Experts revealed what diseases cause 30% of deaths in UAE

29.09.2017 - 09:22 #UAE, #Cardiovascular diseases, #Obese

The risk of cardiovascular diseases arises due to unhealthy lifestyles

It is a well-known fact that cardiovascular diseases are the top killer in the UAE, causing about 30 per cent of all deaths in the country. These diseases are also occurring among more and more young patients, and their presentation is quite complex among some of the most at-risk groups.

“In the UAE, about 20 per cent of the adult population smokes, and this is one of the biggest factors contributing to cardiovascular risk among people from the Arab region. At the same time, people from the Indian subcontinent and the UAE are already more prone to cardiovascular diseases, being afflicted a decade earlier than their Western counterparts,” Dr Dinesh Babu, consultant cardiologist at Medeor 24x7 Hospital in the capital, told Gulf News.

“Given these risk factors, it is of utmost importance that residents take their health seriously. They should undertake a full medical assessment or screening as soon as they turn 25, and implement positive lifestyle habits if they haven’t already done so,” said Dr Ahmad Edris, cardiovascular and interventional cardiology consultant at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi.

The UAE’s record with cardiovascular disease mirrors global trends, with more than 17.5 million people dying each year across the world from cardiovascular diseases, according to the World Health Organisation. But it is not just the known fatalities that should ring alarm bells in the UAE. Experts believe that up to 70 per cent of the population either has some form of cardiovascular disease, or is at risk.

The risk of cardiovascular diseases arises due to unhealthy lifestyles, as well as the high prevalence of diabetes, obesity, hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia and smoking in the UAE.