Hypertension a threat

 By ELIZABETH MIAE

A LEADING cardiologist has warned that Papua New Guinea needs to prepare for hypertension and heart diseases as they cause more deaths in low and middle income countries around the world.

Prof Sir Isi Kevau told the gathering for the World Health Day commemoration at the Health Department yesterday that hypertension was an important ingredient of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). 

Sir Isi gave a presentation on life style diseases and pointed out that the biggest challenge now was how to take control of and prevent further deaths from those diseases.

“You cannot think of high blood pressure in isolation if you want an impact in PNG,” he said when referring to the department’s figures in 2008 on the leading causes of deaths in the country. 

According to the figures, Sir Isi stated that communicable diseases such as pneumonia was still the number one problem in the country followed by TB (tuberculosis) and malaria while the new diseases (lifestyle disease) were rising.

“When NCDs emerged in PNG it was a men’s disease and women lived longer but today it is everybody’s business and women are also affected.”

“High blood pressure holds its position in all non communicable diseases.”

Sir Isi explained that NCDs occur as a result of urbanisation, affluence and changes in lifestyle adding that such lifestyle diseases were expensive to treat.

World Health Organisation (WHO) country representative, Dr William Adu-Krow said: “Hypertension is one of the most important contributors to heart disease and stroke – which together make up the world’s number one cause of premature death and disability.”

“Researchers estimate that high blood pressure contributes to nearly 9.4 million deaths from cardiovascular disease each year.”

He said in PNG it was estimated that more than 31, 000 deaths were related to hypertension and heart diseases, based on the department’s 2008 figures. 

He added that 39% of deaths were due to heart failure and the next two leading killers were hypertension and heart diseases on 13% followed by other heart problems. 

Adu-Krow highlighted to the audience that NCDs were now a major and growing burden on health and development in the Western Pacific Region including PNG.

“In PNG, 772 people per 100,000 population or 57,900 people die from non-communicable diseases every year.”

“NCDs are the leading causes of death and disability in the region and responsible for 80% of all deaths. 

“It is projected that by 2020, 12.3 million people will die from NCDs in the Western Pacific.”