NCS Alarmed Over Rising Cases Of Cardiovascular Disease
The Nigeria Cardiac Society (NCS) has expressed its concerns over the rising cases of cardiovascular disease in the country and cautioned that an unhealthy lifestyle contributes immensely to the disease burden.
The society noted that Nigeria has just one cardiologist to 10,000 persons, stressing that the ratio is very dangerous for the country.
Its president, Dr. Okechukwu Ogah, who made the disclosure, yesterday, in Abuja, stated that with the high rate of migration of health workers, the situation could be worse in the near future if nothing is done urgently.
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His words: “Pulmonary artery disease is becoming rampant in Nigeria because of our unhealthy lifestyle. We are changing from the old system we had, and a lot of people are now having obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Apart from infections, the next thing that kills our people is non-communicable diseases, of which cardiovascular disease is the most prominent. Over 24 percent of mortality in Nigeria is as a result of cardiovascular diseases.”
He said Nigerians are still living in poor housing conditions, adding that over-crowding and untreated throat infections equally contribute to the disease burden.
Ogah also revealed that some heart diseases come as a result of pregnancy, noting that in some parts of the country, especially the North West and North East, one in every 100 women, who delivers a baby, develops a heart problem.
He explained that the conference would point out how “we can apply mobile health to the care of cardiovascular disease in Nigeria.”
