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Ammon News - by Khetam Malkawi | The Jordan Times

A Health Ministry official said 36 per cent of deaths in Jordan are due to cardiovascular diseases, 34 per cent of which are among people under the age of 60 (MCT photo)
AMMAN — As the prevalence of heart diseases in the Kingdom exceeds regional levels, efforts should be intensified to raise awareness of the risks leading to cardiovascular illnesses, a Ministry of Health official said on Saturday.

Mohammad Tarawneh, head of the ministry’s non-communicable diseases department, said 36 per cent of deaths in Jordan are due to cardiovascular diseases, 34 per cent of which are among people under the age of 60.

“This rate is one of the highest in the region, and the leading causes should be addressed to reduce the prevalence of these diseases,” Tarawneh told The Jordan Times over the phone.

The health official’s remarks came on the occasion of World Heart Day, which is observed annually on September 29 by the World Heart Federation (WHF) and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

This year’s theme will focus on “a life-course approach to the prevention and control of cardiovascular disease” with a focus on women and children “because healthy children lead to healthy adults, and healthy adults lead to healthy families and communities”, according to the WHF website.

According to Tarawneh, Jordan was one of the world countries that developed a national strategy to combat non-communicable diseases and submitted it to the UN in 2011, adding that “we presented our first annual report to the Prime Ministry”.

He noted that although all partners concerned with the implementation of the strategy are doing their best to implement it, “financial constraints are an obstacle, and we reported this to the premier”.

The committee tasked with following up on the implementation of the action plan is presided over by Kamel Ajlouni, director general of the National Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Genetics, with members representing both the public and private health sectors, in addition to the Royal Medical Services, university hospitals, the education and awqaf ministries, and concerned organisations.

According to Tarawneh, the strategy is not limited to a specific time frame and focuses on creating awareness on means to reduce the prevalence of chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and obesity.

He explained that the strategy contains several actions that should be implemented by the ministries of health, education and awqaf.

“These ministries, along with other partners, organised several activities to raise awareness of these chronic diseases and how to avoid risk factors,” Tarawneh explained.

He added that awareness includes lectures on the risks of smoking, which is a leading cause of heart diseases, leading an unhealthy lifestyle and obesity.

“Combined with an unhealthy lifestyle, smoking leads to health problems such as hypertension and cardiovascular diseases,” Tarawneh noted.

According to official figures, Jordan has the highest rate of tobacco consumption in the Middle East and North Africa region, with 34 per cent of all young males and 19.4 per cent of females currently smoking on a regular basis, while 13.6 per cent of children aged between 13 and 15 smoke in Jordan.

In addition, passive smoking is a major issue in Jordan, with 60 per cent of children being exposed to second-hand smoke.

The Kingdom spent around JD2.2 billion in 2010 on cardiovascular diseases and other leading chronic diseases, according to the ministry’s figures.