STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: With evergrowing need for creating awareness and screening rural population especially women for cardiac ailments a day long cardiac awareness cum Health checkup as well as screening camp held at Village Channu Chak ,Block Marh, Jammu with special focus on women with high risk for cardiovascular diseases . Masses were educated about the importance of primary prevention in cardiac ailments especially in this era when healthcare is already overburdened with increasing morbidity and mortality due to cardiovascular diseases. While interacting with the people Dr Sushil stated that The Global Burden of Disease Study has reported that ischemic heart disease and stroke are the most important causes of death and years of life lost and one of the most important causes of disability and mortality in women, of the more than 10 million deaths annually in India, almost two million are due to diseases of circulatory system, of which 40 per cent are women. Among women, these diseases are the major cause of death, in the middle age, in urban and in rural women living in poor or rich States. More than half of the 800,000 annual CVD deaths in women occur prematurely.
He further added that among women, smoking causes less population attributable risk (due to its low prevalence) while metabolic risk factors such as dyslipidemia, hypertension, diabetes and high waist-hip ratio are more important. Clearly, women in India are at a much higher cardio metabolic risk of CVD than men, especially after they lose their hormonal protection at menopause. Population based epidemiological studies in India have reported significant gaps in the awareness, treatment and control of various risk factors. Hypertension awareness ranges from 20 to 60 per cent, is lowest in rural women and highest in urban men; less than a quarter subjects with hypertension are treated in rural areas while about half are treated in urban locations. Blood pressure control status is dismal and varies from 10 per cent in rural locations to 20 per cent in urban locations.
Besides Dr Sushil Sharma in his concluding remarks told that Cardiovascular diseases both CHD and stroke, are the most important causes of mortality and morbidity in Indian women. Standard risk factors that are operative in men are equally important in women and these are driven by changing lifestyles, low physical activity, high calorie intake and high fat diet. Status of awareness, treatment and control of these risk factors is low, especially among rural women, and organizing more and more such camps will go a long way in paving path for decreasing prevalence of these diseases.
More than 200 people were examined, evaluated and advised during the camp. ECG, Blood Sugar and HBA1C were conducted and free medicines were also given as per the requirements.
Prominent Members of the area Sh Prem Singh (Sarpanch), Rekha Rani (Panch), Kewal Krishan (Panch), Madan Lal (Panch), Sandeep Kour (Panch), Daya Ram (Panch) and Sohan Lal (Secy Panchayat) appreciated the efforts of Dr Sushil and his team for conducting Cardiac Awareness Cum health check up camp in their area .
Others who were part of this camp included Dr Dhaneshwer Kapoor. Paramedics and Volunteers include Kamal Sharma, Rajkumar, Manoj Sharma, Raghav Rajput, Maqsood Ahmed, Akshay Kumar, Vikas kumar, Gourav Sharma, Harvinder Singh, Milan Kapoor , Mukesh Kumar and Paramveer Singh.