Heart, blood diseases and cancer lead causes of death among Bahrainis

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Diseases of the circulatory system involving all major heart and blood disorders were the main health cause leading to death among Bahrainis during the past few years, according to available data with the Ministry of Health.

The top ten leading causes of deaths were cardiovascular diseases (46.6 per cent) followed by various cancers (15.7pc), external factors (6.9pc), respiratory disorders (6.1pc), genitourinary diseases (4.6pc), digestive disorders (3.4pc), abnormal diseases (2.8pc), mental and behavioural disorders (2.1pc), endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (2.1pc) and certain conditions originating in the perinatal period.

Among infants, the leading causes of death were conditions originating in prenatal period (50.4pc) followed by congenital malformations (32.2pc), circulatory disorders (7pc), endocrine, nutritional and metabolic disorders (3.5pc), respiratory diseases (2.6pc) and diseases of the musculoscletal system and connective tissues (0.9pc).

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the group of disorders of heart and blood vessels, and includes: hypertension, coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease (stroke), peripheral vascular disease, heart failure, rheumatic heart disease, congenital heart disease, and cardiomyopathies.

Globally, CVD-related death is a concern of great magnitude. In 2012, the World Health Organisation (WHO) had estimated a mortality rate of 17.5 million due to CVD, representing 31pc of all global deaths.

Of these deaths, an estimated 7.4m were due to coronary heart disease. The WHO estimates 23.6m CVD deaths in 2030. Symptoms of myocardial infarction, commonly known as a heart attack, may be immediate or may start slowly and persist for hours, days, or weeks before death occurs.

The longer an individual is not treated, the greater the damage. The five major warning signs and symptoms of heart attack are: pain or pressure in the chest; pain or discomfort in the jaw, neck, or back; lightheadedness or fainting; shortness of breath; and pain in the shoulders or arms.

According to The Journal of The Bahrain Medical Society, the level of public awareness about heart attack symptoms in the Kingdom is poor.

“Community health education campaigns are required to increase public health education regarding heart attack symptoms. It is a responsibility of the Public Health Department, Ministry of Health in Bahrain in collaboration with the Cardiac Centre. These campaigns may influence future management of these diseases and improve survival,” the journal observed in one of its published articles.