BANGLADESH

In view of an unprecedented rise in heart diseases, Bangladeshi families need to adopt healthy lifestyle at home to avert the risk, experts say.

"We appeal to individuals to reduce the risk on their own," researcher Sohel Reza Choudhury said, adding, "It starts from the family by choosing healthy eating habits, adopting physical activities and quitting consumption of tobacco."

"But many of us refuse to lead a healthy lifestyle," Choudhury of National Heart Foundation Hospital and Research Institute (NHFHRI) told on Thursday, the World Heart Day.

This year's theme 'One World, One Home, One Heart' encourages all the families in the world to unite in order to improve their heart health as World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates 17.3 million deaths from heart ailments globally every year.

A health ministry study suggests heart disease is the leading cause of deaths in Bangladesh that accounts for 12.5 percent of all hospital deaths.

Findings of Bangladesh Non-communicable Diseases Risk Factor Survey 2010 showed 60 million people consume low vegetable and fruits and 16 million maintain sedentary lifestyle, while around 33 million people use tobacco.

"The evidence of healthy lifestyle preventing heart diseases is now overwhelming," Choudhury said.

"But we continue to consume food laden in fat and sugar that over time could lead to high blood pressure or even a heart attack."

"Family lifestyles should change," he said, adding children should be motivated to avoid junk food, soft drinks and chocolates.

Choudhury said family members should know their blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure level, body mass index and waist circumference to stay off the risks.

"But on before anything we must ensure a smoking-free environment."

World Health Organisation (WHO) says second-hand smoking also kills.

"It is evident that smoking causes heart diseases and even sudden deaths of newborns," the heart researcher said.

At a World Heart Day seminar at National Heart Foundation Hospital and Research Institute, state minister for health Mujibur Rahman Fakir on Thursday said a stricter tobacco control law is in the offing.