, Residency Programme Director at Rashid Hospital Trauma Centre in Dubai, said that while traffic and work-related accidents are common cases in the emergency rooms, heart disease remains the number one cause of death in the country.

He said men are more prone to heart disease than women.

“Ischemic heart disease kills more than breast cancer does, and risk factors may be related to the person himself,’ the doctor said.

Smoking, diabetes, hypertension, progress in age, and having lipids are common factors causing heart disease among the men, Al Najar told Gulf News.

He added that women have recently also become prone to heart disease.

To battle such emergencies, Al Najar said putting legislation would be a good start.

“We have to start with public awareness so there should be more campaigns to set awareness on heart disease. Putting legislations on work safety; passenger and driver rules such as wearing seatbelts, and reducing speed limits, would also be great,” the director said.