Heart disease often hides in plain sight, and Bangladesh's biggest gap is that people do not have regular check-ups, Dr Md Matiur Rahman, deputy executive director of the Bogura-based NGO TMSS and head of its health sector, told Prothom Alo in an interview.
This year's World Heart Federation theme is "Don't miss a beat", he said. Unusual tiredness, breathlessness after a short walk, swollen feet, pain in the jaw or back, nausea, cold sweats or an irregular heartbeat can all be signs of heart disease. Women, people with diabetes and older people may not show the usual symptoms, and high blood pressure can do damage with no symptoms at all.
By his figures, about 283,800 people in Bangladesh die every year of heart disease and related causes. Hypertension affects 27.3 percent of people, diabetes 9.8 percent and high cholesterol 30.2 percent. Many do not know their own risk, and a large share of people with hypertension do not have it under control.
Many people check their blood pressure or sugar for the first time only after falling ill, he said, and do not follow up once they start medicine. Geography is the other problem: heart care was long concentrated in Dhaka, and for a patient in the north the time it takes to reach Dhaka can decide between life and death.
For prevention he advised regular checks of blood pressure, sugar and weight, at least 30 minutes of walking a day, less salt and sugar, giving up tobacco and e-cigarettes, eating vegetables and getting enough sleep, and called for blood pressure checks to be routine at every health centre.
He said the TMSS Heart Centre began with a cardiology outpatient department and has added specialised services step by step, and screens for risk at grassroots level by measuring blood pressure, sugar and weight. He named the challenges as costly imported supplies, keeping care affordable for poor patients, the shortage of specialists and getting patients to hospital quickly.
The interview was conducted by Prothom Alo's Bogura correspondent Anwar Parvez.
Photo: Pöllö / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Source: Prothom Alo
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