Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a group of disorders that involve the heart or blood vessels or both. According to health experts, CVDs include coronary heart disease (CHD), cerebrovascular disease, peripheral arterial disease, rheumatic heart disease, congenital heart disease, and deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. CVDs are the leading cause of deaths in both developed and developing countries.
In Kuwait, CVDs are estimated to cause 41 percent of all mortalities. According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2019, of the 5,389 deaths attributed to non-communicable deaths in Kuwait, a total of 2,996 deaths were from CVDs. Among the total CVD deaths, the vast majority was due to Ischaemic heart disease, which is the result of reduced blood flow to the heart caused by a narrowing of coronary arteries.
The WHO data on total deaths in Kuwait also shows that CVDs are the largest cause of mortality in Kuwait, not only killing more people than all other non-communicable diseases combined, but also killing more people than all types of communicable diseases and deaths from injuries and unidentified causes combined.
An earlier survey on CVD awareness among the public was revelatory in that, despite the high rate of mortality from heart-related diseases in Kuwait, the level of knowledge on these diseases were dismally low. Almost 60 percent of survey respondents did not know any type of CVD, heart attack or strokes. Coronary heart disease was the commonest identified type (29%) of heart disease.
In addition, the survey showed that two-fifths of participants were not aware of any heart attack symptoms, and the most commonly known symptoms among respondents were chest pain (50.4%) and shortness of breath (48.0%). Also around half of those surveyed did not recognize any stroke symptoms, and the most commonly recognized were ‘confusion or trouble speaking’ (36.4%) and ‘numbness or weakness’ (34.7%).
When it came to the knowledge of CVD risk factors, knowledge among respondents was moderate, with the commonest factors identified by over four-fifths of participants being smoking, obesity, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity. Deficiency in CVD knowledge could reflect in a lack of sufficient preventative behaviors and suboptimal patient outcomes.
There is clearly a need for more widespread and effective awareness programs, especially at the educational level, and particularly on the need for diet modifications. The importance of altering diets is stressed by the fact that of the three important controllable risk factors associated with heart disease — high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and smoking — two can be altered by diet.
There are several important dietary changes that people can make, which will reduce their risk for heart disease and improve their all-around health. Here we provide a few guidelines:
While many foods are linked with good heart health, a shift to a largely plant-based diet is particularly beneficial. Among plant-based foods, the best ones for the heart are pulses, soy, and seeds and nuts. Pulses and soy foods are rich in fiber, which can help reduce LDL blood cholesterol levels, the so-called ‘bad’ cholesterol, glucose levels, and chronic inflammation.
Nuts and seeds also have fiber and phytochemicals, but they also contain heart-healthy unsaturated fats, which are shown to reduce LDL cholesterol levels. In addition, these fiber-rich foods boost the gut microbiome, which has impacts on overall heart health.
Awareness of the deleterious effects of certain nutrients present in foods is important to help you make healthy food choices. Among nutrients to avoid are trans fats, which are known to promote ‘bad’ cholesterol and reduce ‘good’ cholesterol, while also promoting inflammation in the body.
Most foods do not contain trans fats, but since foods that contain less than 0.5 g per serving can be labeled as ‘zero trans fats’, it is better to look for words such as ‘partially hydrogenated oil’ in the ingredients list to make sure there is really no trans fat present.
Trans fats are generally formed through an industrial process that adds hydrogen to vegetable oil, which causes the oil to become solid at room temperature. Since partially hydrogenated oil is inexpensive and less likely to spoil, foods made with it have a longer shelf life. Also some restaurants use partially hydrogenated vegetable oil in their deep fryers, since it does not have to be changed as often as other oils.
Partially hydrogenated oils can be found in foods such as cakes, cookies and pies available from shops, in shortening used in cooking, in frozen pizzas, microwave popcorn, refrigerated dough for biscuits and rolls, non-dairy coffee-creamers, margarine, as well as in fried foods, including french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken
Another ingredient to be wary of is saturated fat. Studies on saturated fat in foods and heart health, show that diets higher in this particular type of fat can be associated with higher cholesterol, potentially increasing cardiac risk. Saturated fats are found in animal products, as well as tropical oils. It is important to limit the amount of intake of these foods, and instead opt for leaner meats and lower-fat dairy.
Sodium consumption is another thing to keep an eye on. Higher amounts of sodium in diets relate to higher blood pressure, which increases cardiac risk.
The worst high sodium foods are shelf-stable foods, and ready-made meals.
To lower sodium, we can cook more at home, choose low sodium options at grocery stores and make a bigger part of what we are eating low sodium foods.
Non-vegetarians who relish meat all seven days of a week can begin to try a plant-based diet, by going meatless at least one day in the week, and taking it up from there. Your heart will thank you for making the transition.
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