How to be smart about your heart
Date Posted: Wednesday, January 30, 2008Author: Christen Pears
Health
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Heart disease is the number one cause of death in Bermuda. It is also the most preventable and throughout February the Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB) and Bermuda Heart Foundation (BHF) as part of Heart Month. The annual event includes a range of talks, screenings and workshops designed to raise awareness of this potentially fatal disease.
Research has shown that by the likelihood of developing heart disease can be cut dramatically by controlling risk factors such as smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. Being overweight and inactive are also crucial, particularly in Bermuda where statistics released last year showed that 23 per cent of Bermudians are obese and a further 38 per cent overweight, although health experts believe these figures may be an underestimate.
Myrian Balitian-Dill, a cardiac care nurse specialist for BHB, says: “Sixty per cent of our population are overweight. Because everyone is getting bigger the standards are all skewed. Someone who was considered overweight 30 years ago is considered normal now so a lot of people are surprised by their body mass index (BMI).”
BMI is a basic measure of fat and ideally, should be below 25. It is also significant where the fat is deposited in the body. According to Myrian, those with fat in the abdomen area are more at risk. Men with a waist measurement of over 40 inches and women whose waists are more than 35 inches face the most serious risks.
Myrian says: “One of the keys is to be physically active. You can be fat and fit. People who are physically active and have extra weight can be healthier than those who are in the normal bodyweight range but don’t move around. You may think you’re relatively healthy because you’re not overweight but if you’re not moving you are at high risk of a cardiovascular event.”
Heart Month events
From February 4 there will be a lobby display at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, explaining the services on offer in terms of diagnosis and management and the different tests available, as well as information on risk factors and what can be done to manage them.
Every Monday there will Heart Healthy Talks at KEMH on subjects such as risk factors and healthy eating. Debbie Jones, co-ordinator of KEMH’s Diabetes Centre, will be talking about the link between diabetes and heart disease. Those with diabetes are between two and five times more likely to develop heart disease than those without. There will also be a lecture about the impact about heart disease on family.
“It’s not just the person who has heart disease who is affected. It’s how that whole family copes,” explains Myrian.
On Wednesdays from 12pm to 2pm there will be screenings organised in partnership with the BHF. The first two will take place at KEMH, the third week will be at Washington Mall and the fourth is yet to be determined. Myrian is also hoping to have screening at some of the island’s barbershops.
She says: “In the past we have approached barbershops about having screening there. Men historically don’t come to these screenings even though they are at high risk for heart disease so we bring the screening to them. They’re already sitting in the chair at the barbershop so they might as well get some tests at the same time.”
There tends to be a perception that heart disease affects only men but women are also at risk. February 15 is ‘Wear Red Day’, aimed at making women more aware of the risk factors.
On February 7, 21 and 28 CedarBridge Academy will be hosting heart healthy cookery demonstrations as part of the Community Education programmes. The sessions will feature Mediterranean, international and Bermudian cuisin and show how favourite dishes can be adapted to be heart healthy
Heart Month also includes events for Bermuda’s health professionals.
The next generation
In an age of unhealthy diets and sedentary lifestyles, heart disease is affecting people at an earlier age.
“Kids are getting risk factors earlier in life. Just looking around you can see kids are bigger,” says Myrian, who believes education is key to tackling this growing problem.
“If you teach the adults healthy ways to cook and the importance of physical activity we hope that will translate down to kids.”
She also advocates more co-ordination between healthcare professionals, citing the Well Bermuda Initiative – an island-wide programme involving a range of professionals including doctors, nurses and healthcare charities.
“This problem is not going to go away and we have to work together. If you are a health care professional, particularly in heart care or diabetes, you have a job for life.”