Residents of the United Arab Emirates are victims of heart attacks at a younger age than the world average.
During the World Cardiology Congress, which began in Dubai on Wednesday, experts in the field of heart surgery raised the issue of alarming statistics - residents of the United Arab Emirates are victims of heart attacks at a younger age than residents of other countries.
Dr. Abdullah Shehab, chairman of the Emirate’s Society of Cardiology, emphasized that the age at which heart attacks and cardiovascular diseases are most common is 65 years old worldwide, while people in the UAE suffer from the same diseases at the age of 45 years old.
Focusing on cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of death in the UAE, Dr. Shehab said: “In the UAE there are all risk factors for cardiovascular disease. According to recent studies by Abu Dhabi Health Services (Seha), about 200 thousand emirates suffer diabetes. 80% of the emirates are overweight and 30% are obese. One in three emirates has hypertension, which leads to strokes, cardiovascular diseases and kidney diseases. "
Dr. Fahd Baslaib stressed: “Currently, 60 percent of people in the UAE who have cardiovascular disease are smokers. It is important that 80 percent of deaths due to cardiovascular disease can be prevented by early detection and treatment. "
At the four-day congress, 600 speakers will present more than 200 scientific papers on various aspects related to cardiovascular diseases.
“Dubai hosts the congress for the second time in six years - no other country has won this application twice. This indicates that we here in the UAE are working on the problem of cardiovascular diseases,” added Dr. Baslaib.
He also listed the steps taken by the UAE health authorities to solve the problem: maintaining a register, reducing the age of screening to 35 years for the early detection of diseases, tax policy on the sale of carbonated and energy drinks and tobacco products, campaigns among schoolchildren.
"These and many other initiatives will help us raise public awareness, awareness of heart disease and solve the problem before it turns into a disease," he said.
