Renowned cardiovascular expert and Heart Institute of the Caribbean (HIC) Chairman Dr Ernest Madu is urging people around the region to take stock of the fact that cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are on the increase and have been the leading cause of death and disability in most countries across the globe for the past 25 years.

According to Dr Madu, the increase in cases of cardiovascular disease is not surprising, given the prevalence of key drivers of the condition, such as poor dietary choices, sedentary lifestyle, obesity, smoking, hypertension, diabetes, and ageing.

He said that, based on what the medical profession has learnt during the novel coronavirus pandemic, a significant spike in cardiovascular diseases is to be expected as heart disease has been identified as one of the possible major conditions which arise subsequent to a COVID-19 infection.

“This is the time to fortify our cardiovascular health delivery systems and aggregate the appropriate talent to confront a potential tsunami of cardiovascular diseases in Jamaica over the coming years,” Dr Madu cautioned.

He noted a World Health Organization (WHO) publication in 2020 which revealed that CVDs are the leading cause of death globally.

An estimated 18 million people died from CVDs in 2019, representing 32 per cent of all global deaths. Of these deaths, 85 per cent were due to heart attack and stroke. The WHO noted that more than three quarters of CVD deaths take place in low- and middle-income countries.

Madu is also calling attention to a paper in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology which revealed that “the number of people dying from CVDs is steadily rising, including one-third of all deaths globally in 2019”. The research paper had reviewed the total magnitude of CVD burden and trends over 30 years around the world.

Findings highlighted in the paper showed the prevalent cases of total CVD nearly doubled from 271 million in 1990 to 523 million in 2019, while the number of CVD deaths steadily increased from 12.1 million in 1990 to 18.6 million in 2019.

“Data from Jamaica is imprecise but can be estimated by population size and risk factor prevalence. Using the known data from the USA and extrapolating from the population, it estimated that as many as 7,340 Jamaicans may suffer from heart attacks each year,” Madu said while noting that with the current prevalence of long-COVID or post-COVID-19 symptoms, the number of cases of CVDs in Jamaica is likely to increase.

Dr Madu is an internationally recognised cardiologist and an authority in health systems innovation whose research work has been published in several medical journals worldwide.

His HIC, which is widely regarded as the premier cardiovascular facility in the English-speaking Caribbean, has several branches in Jamaica and is headquartered on Balmoral Avenue in St Andrew.

The facility has successfully treated more than 200,000 Jamaican patients over the past 17 years, including more than 10,000 with acute heart attack or heart failure. It is the only dedicated cardiac intensive care unit in Jamaica with an 11-bed capacity.

Reiterating his advice for people across the region, including Jamaica, to be aware of the increasing prevalence of heart disease, Dr Madu said, “We encourage individuals to embrace healthy lifestyle choices, including healthy diet choices, pursue regular exercise or increased activity levels, take steps towards weight control, avoid smoking or heavy alcohol intake, maintain ideal blood pressure and body weight and regularly check with their physicians for guidance. These measures are to be pursued by all, particularly people with increased risk of heart disease or a family history of being afflicted with dysfunction of the key organ.”

He pointed out that HIC is sensitive to the environment of pervasive cardiovascular diseases and therefore, in order to ensure the highest quality of service delivery, cardiologists with extensive training are hired. Additionally, the institute places emphasis on strict adherence to American College of Cardiology clinical standards, including having a reputation for the shortest ‘door to balloon times’ when compared to institutions across the region.

Door-to-balloon time is a phrase that denotes the time between the arrival of a patient with ST-elevation myocardial infarction in the emergency room until the time that a balloon is inflated in the occluded, culprit coronary artery.

Dr Madu said despite the best preventive efforts, many citizens may still unfortunately end up with heart disease. He said the appropriate infrastructure and talent must be available locally to save the lives of people affected by cardiovascular disease and improve their quality of life. Dr Madu also reiterated that policies must be in place to encourage investment and development in the health-care sector.

“My ultimate vision for HIC is to serve as a symbol of excellence in cardiovascular and speciality care delivery that is accessible to all people in the Caribbean and the wider region. We want to position Jamaica as the destination of choice for individuals all over the globe who are in search of world-class cardiovascular and speciality care. We want to democratise access to high-quality cardiovascular and speciality care in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean,” Dr Madu said.