Medical experts, while expressing their grave concern over alarming increase in the coronary disease both in urban and rural areas of the country, have called for launching vigorous awareness drive to compel the people to lead their lives in a simple way by following the principles of healthy lifestyle.
They told Business Recorder here on Tuesday that cardiovascular disease is the most common and yet one of the most preventable causes of death. There has been sudden surge in the coronary disease, which was actually a pool of diseases.
'Smoking, diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure, high cholesterol level, lack of exercise and obesity and above all stressful environment are the root causes of the disease', they pointed out.
According to them, every fourth person who has suffered heart attack in Pakistan is below 40 years of age. Among coronary disease, coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common form which is responsible for millions of deaths world-wide every year, and out of these, majority of deaths occur in developing countries, which are high-risk countries as for as cardiovascular disease is concerned.
'If awareness campaign is not launched at mass level, there is strong apprehension that the heart diseases may also hit the teenagers, mainly on account of excessive use of Internet and taking high cholesterol diets while sitting before computers.'
They stated that narrowing of the arteries supplying blood to the heart causes coronary artery disease.
This narrowing is caused by the deposition of cholesterol rich material in the blood vessels. However, formation of a clot on top of these blockages leads to heart attack and 50 percent of those who suffer heart attack on this account do not survive, they added.
The risk factors of formation of blockage in the arteries include: age, male gender, positive family history, diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, smoking, lack of exercise and obesity.