…As NHF deploys heart-testing machines

By Joseph Erunke, edited by Sola Ogundipe

The federal government has highlighted cardiovascular diseases as the primary cause of 11 per cent of Non-Communicable Diseases, NCDs, deaths, urging people to adopt healthier lifestyles to protect their hearts and reduce the risk of premature death from NCDs.

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, who disclosed these during a  ministerial press briefing to commemorate 2023 World Heart Day with the theme “Use Heart, Know Heart”, regretted that morbidity and mortality due to cardiovascular diseases in Nigeria was underestimated.

He attributed the development to inadequate awareness and health-seeking behaviours as well as limited screening, diagnostic and therapeutic services including poor data repository.

Speaking through the Minister of State for Health, Dr Tunji Alausa, Pate recalled that: “2018 WHO Non-Communicable Diseases, NCDs, Country Profiles show that NCDs accounted for 29 per centre of all deaths in Nigeria with cardiovascular diseases responsible for 11 per cent of all the NCD deaths.”

According to the minister, given “the silent and chronic nature of majority of the cardiovascular diseases, it is important to institute long-lasting measures to prevent, detect and manage them early in order to avert complications such as heart attack, heart failure, stroke, and even death.”  He disclosed that the Nigerian Heart Foundation (NHF), a member of the National NCD Multisectoral Technical Working Group, has procured three Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) for deployment at appropriate designated high population areas such as the airports, and to complement the Federal Ministry of Health’s efforts in responding to heart emergencies.

Pate said,”AEDs are portable, life-saving medical devices used to revive sudden heart arrest. I want to commend the NHF for this initiative and encourage other partners to collaborate with the government on similar initiatives.”

” This year’s theme, beyond encouraging us to learn more about our hearts and how to keep them healthy, also enjoins us to show care and compassion to people who suffer from heart problems. It reminds us that taking care of our hearts and those of others is not only a medical necessity but also a fundamental act of self-love and care for our loved ones. “In case you don’t know or might have forgotten, the heart is one of the vital organs of the body. It is the engine room responsible for pumping life-sustaining blood to all parts of the body.  “In an average adult at rest, normal heart rate is 60-100 beats per minute, and with each heartbeat, the heart pumps 70 millilitres (mL) of blood out of the heart, which is equivalent to 5-7 litres of blood per minute.

“We need to as humanly as possible protect the heart against diseases and conditions that will cause it to malfunction.

“Statistics from the World Health Organisation show that cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and are the foremost cause of death globally, taking an estimated 17.9 million lives each year. Of these cardiovascular deaths, 85% are due to heart attack and stroke, and over three-quarters occur in low- and middle-income countries.

He said although his ministry was currently in the field conducting the National Steps Survey of NCDs, however, “several pockets of studies in Nigeria reports various incidence and prevalence of cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension at a prevalence greater than 30 per cent, stroke incidence at 25.9 per 100,000 persons per year between 2000 and 2015; coronary heart disease prevalence at 0.7 per cent; rheumatic heart disease, which is a disease of the socio-economically disadvantaged at 27 per 1000 children.”

“Given the silent and chronic nature of majority of the cardiovascular diseases, it is important to institute long-lasting measures to prevent, detect and manage them early in order to avert complications such as heart attack, heart failure, stroke, and even death.

“Luckily, the risk factors for heart diseases are well known and largely preventable. For example, hypertension; diabetes mellitus; sickle cell disease; lipid abnormalities; overweight and obesity, tobacco use; alcohol intake and insufficient physical activity are significant modifiable and preventable risk factors for heart disease and other Non- Communicable Diseases, “he further said.

According to him, “In response to the burden of cardiovascular diseases, government over the years instituted several strategic interventions at the tertiary, secondary and primary health care levels.”

“The Federal Ministry of Health has developed the National NCDs Policy and Multi-Sectoral Action Plan. An offshoot to the Policy and Multi-Sectoral Action Plan 2019-2025, the National Guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Hypertension, diabetes and sickle cell disease has been developed and is being implemented at all levels of care with emphasis on awareness creation, education, and healthy lifestyle, screening, diagnosis, treatment, and referral, as well as training, supportive supervision, monitoring, documentation, and reporting.

“The National Tobacco Control Act 2015 and Regulations 2019 are being implemented to reduce tobacco consumption and exposure to second-hand smoke in Nigeria.

“In collaboration with NAFDAC, the Fats and oil Regulations have been reviewed and gazetted to incorporate trans-fatty acid (TFA). This regulation prescribes TFA at less than 2g per 100g of oil or fat as a start to our transition to a total elimination of TFA by 2030. All these are known risk factors for heart disease.

“In recognition of the key role of Primary Health Care in the prevention and early detection of diseases, FMOH in collaboration with the NPHCDA, WHO Country Office, and Resolve to Save Lives (RTSL), launched the National Hypertension Control Initiative (NHCI) in August 2019 with focus on strengthening the PHC Centres to prevent and manage simple and uncomplicated hypertension using a simple standard treatment protocol. The protocol was first deployed to PHC Centres in November 2020,” he said.

Pate explained that “through the NHCI, the simplified hypertension treatment protocol is currently used in a total of 104 PHC centres across Kano and Ogun States.”

“Similarly, the Protocol is also implemented at 60 PHC Centres in the FCT by the University of Abuja Cardiovascular Research Group. Additional 360 PHC Centres across 18 States are using the same protocol under the Healthy Heart Africa Programme in collaboration with the NPHCDA, Population Services International (PSI) and AstraZeneca,” he added.

World Heart Day is a day set aside by the Cardiovascular Health Community all over the world to raise awareness about the importance of the heart and promote preventive measures to reduce the global impact and burden of heart diseases.