Medical pundits link non-iodinated salts to heart disease

MTWARA: THE ongoing health camp in Mtwara Region has found 85 per cent of 58 people attended in three days have Hypertension Heart Disease (HHD) linking the high rate to among others consumption of non-iodinated salts from the Indian Ocean.

The team of specialist medical doctors through their cardiovascular unit carried out the laboratory investigations on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday as part of the five-day camp in the region , sounding alarm on the patients to start medication immediately.

Speaking in an exclusive interview on Thursday, Benjamin Mkapa Hospital (BMH) Camp Coordinator and Team Leader, Dr Emiliana Myovela revealed the details attributing the heart disease cases to consumption of non-iodinated salts and others factors including excessive alcohol drinking and cigarette smoking.

“Based on the environmental factor by considering the fact that Mtwara residents draw most of their salts from the Indian Ocean which are non-iodinated, the presence of many hypertension heart disease cases can be attributed to more consumption of the salts,” Dr Myovela told the Daily News.

Adding “use of more non-iodinated salts over time can cause heart diseases as they increase pressure to the blood vessels including those existing in the heart and the kidney,” she told the Daily News.

Dr Myovela said the non-iodinated salts have adverse impacts to the human body which include high blood pressure which hampers smooth blood circulation resulting in heart complication due to HHD.

She noted that laboratory investigations at the camp have found people have a very high pressure of over 150/95 , which is above the recommended 90/60 to 120/90.

“150/95 blood pressure is very high,” she said.

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However, she noted that a considerable number of patients in Mtwara have no ideas on their current health status despite the fact that their hearts have been expanding, a scientific term known as cardiomegally.

Furthermore, Dr Myovela said after being screened many patients are reluctant to begin medication pressing the need for medical education on the importance of regular health check-ups and adhering to guidelines from doctors.

She said the heart disease can be timely cured if the patient notices his or her health status early and begins treatment in line with medical doctors’ prescriptions rather than quiting taking medicines shortly after relief.

Dr Myovela also called Masasi residents and all Tanzanians at large to readjust their diets, hinting that three meals a day, can cause rapid body weight gain and obesity which also culminate into heart diseases.

She said the recommended body weight for adults is between 70 to 75 kilogrammes.

She encouraged citizens to eat Mediterranean foods which have more proteins and prioritize green vegetables while taking less carbohydrate foods and sugar.

Globally, she said heart disease is a public health challenge which according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) kills about 20 million people annually.

For people who spend many hours working while seating, Dr Myovela advised workers to allocate some minutes for walking around their offices as part of physical exercises.

To all people, she urged them to allocate at least 150 minutes for physical fitness daily.

At national level, Dr Myovela urged the Ministry of Health and Information, Culture, Arts and Sports to issue dietary and physical exercise guidelines respectively to prevent heart diseases which increase at an alarming rate.

She encouraged citizens to buy iodinated salts which are labeled by authorized manufacturers.

In a related development, BMH’s Head of Department of Cardiology and Cardiothoracic, Dr John Meda warned on the danger of living with HHD saying that it can lead to heart failure, stroke, foot swelling and kidney failure.

Dr Meda said roughly 80 per cent of kidney complication cases are caused by hypertension.

He noted that the cardiovascular disease is a leading killer disease of all Non-Communicable Diseases (NDCs) which include depression, hypertension, mental health and cancer.

Sharing his medical observation in Mtwara, he shared similar sentiments saying many patients are unaware of their health status and below 40 per cent of the proven people with the heart disease take medication.

Dr Meda said inconsistency in taking drugs delays treatment to many people.

As a results, he said many patients in Mtwara have extremely high blood pressure which reaches up to 200/110.

He attributed the increasing heart disease to epidemiological transition to many developing countries including Tanzania which witness many people undergoing modernisation in terms of food they eat for instance chips and lack of physical activities due to rapid urbanisation that comes with offices’ jobs.

Moreover , Dr Meda urged citizens to ensure they use iodinated salts from approved manufacturers who comply with required standards and specifications.

Above all, he said the recommended amount of salts per day is two grammes.

Dr Meda said the heart disease are mainly in people aging between 25 to 45 years old, who in most cases have been encountering stroke and heart failure.

He encouraged citizens to reduce stress and have enough sleep in efforts of avoiding mental health challenge which can causes hypertension and later on heart complication.

The health outreach programme comes at the time when BMH and the Benjamin William Mkapa Foundation are marking 10 and 20- years anniversaries respectively, reflecting the role of the third president in boosting healthcare across the country.

The iconic health camp is jointly organized by the BHM, Benjamin Mkapa Foundation, Surgery, Obstetrics, Trauma and Anesthesia Convoys (SOTAC) and the Masasi District Council Hospital.

The health mission kicked off on Monday and concludes today, Friday.

The Masasi District Council Hospital is a host.

The post Medical pundits link non-iodinated salts to heart disease first appeared on Daily News.

The post Medical pundits link non-iodinated salts to heart disease appeared first on Daily News.