KUWAIT: 160,000 Heart Patients In Kuwait Are 50 Years Old

. KUWAIT / The Arab Times / November 19, 2007: Around seven million people die every year all over the world due to heart disease, Cardiac and Arterial Diseases Consultant Dr Saad Al-Kandari told Al-Seyassah. Al-Kandari said there are 160,000 heart patients in Kuwait indicating the average age of Kuwaitis suffering from the disease is 50 years old compared to 60 years old in western countries. Emphasizing that prevention is better than treatment, Al-Kandari said the public should be aware of the symptoms of various types of heart disease particularly the cardiac thrombus, a clot which forms in a blood vessel or in the wrong place — in an artery, a vein, or in the chambers of the heart. He added acidity and unusual heart palpitations are the most common symptoms of this disease. Indicating diabetes patients are prone to the disease, Al-Kandari also advised the people to stop from smoking and avoid foods with cholesterol as these are the major causes of the disease. Admitting that modern treatment procedures and heart surgeries are very expensive, Al-Kandari appealed to the Patients Helping Fund and other benefactors to provide assistance to financially-deprived patients in Kuwait. Copyright 2007 Arab Times