GO RED FOR WOMEN LAUNCHES IN PAKISTANUnder the leadership of World Heart Federation President Shahryar Sheikh, Pakistan has launched a national Go Red for Women campaign, becoming one of about 30 countries to do so and the first in South Asia. Still in its early stages, the long-term campaign will encourage Pakistani women to take better care of their hearts, ask Pakistani health care professionals to pay more attention to cardiovascular disease in women and work with volunteers, partner organizations, health activists and the news media in Pakistan to raise awareness of the need for action. (See related article about the international Go Red for Women campaign.) “Pakistani women are largely unaware that they face a large and growing risk of cardiovascular disease,” Dr Sheikh said. “Indeed, most of them don’t know that it is their greatest health threat. Go Red for Women will teach them about the relatively simple and inexpensive measures they can adopt to reduce their risk of heart attack and stroke. At the same time, it will make more Pakistani physicians aware that they need to take cardiovascular disease in women more seriously.” Sheikh and Voûte announce in LahoreMeeting in March in Lahore, Pakistan, Dr Sheikh and World Heart Federation Chief Executive Officer Janet Voûte announced the launch in an interview with the national-circulation English-language newspaper The Nation. The campaign will have the collaboration and support of two World Heart Federation members: the Pakistan Cardiac Society, of which Dr Sheikh is a past president, and Heartfile, whose president and founder, Sania Nishtar, also chairs the World Heart Federation’s Expert Panel on Women and Heart Disease. According to the World Health Organization’s report “Preventing Chronic Diseases: a vital investment,” cardiovascular disease in 2005 accounted for 22% of deaths of Pakistani women of all ages. In economically developing countries as a whole, half of deaths of women 50 years old or older are caused by cardiovascular disease. Worldwide, cardiovascular disease kills 8.6 million women per year – or more than HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, cancer and malaria combined. Increasing overweight and obesity a factorPakistan is experiencing a surge in a prime risk factor for cardiovascular disease – overweight and obesity. According to the same World Health Organization report, in 2005, 31% of Pakistani women 30 years old or older were overweight or obese. In 2015, the figure will be 41%. Since physical inactivity causes overweight and obesity, Go Red for Women will try to encourage the development of culturally appropriate ways for Pakistani women to be more physically active. As part of the effort to educate Pakistani physicians about cardiovascular disease in women, Dr Nishtar will help develop a tool kit, which will contain information about how the disease presents itself differently in women and how to prevent and treat it. “Many women suffer under the unfortunate bias of health care providers not recognizing the signs of cardiovascular disease in women,” Dr Sheikh said. “Not only are many women being under-diagnosed, but they’re being under-treated. This we mean to change.” | |||||||
|