Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence during a presentation on Thursday on the importance of cardiac health revealed that Guyana’s population is currently being faced with an alarming amount of cases of cardiac (heart) diseases.
The Minister noted that despite the fact that Guyana is a small country, there are a substantial number of cases and deaths being recorded as a result of cardiac diseases, which is being listed as one of the leading causes of deaths among its citizens.
“For us in the health sector, cardiac disease is one of the challenges and today the statistics are very alarming for such a small populated country. We have noted that cardiovascular deaths account for some 32 per cent nationally and an estimated 22 per cent is living with cardiovascular diseases,” the Minster stated.
She highlighted that this arises from the fact that Guyanese tend to pay very little attention to their symptoms and other health related issues.
“The general tendency of Guyana is not to pay much attention to [the] health aspect unless someone close to us is affected. On the other hand also, we take too much for granted” she said.
However, the Health Minister noted that regular checks must be made which could result in the prevention of heart attacks.
In addressing the issue, the Public Health Ministry has collaborated with the Canadian High Commission and the Guyana Programme for Advance Cardiac Care (GPACC) to educate the population through public service announcements.
Seven short videos were produced by representatives of GPACC which targets a different aspect of addressing cardiac arrest.
“The release of these videos will greatly assist us in supporting this campaign of heightening awareness at all levels in every region so that measures can be put in place to help decrease the mobility and mortality of coronary heart diseases in Guyana,” the Minister explained.
With these implementations, the Ministry and its collaborators are hoping that Guyanese will make greater strides to seek medical attention when the need arises. This will assist in decreasing the high rates of cardiovascular deaths.
