Vol 44 # 2 June 2012 - Kma.org.kw

June 2012
KUWAIT MEDICAL JOURNAL 176
Health at WHO. “Health-care workers are often not
adequately trained to recognize dementia.”
The report points to a general lack of information
and understanding about dementia. This fuels stigma,
which in turn contributes to the social isolation of both
the person with dementia and their caregivers, and can
lead to delays in seeking diagnosis, health assistance
and social support.
“Public awareness about dementia, its symptoms,
the importance of getting a diagnosis, and the help
available for those with the condition is very limited.
It is now vital to tackle the poor levels of public
awareness and understanding, and to drastically
reduce the stigma associated with dementia,” says
Marc Wortmann, Executive Director, Alzheimer’s
Disease International.
Strengthening care is also a key. In every region
of the world, most care-giving is provided by
informal caregivers - spouses, adult children, other
family members and friends. The report notes that
people who care for a person with dementia are
themselves particularly prone to mental disorders,
such as depression and anxiety, and are often in
poor physical health themselves. Many caregivers
also suffer economically as they may be forced
to stop working, cut back on work, or take a less
demanding job to care for a family member with
dementia.
The report recommends involving existing
caregivers in designing programs to provide better
support for people with dementia and those looking
after them. Community-based services can provide
valuable support to families caring for people with
dementia in both high- and low-income countries
- delaying the need for people to enter into high-cost
residential care. At the same time, health workforce
training needs to pay closer attention to dementia, and
the skills required to provide both clinical and longterm
care.
Dementia is a syndrome, usually of a chronic
nature, caused by a variety of brain illnesses that
affect memory, thinking, behaviour and ability to
perform everyday activities. Alzheimer’s disease is
the most common cause of dementia and possibly
contributes to up to 70% of cases. Although
dementia affects people in all countries, more
than half (58%) live in low- and middle-income
countries. This is likely to rise to more than 70%
by 2050.
For more information contact: Fadéla Chaib, WHO
Communications officer. Telephone: + 41 22 791 32 28;
Mobile: + 41 79 475 55 56; Email: chaibf@who.int
Dementia: http://www.who.int/mental_health/
publications/dementia_report_2012
www.alz.co.uk/about-dementia.
5. CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES (CVDS)
What are cardiovascular diseases?
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a group of
disorders of the heart and blood vessels and include:
• coronary heart disease – disease of the blood vessels
supplying the heart muscle
• cerebrovascular disease - disease of the blood
vessels supplying the brain
• peripheral arterial disease – disease of blood vessels
supplying the arms and legs
• rheumatic heart disease – damage to the heart
muscle and heart valves from rheumatic fever,
caused by streptococcal bacteria
• congenital heart disease - malformations of heart
structure existing at birth
• deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism
– blood clots in the leg veins, which can dislodge
and move to the heart and lungs.
Heart attacks and strokes are usually acute events
and are mainly caused by a blockage that prevents
blood from flowing to the heart or brain. The most
common reason for this is a build-up of fatty deposits
on the inner walls of the blood vessels that supply the
heart or brain. Strokes can also be caused by bleeding
from a blood vessel in the brain or from blood clots.
Key Facts
• CVDs are the number one cause of death globally:
more people die annually from CVDs than from
any other cause.
• An estimated 17.3 million people died from CVDs
in 2008, representing 30% of all global deaths. Of
these deaths, an estimated 7.3 million were due to
coronary heart disease and 6.2 million were due to
stroke.
• Low- and middle-income countries are
disproportionally affected: over 80% of CVD deaths
take place in low- and middle-income countries
and occur almost equally in men and women.
• By 2030, almost 23.6 million people will die from
CVDs, mainly from heart disease and stroke. These
are projected to remain the single leading causes of
death.
What are the risk factors for cardiovascular disease?
The most important behavioural risk factors of
heart disease and stroke are unhealthy diet, physical
inactivity, tobacco use and harmful use of alcohol.
Behavioural risk factors are responsible for about 80%
of coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular disease.
The effects of unhealthy diet and physical
inactivity may show up in individuals as raised blood
pressure, raised blood glucose, raised blood lipids, and
overweight and obesity; these are called ‘intermediate