Watch now: Episode 1 – Heart of the Matter

The debut episode of Gulf News’ new vodcast series, Heart Matters, produced in partnership with King’s College Hospital London in Dubai, explores the realities of cardiovascular health, its risk factors, and the importance of prevention.

In the first episode, out today, Dr Masood Khan, Consultant Interventional Cardiologist at King’s College, explains that cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide. However, he highlights a hopeful statistic. “The World Health Organisation estimates that 80 per cent of heart problems can be prevented by lifestyle and environmental changes,” he says, stressing that early detection and consistent lifestyle improvements could dramatically reduce the risk.

Titled Heart of the Matter, the first episode of the four-part series covers the major risk factors for heart disease, dividing them into two groups: those that can be modified such as smoking, poor diet, lack of exercise, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol, and those that cannot be modified, including age, genetics and ethnicity. Dr Khan spotlights ethnicities who are predisposed to heart problems and steps to prevent them.

He also addresses misconceptions, including the belief that smoking alternatives or occasional alcohol consumption pose no risk, and that medication alone can counteract unhealthy habits.

On screening, Dr Khan recommends that everyone above 20 get at least one baseline checkup, including blood pressure and cholesterol tests, with more frequent assessments for those with family histories or additional risk factors.

Heart Matters is available on Gulfnews.com/podcasts/heart-matters and all major podcast platforms.