Karachi: “Cardio-vascular diseases (CVD) cause 17.5 million deaths worldwide every year, while in Pakistan annually 25 percent deaths are related to CVDs. Cardio-vascular diseases (CVD) are considered an important public health problem in Pakistan, although no accurate data is yet available, the burden of CVDs is expected to be high in view of behavioral and lifestyle changes in Pakistan. A concerted effort is needed to improve public health and clinical interventions of known efficacy as well as reduce the major risk factors i.e. tobacco use, poor diet, and insufficient physical activity.”
These views were expressed by Dr. Asmat Salim, Assistant Professor of Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research (PCMD) – University of Karachi, while delivering a lecture on “Cardiovascular Diseases: Risk Factors, Symptoms and Treatment Strategies” at the video conferencing hall of Latif Ebrahim Jamal (LEJ) National Science Information Centre on Saturday.
The lecture was jointly organised by Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research and Virtual Education Project Pakistan (VEPP) as a part of series of popular lectures for public awareness on common diseases of Pakistan.
Health professionals, students, research scholars, NGO representatives and general public attended the lecture.
Dr. Asmat Salim said that cardiovascular diseases estimate to be the leading cause of death globally. Current measures to increase disease awareness, health promotion and disease prevention should be maximized in the light of existing state of scientific knowledge, she added.
“Hypertension is one of major causes of CVDs, while in Pakistan the prevalence of hypertension is quite high. Although most of the information about risk factors and cardiovascular disease derives from studies in the developed world, the situation is rapidly evolving toward epidemic proportions in the developing world where a major burden is imposed on the economy and health services.
The major cardiovascular diseases are profoundly affected by diet and can be approached, at least in part, from a nutritional point of view. Many dietary risk factors contribute to these diseases in various environmental and ethnic settings. The risk factors are often in evidence in youth so that preventive measures must be initiated early in life,” she said.
Talking about the objective of the lecture, she said that the main objective is to stimulate substantial improvements in prevention of the disease, greater public awareness about healthy lifestyles, and reconsideration of the concept of the periodic medical checkup as an effective platform for prevention and treatment.
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