Why there is increase in cardiovascular diseases, by Cardiologist

A Consultant Cardiologist, Dr Obi Emerole, on Wednesday blamed urbanisation and change in lifestyle for the increasing incidence of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in Nigeria.
Emerole, who is also the president of a non-governmental organisation, Cardiovascular Education Foundation, said this at a symposium in Lagos.
The symposium was organised by the foundation with the theme: “Advancing Cardiovascular Education, Research and Patient Care.”
The expert, however, could not provide statistics to buttress his claim.
He said that the symposium would address the risk factors for CVDs and develop better strategies to combat the growing trend of the diseases.
“We are focusing on hypertension and better screening for the diseases and develop strategies to educate the patients more on how to monitor their blood pressures.
“It will require a joint effort to ensure that we educate the population so that people will be aware of the need to take care of their health,” he said.
Also speaking, Dr Moronkola Ramon, Senior Registrar, Cardiology, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, urged the Federal Government to establish a dedicated agency to take care of the residency training.
Ramon said: “We are advocating that government should have, possibly, a dedicated agency that will take care of residency training in the country.
“The agency will be saddled with the responsibility of employment, funding and have a long term plan of where we want to go as a country.
“For example, in cardiovascular medicine, simple invasive procedures are rarely done in the general hospitals. If somebody has heart attack, there are lots to be done that are not readily available in public hospitals.
“The private settings that have been established in the country are expensive and they are few both in terms of manpower and facilities compared to the population.”
Ramon also urged parents to inculcate good eating habits and physical exercise in their children at an early age to prevent heart diseases.
“People should maintain a healthy lifestyle, engage in exercises and encourage children to eat healthy because a good growing heart is better maintained than a heart that has problems,’’ he said.