Latest update April 19th, 2024 12:59 AM
Apr 08, 2013 News
– Dr. Ramsaran on World Health Day
Minister of Health, Dr. Bheri Ramsaran, in a message to mark World Health Day 2013 yesterday, has called high blood pressure, the focus of this year’s theme, a “silent killer”. World Health Day is celebrated on 7 April to mark the anniversary of the founding of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1948. Each year a theme is selected for World Health Day that highlights a priority area of public health concern in the world. The theme for 2013 is high blood pressure.
The Minister urged all Guyanese to get blood pressure checks once per month “and to exercise at least thirty minutes per day and to drastically reduce or avoid the use of common salt, refined sugars and sugary beverages, fatty foods and fight the silent killer—fight hypertension—join your health centre”. Dr. Ramsaran spoke especially to the men, “because we know men are not making use of our health care facilities—they do not think it is macho”.
He said that it [high blood pressure] is a global health threat.
Hypertension contributes significantly to the burden of diseases: kidney failure, heart diseases, stroke, etc, leading to disability or death. Cardio- vascular diseases, along with diabetes, cancer and chronic pulmonary diseases contribute the bulk of non- communicable diseases that humanity suffers currently. “The burdens of these diseases have been raised to epidemic levels”, Dr. Ramsaran stated. These diseases now threaten to overwhelm the burdens of the local and global health sector.
Forty per cent of adults aged 25 and over have high blood pressure or hypertension.
He stated that all must join forces to reduce hypertension and its impact. “Hypertension is a silent killer, and though it affects one in more than three adults and worldwide, it remains largely hidden. Many people do not know that they have high blood pressure, because it does not cause symptoms”.
He stated that it is important since many Guyanese believe that high blood pressure is accompanied by pains in the back of the neck. “As a result, it leads to more than 9 million deaths every year including half of deaths that lead to stroke”.
Hypertension, he added, is preventable and treatable. The Ministry of Health, he noted, is taking aggressive steps “with additional budgetary allocations and expended some $17B in health care in 2012”. In 2013, he stated, $19.2B has been provided for, a significant portion which will go towards to fight hypertension, educational materials to enlighten the citizenry and healthcare providers and “of course, to buy large volumes of drugs to fight hypertension”.
Over $2.3B has been allocated for the construction, rehabilitation and maintenance of health care infrastructure.
No research has ever been carried out as to the consumption habits of Guyanese on fast- foods, sugary foods or salty foods, the bulk of which contribute to the growing epidemic under this year’s World Health Day theme. Every day in Guyana, new eateries and fast food joints spring up, giving Guyanese a greater variety of foods and dishes, many of which are believed to be unhealthy for the consuming public, health wise. While it is the number one cause of deaths in Guyana, there have not been readily available statistics as to the number of deaths in Guyana caused by high blood pressure and cardio vascular diseases.
Please share this to every Guyanese including your house cats.
Apr 19, 2024
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