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By Doris Obinna
PPC Healthcare, a subsidiary of PPC Limited, Nigeria’s leading engineering and infrastructure development company with footprints across Nigeria’s healthcare landscape, has encouraged members of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to pay close attention to their cardiac health.
This charge was given during a recent two-day annual training programme of the TUC that held at Presken Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos.
The head, medical devices sales, PPC Limited, Bamidele Nse-Jacobs, while giving the health talk, stated that heart disease was a leading cause of death globally and could be preventable through early detection, lifestyle change and management of risk factors.
She said a healthy lifestyle lowers the risk of heart attack, and warned against excessive consumption of unhealthy foods that were high in sodium, fat and processed sugar.
According to her, keeping the blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol levels in healthy ranges could help as well.
Speaking on other risk factors, Nse-Jacobs said, “Tobacco use can also damage the heart, as chemicals in cigarette smoke cause the blood to thicken and form clots inside veins and arteries. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; it takes the body five years to get back to a non-smoker state. During that time, the risk of developing heart attack increases to 100 per cent.
“Diabetes and a family history of heart diseases also contribute significantly to increasing the risk of cardiac disease. Someone who has a family member that has had a stroke, heart attack or diabetes is also at risk because it has been discovered that some of these diseases can be inherited. A diet high in sodium as well as a sedentary lifestyle most times are risk factors for developing cardiovascular disease.”
She warned that, if arrhythmia – a condition in which heartbeats become irregular – was not detected early and managed, it could lead to the slowdown of heartbeats and consequently death or permanent brain damage.
Nse-Jacobs advised members of the union to take charge of their cardiac health and carry out regular cardiac checks to ascertain the state of their heart, as many incidents of sudden death often start with arrhythmia.
She stated that cardiac checks that could be done to detect heart diseases include electrocardiogram, Holter monitoring, Cardiac CT and MRI scans, among others.
She insisted that prevention of heart attacks was important, adding that an active lifestyle and good nutrition have also been shown to be helpful in preventing heart attacks.
PPC Healthcare is dedicated to improving healthcare outcomes through the deployment of innovative healthcare solutions and biomedical engineering services across Nigeria.
