By Sim YH –
Cardiovascular disease is the main cause of death in Brunei Darussalam where in 2023, as many as 520 deaths are caused by cardiovascular disease with 31 percent of those deaths being premature deaths.
The statistics show an increase of 5 percent compared to 2012. Meanwhile, the number of individuals hospitalized with a diagnosis of cardiovascular disease was 1,722 people in the same year.
The increase in the rate of premature death due to cardiovascular disease from year to year is very worrying, especially in the last decade.
Furthermore, this disease is increasingly affecting younger people and causing a significant economic and social burden to society.
This issue needs to be addressed early on as most of the risk factors that contribute to cardiovascular disease are preventable.
The emphasis was made by the Minister of Health, Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohammad Isham bin Haji Jaafar in a message in conjunction with World Heart Day 2024.
He stated that there are several main risk factors that contribute to cardiovascular disease including behavioral risk factors such as tobacco use, unhealthy food practices such as excessive fat and salt intake, and an inactive lifestyle.
Meanwhile, other factors that are biological risks such as obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels and diabetes can also be prevented or treated, if they are detected early.
Earlier, Yang Berhormat Dato said that cardiovascular diseases including heart disease and stroke are the leading causes of death worldwide.
According to the World Heart Federation, cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack, stroke and heart failure cause more than 20.5 million deaths each year.
In 2019 alone, an estimated 17.9 million people died due to premature death, which is death before the age of 70, of which 38 percent were caused by cardiovascular disease.
CELEBRATION OF WORLD HEART DAY 2024, USE YOUR HEART TO ACT
Every year the whole world celebrates World Heart Day on September 29 which aims to increase public awareness of cardiovascular diseases, including preventive measures and their effects.
By making small changes in lifestyle, it can keep the heart healthy and prevent cardiovascular disease.
World Heart Day 2024 that carries the theme Use Heart to Act, emphasizes individual responsibility where it urges each individual to take proactive steps in their daily lives to take care of heart health, including making healthy lifestyle choices as well as community collective efforts where it emphasizes the importance of community involvement and support in providing inspiration and encouragement to the people around them, to create lasting positive change.
The theme also emphasizes equitable access to health for all where it calls for action in support of equitable access to heart health, by empowering communities to push for policies that overcome inequalities in health and ensure that every individual has an equal opportunity to live life which is healthy.
The theme also emphasizes individual efforts where some proactive steps can be taken to take care of heart health, namely knowing the characteristics of a healthy heart, such as having normal and functioning blood pressure, heartbeat and cholesterol levels, recognizing the symptoms of heart disease , such as shortness of breath, dizziness or chest pain, increasing awareness and knowledge about cardiovascular disease and the main measures for its prevention, complying with doctor’s advice, including taking medicines that can reduce the risk of heart disease, undergoing examinations or health screenings for early detection and treatment, which can help control disease and prevent complications of cardiovascular disease and practice a healthy lifestyle, such as eating a healthy and balanced diet, exercising consistently, getting enough and quality rest and sleep to reduce stress or stop smoking.
INITIATIVE OF THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH TO ENCOURAGE THE PUBLIC TO PRACTICE A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE
The Ministry of Health continuously conducts several initiatives to encourage all levels of society in Brunei Darussalam to adopt a healthy lifestyle and early detection of behavioral risk factors through the BruHealth application.
Tournament Initiative BN on The Move 2024 which was introduced through the BruHealth application has several new features including community step challenges, corporate challenges and also an incentive points system known as BruPoints, which aims to increase the community’s physical activity level by increasing the number of steps every day.
Regular exercise such as daily walking can help improve heart health, sleep quality and good mental health, thus reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.
HEALTH INDEX AND RISK ASSESSMENT INITIATIVE
The Honorable Dato Seri Setia Dr. Haji Mohammad Isham explained that the initiative Health Index and Risk Assessment was introduced with the aim of encouraging the public to assess their health status and undergo health screening for early detection of behavioral risk factors and non-communicable diseases including cardiovascular diseases.
“Early detection through this screening allows early treatment of cardiovascular disease as well as prevention of related complications,” he added.
CALL TO ALL TO ACT NOW AND BE RESPONSIBLE FOR HEALTH
“In conjunction with World Heart Day this year, I call for every individual to act now and take responsibility for their own health in order to increase the chances of staying healthy and enjoying a quality life in old age,” stressed Yang Berhormat Dato.
“Together, we can create positive change and ensure that everyone has the opportunity to live healthier and quality lives.”
