30 Pakistanis Die Every Hour Due to a Heart Attack: WHO

More than 30 people die every hour in Pakistan due to heart attacks, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

It means as many as 720 people lose their lives every day, 21,600 people every month and 262,800 every year. These are not hard numbers but this is a heart-wrenching state of affairs for our country.

Eminent cardiologist Dr. Khawar Kazmi claimed that as per latest data of World Health Organization (WHO), at least 30 persons were dying every hour in Pakistan, which was an alarming figure as after every two minutes, one person was dying somewhere in Pakistan due to heart diseases.

Speaking at the recently held World Heart Day, he said Pakistan not only needs more treatment facilities but also a comprehensive preventive cardiology program and strategy to prevent people from contracting cardiovascular diseases.

He said Pakistan was becoming a nation of “diseased and disabled” persons as every third youngster was hypertensive while every fourth person was diabetic and added that in order to make country prosperous, there was an urgent need for making people aware of health hazards and how to live a healthy life.

NICVD Budget Increases By 120 Times

Advisor to Chief Minister Sindh for Information Barrister Murtaza Wahab has said that Sindh government has enhanced the budget of National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) 120 times by increasing it to Rs. 8.5 billion from just Rs. 70 million in 2012-13, which made it the “Center of National Unity” where people from all the provinces and areas of Pakistan come for state-of-the-art cardiac treatment services.

Claiming to be a ‘big admirer’ of the NICVD for establishing Satellite Centers in eight different cities of Sindh and seven Chest Pain Units at different locations of Karachi, he said this facility was now saving hundreds of lives on a daily basis by providing them state-of-the-art treatment facilities near their abodes.

“NICVD is in the entire Sindh now and people of Sukkur and Larkana do not have to come to Karachi these days as they are being given the top of the line health facilities in their own cities. Even people from Quetta, Peshawar, and FATA are visiting these hospitals and satellite centers in Sukkur and Larkana due to being close to them as compared to Karachi”, he claimed.

Executive Director NICVD Prof. Nadeem Qamar on the occasion announced the launching of Preventive Cardiology Program of NICVD after introducing all the modern treatment facilities to the heart patients at the NICVD, saying that they had now decided to focus on prevention and prevent people of Pakistan from acquiring heart disease so that they could become productive members of the society.

“We have established the Department of Preventive Cardiology at the NICVD and have brought one of the best interventional cardiologists Prof. Khawar Kazmi to head this department and program”, he said adding that it was the right time to make changes in the lives of people by making them aware of their anti-health lifestyles.