Experts warn of ‘a flood of deaths’ if sedentary lifestyle not changed — now

The incidence of cardiovascular disease in people between 25 and 40 years of age is rapidly growing in Pakistan due to a sedentary lifestyle and now a “sizeable number” of people are being brought to the emergency rooms of cardiac health facilities with myocardial infarction or heart attacks in this age group, experts warned on Thursday.

They said the prevalence of risk factors for cardiovascular disease such as obesity, physical inactivity, poor diet and smoking is increasing among the Pakistani youth, which is evident from the fact that the prevalence of diabetes has increased by 150 per cent in Pakistan during the last two years, while half of the Pakistani adult population is hypertensive.

Urging the people to take to some kind of physical activity on a daily basis, cardiologists at a public awareness session at the start of te 50th Cardiocon of the Pakistan Cardiac Society in Karachi said Pakistan was facing an epidemic of cardiovascular diseases among many other lifestyle diseases, and feared that the number of deaths due to cardiac diseases could increase manifolds in the coming years.

On the occasion, participants of the awareness session were screened for diabetes, blood pressure, cholesterol, body mass index and other risk factor at a screening and cardiac consultation camp organised by local pharmaceutical firm Pharmevo, which sponsored the public awareness session.

Speaking at the session, eminent interventional cardiologist Prof Javed Akbar Sial said the incidence of cardiovascular disease was on the rise among young Pakistani males, and now a large number of people below the age of 40 years were being brought to emergency rooms of cardiac health facilities with heart attacks, which was an extremely alarming situation.

“The youngest patient with heart attack brought to the NICVD was a 17-year-old boy who had the MI (heart attack) due to heavy smoking and obesity. A large number of people between the age of 25-40 years are now having heart attacks in Karachi and the rest of the country due to a sedentary lifestyle and other risk factors,” Prof Sial said and urged the people to revert to a healthy lifestyle with a lot of walking and eating simple and healthy food.

He maintained that in addition to genetic factors, smoking, obesity, physical inactivity and poor diet, including fast food and heavily oily food consumed in Pakistan, were major risk factors for heart attacks. He added that this lifestyle was resulting in people becoming hypertensive and diabetic, which were ultimately resulting in heart attacks, strokes and other serious issues.

Another renowned cardiologist Prof Fawad Farooq said that due to physical inactivity and unhealthy diet, obesity was alarmingly on the rise among the Pakistani people, especially youngsters and even children.

He noted that young boys and teenagers were being seen with large bellies and abdominal obesity, which should be a serious cause of concern for the nation. “Heavy intake of unhealthy food without exercise is the main crime we are committing as a nation and becoming a nation of obese people. Obesity is the mother of most of the diseases, giving rise to hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases,” he said and advised the people to walk on a daily basis.

Dr Farooq made it clear that for exercise, there was no need to have a track suit, joggers and a jogging track, as people could do exercise even in their rooms.

The head of preventive cardiology at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Prof Khawar Kazmi, was of the opinion that Pakistan could not afford to treat the growing number of people with cardiovascular diseases, and warned that if a movement to change lifestyle was not launched on national level, Pakistan could face a flood of deaths and disabilities in the years to come.

“An increase in diabetes by 150 per cent in the last two years indicates the direction in which we are heading as a nation. If we don’t take immediate steps to prevent our people from lifestyle diseases like cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and hypertension, we would be facing a flood of deaths due to their complications in the coming years or even months,” he warned.

Director Sindh Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Prof Nabila Soomro advised the people to take out time at least for 150 minutes a week and do some physical activity, saying those who don’t take at least 10,000 steps in a day are at the risk of developing serious diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and hypertension.

Nutritionist Sidra Raza urged the people to revert to the traditional diet of their ancestors, eat fibrous food comprising fruits and vegetables, avoid processed food and not to go after tasty food.

Renowned physical instructor Wajahat Yugi demonstrated how one could exercise while on their chair at their home or at office, while motivational speaker Umair Jaliawala advised the people to take out time for themselves and take to some physical activities and fun for themselves.