SUDDEN CARDIAC DEATHS: "PEOPLE SHOULD NOT WAIT TO BE CARRIED TO THE HOSPITAL..." Says, Chief Consultant Physician & Cardiologist

According to Medscape, Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD) is an unexpected death due to cardiac causes that occurs in a short time period (generally within 1 hour of symptom onset) in a person with known or unknown cardiac disease. This is a common feature in our society these days as many adults who were said to have been active suddenly slump and pass on. This trend which is often wrongly attributed to spiritual attacks and the likes have been long ignored but for the increasing prevalence, have become a point of focus for public health advocates. To this end, Pharma-Guide Nigeria, on Tuesday, 26^th January, 2016, hosted a Chief Consultant Physician and consultant Cardiologist at the Federal Medical Centre Owerri to an interview to obtain his thoughts on this vital topic.

Dr Azubuike acknowledged the fact that Sudden Cardiac Deaths are now on the increase, a menace which he attributed to a change in lifestyle of Nigerians with respect to diet and physical activity, increasing stress factors of living (due to insecurity, lack of basic social amenities and economic challenges, etc) as well as lack of knowledge of basic health education. These he said will lead to one disease or the other notably hypertension, diabetes, overweight/obesity, which are responsible for the heart attacks.

He further explained that though men are at higher risk of coming down with heart diseases, women become equally or more at risk after menopause. In addition, the extremities of life - wealth and its attendant sedentary lifestyle as well as poverty and its attendant worries and stressful lifestyle; also, Ignorance, smoking and overindulgence in alcohol, all lead to the development of heart diseases and consequently, sudden cardiac death, he said.

Dr Azubuike therefore advised members of the public to adopt a healthy lifestyle of exercise, healthy dieting (such as the DASH diet), weight control, modest alcohol ingestion and smoking cessation. The DASH (Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension) is a diet that is rich in fruits and vegetables and low in fats and refined sugar. He further hinted on World Health Organization standard for alcohol consumption which is  21units/week for the male adult and 14units/week for the female adults as well as called on the public to yearly reflect on the celebration of the World Tobacco Day in order to call to mind the importance of preaching against tobacco smoking. He also called on the public especially the aging population to cultivate the habit of visiting WELL CLINICS – where the individual presents to a doctor periodically to assess his health and check for possible risk factors to any diseases; “People should not wait to be carried to the hospital but should carry themselves to the hospital and take full advantage of the knowledge of healthcare givers and that is the basic way to start. Let that health-consciousness begin to thrive in our people so that from time to time, they go and check their health status,” he counseled.

He also called on the government to do more for the health sector such as ensuring that the public have easy access to places where they can go and regularly check their blood pressure, sugar/glucose levels, provision of adequate facilities for resuscitation – oxygen, defibrillators, ECG (electrocardiogram) machines, availability of sound ambulant services and training of personnel – both health professionals and non-health professionals. According to Dr. Azubuike, “every adult should be trained on Basic Life Support – when somebody next to you drops, you should know what next to do and when to call in the ambulance and where you are heading to.”

Finally, Dr. Azubuike commended Pharma-Guide Nigeria for their educative and enlightenment initiative and urged the team to do more by physically reaching out to the public at schools, churches, meetings and social gatherings where they can receive health talks and possibly interacting with those in the rural areas through town criers and traditional rulers. This he said was important giving the not-so-commendable reading culture among a vast majority of the populace.