Cardiovascular Disease

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a collective term used to describe ailments related to the heart or the blood vessels and is the number one global cause of death. Examples of these include congenital heart disease where the structure of an infant’s heart is compromised from birth, as well as peripheral arterial disease where vessels transporting blood to the legs from the heart are narrowed or completely blocked. Cardiac events like strokes and heart attacks also fall under the CVD umbrella despite their acute nature, meaning that the onset of symptoms is quick and occurs over a short period of time. These primarily result from fatty deposits in the lining of the vessels, as with the case in peripheral arterial disease, stopping blood flow to the brain and heart. Strain on the heart due to CVDs over an extended period of time weakens it. Eventually, the heart fails to efficiently deliver blood to vital organs resulting in loss of life or further complications that significantly decrease quality of life. Other ailments associated with CVDs are dizziness, swelling and shortness of breath.    

Modifiable risk factors associated with CVDs are use of tobacco, alcohol consumption, physical inactivity and poor diet. Those more susceptible to CVDs have pre-existing non-communicable diseases like hypertension, diabetes and obesity. The World Health Organization (WHO) described hypertension in Barbados as a ‘pressure-cooker health crisis’ given that a surplus of one-third of Barbadians between 25 and 70 years are hypertensive. 547 myocardial infarctions or heart attacks and 700 strokes were registered by the Barbados National Registry for Chronic Non-Communicable Disease. Due to the relationship between CVDs and hypertension, the higher the number of hypertensive persons, the higher the probability of persons succumbing to CVDs will be.