Rate Of Cholesterol-Related Deaths Worrying

A Tema Physician has expressed worry over the increasing numbers of cholesterol-related deaths from stroke, heart attacks and other heart diseases among Ghanaians.

Dr Victor Nyamalor of the Tema Port Clinic said seven out of every 10 deaths related to heart attacks, were attributable to high levels of cholesterol.

He said risk factors disposing a large segment of the population to deaths from heart diseases included the widespread consumption of fatty and junk foods, lack of physical exercise, smoking and high levels of salt consumption. Other risk factors include obesity and hypertension.

The Daily Graphic’s own enquiries have confirmed that 95 per cent of Ghanaians over the age of 20 have at least one of the risk factors associated with heart disease and stroke.

With regard to risky behaviour which leads to heart diseases and stroke, medical statistics indicate that more than 70 per cent of Ghanaian adults do not eat fruits and vegetables to improve good cholesterol and stave off heart disease.

According to National Health Service statistics accessed by the Daily Graphic, about 80 per cent of adult Ghanaians do not get enough physical exercise and almost half the national population has been estimated to feel high-stress levels in their daily lives, another high risk factor in the prevalence of heart disease in the country.

The statistics revealed that more than 15 per cent of the adult population smoke cigarettes daily and between 60 and 85 per cent of the population eat too much salt. Ghanaians diagnosed with the most common heart diseases are at least five times more likely to have a stroke than other Ghanaians who live relatively healthier lifestyles, the data revealed.

Dr Nyamalor explained the link between high levels of cholesterol and the incidence of heart disease when he delivered a talk in the auditorium of the Corpus Christie Catholic Church at Sakumono, near Tema, last weekend.

The talk was one in a series of monthly health talks intended to help parishioners of the church live healthier lifestyles and prevent heart disease.

Dr Nyamalor explained that there were two types of blood cholesterol, namely “low density” or “bad” cholesterol and “high density” or “good cholesterol.” He said high levels of bad cholesterol clogged the blood vessels and prevented the flow of blood much in the same way as rust builds up in a pipe and prevents the flow of water.

The physician said the condition could lead to a rapture of a blood vessel. Where the rapture occurs in the brain, the result is a stroke and a heart attack where it occurs in the heart, he explained.

He advised Ghanaians to eat more fruits, vegetables and only lean meat, poultry and fish, to exercise regularly and endeavour to lose weight where necessary.

They should avoid fatty foods, eat less salt and consume less oil. He said too much consumption of coconut and palm oil in particular disposed people to higher risks of heart disease.

Dr Nyamalor noted that there was an excessive use of oil in cooking in the country and joked that this was an attempt by women to kill all the men. “Women who do the cooking are killing the men with oil and that explains why when you look around, you see far many more women than men,” Dr Naymalor joked.

The physician said the maximum amount of oil needed for cooking a family meal was “a spoonful of oil only. “Instead of frying foods, the foods should alternatively be roasted, grilled or barbecued,” he advised.

He recommended that all Ghanaians endeavour to check their blood cholesterol levels periodically and asked people with high blood pressure and cholesterol who were on medication, to ensure that they took the medicines as prescribed.

Story : George Sydney