A Consultant Cardiologist, Dr. Alli Folashade Olaitan has lamented the high rate of cardiovascular diseases among youths and children in Nigeria, describing the situation as worrisome.
Dr. Alli noted that the disease begins to lay its foundation as early as age of 7 years, thereby killing youths before age 20, at their prime.
The Cardiologist, who disclosed this in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, during awareness creation programme as part of activities to mark this year's World Heart Day, charged Nigerians on the need to prioritize their heart care, stressing that whatever happens to the heart, will spread to other parts of the body.
The programme, which was organized by Access Heart Foundation, in collaboration with Lagos Executive Cardiovascular Centre (LECC) and Dr. Tunde Diya Foundation (DTDF) featured awareness creation, education and free test for High Blood Pressure.
While appealing to government to begin the implemention of the petition signed on the need to have detailed plans for cardiovascular diseases in the country, Dr. Alli hinted that hypertension is not curable but manageable, and recommended regular exercise, such as hiking, swimming and cycling as necessary step to manage High Blood Pressure.
She warned that people should put an end to excessive salt consumption, junks, fastfood and recommended consumption of vegetables, fruits and other natural foods as the best solution to prevent heart diseases.
According to her, "some of the guides to make sure that the heart is healthy is diet, because the heart feeds from what we eat. You must ensure that you eat well, you should have several dash diets prevent hypertension, salt consumption must be low. You should take more of vegetables and fruits and eat less of trans fat all these hamburgers, doughnuts, even for children, it is not only for the elderly one".
"Since the cardiovascular diseases are now rampant among children and youths, we must ensure that people are aware of it, especially mothers so that they will know what they will feed their children with. We need to join hands together; mothers, fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers, we must all join hands together to safeguard the heart of our love ones".
"Right now, there is a petition that is being signed all over the world that cardiovascular diseases should be in the plan of all governments in all nations. That is the first petition all over the world that is been sent out for people to sign that governments of each country need to realize the need to have a detailed plan for the heart health of their citizens. There is an advocacy that we should go out there as cardiologists and specialists and speak out so the government will come up with a cardiovascular health plan".
"We need to create awareness about cardiovascular disease, heart health to make sure that people are aware that they have a heart and that they have a duty to make sure that their heart is healthy. It is an awareness day to tell the community, and the whole world that there are diseases that affect the heart, therefore they must guide their heart and also tell others to be aware because information is power".
On her part, the Chief Executive Officer of the Access Heart Foundation, Miss. Mariam Alli noted that the gap of unavailability, lack of quality and inaccessibility of heart surgery in Nigeria is alarming, particularly in the Northern part of the country.
She posited that the Access Heart Foundation is filling the gap through the provision free access to heart surgery, adding that it has carried out over hundred surgeries within the short period of establishing the foundation.
She explained that Nigeria carries out less than 2,000 heart surgeries in one year, compared to what is obtainable in Tunisia which carries out 500 heart surgeries for every 1 million people in Tunisia.
"We established Access Heart Foundation in response to the unavailability of quality heart surgery for children and adults across Nigeria, as well as the unaffordability of the surgery in Nigeria. So, we founded Access Heart Foundation to close the gap for Nigerians. We organize free heart surgery for children from zero month old to adult and aged".
"This is our way of giving back to the society, to the community, and to the country.
On his part, Dr. Emmanuel Akinteye warned that over consumption of alcohol, smoking and sex enhancement drugs are dangerous to the heart, stressing that these may lead to hypertension.
He noted that the heart is a very important organ in human, saying that it pumps about 100 thousand times a day to keep humans alive therefore, it needs to be taken care of as recommended by the cardiologist.
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