Doctors and other health-workers in Kericho County are intrigued by rising incidence of heart diseases in the far-flung rural administrative unit among the middle aged population, which they attribute to rising sedentary lifestyle.

Hypertension and diabetes, both linked to smoking and alcohol abuse, a lifestyle diseases.

Heart disease, medics say, describes a range of conditions that affect the heart function that include coronary artery disease, irregular heartbeats or arrhythmias, congenital heart defects and heart valve disease.

In an interview, a doctor at Eldoret Hospital Kericho, Dr Vincent Cheruiyot, said hypertension is a predominant cause of heart diseases that potentially lead to heart attack and stroke.

Dr Cheruiyot notes that a healthy body has a normal blood pressure reading in addition to recording a regular heartbeat that contribute to the normal flow of nutrients and oxygen in the blood to all organs of the body including the heart, brain and kidneys but noted that a patient suffering from hypertension or diabetes are at risk of developing because of abnormal blood pressure and irregular heartbeat.

“Uncontrolled hypertension or diabetes will cause kidney failure leading to reduction of quality of life. When this happens, then the lifespan goes down. The normal heart rate is between 60 -100 beats per minute, but when the heartbeat goes beyond 120-140 beats per minute or falls below 60 beats per minute it can be considered dangerous and requires doctors’ medical attention,” the doctor says.

Normal blood pressure is generally considered to be around 120mm Hg systolic and 80 Hg diastolic (120/80 mmHg) and a blood pressure reading of 130/80 mmHg requires a doctor’s attention.” noted Dr. Cheruiyot.

He advised residents to recognise the early warning signs such as shortness of breath after an exhausting task, chest pain, swelling of the lower limbs which can also be visible with the swelling of the face, shortness of breath especially while sleeping or shortness of breath while lying flat and also when a patient experiences heart palpitations.

The medic revealed that he sees at least 10 patients aged between 40 and 60 years per month with various heart diseases.

“I see not less than 10 patients in a month. Most of them have already been diagnosed so they come for check-up or a drug refill. Most of the patients with heart disease are mainly from hypertension others it is due to diabetes, others have a history of smoking or excessive alcohol intake,” said Dr Cheruiyot.

The medic revealed other predominant health risks include intake of unhealthy diets, lack of physical activity, stress, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, diabetes and high cholesterol.

“I encourage people to do physical activities as this strengthens the heart muscles. Watch also what you eat as foods with high fat content will lead to high cholesterol levels that will contribute to blocking the heart muscles leading to coronary heart disease. When the heart arteries become stiff this will lead to inadequate blood supply to the heart leading to a heart attack.” added Dr Cheruiyot.

Smoking and excessive alcohol are unhealthy habits and significantly increase the risk of heart diseases. Drinking too much alcohol can have a serious impact on heart health, which can cause high blood pressure, heart failure or stroke.

“Heavy drinking causes the heart muscles to weaken this is called alcohol cardiomyopathy, it can slow down the heart rate and breathing, alcohol can also trigger heart palpitations. If someone can avoid alcohol the better,” Dr Cheruiyot says.

“Smoking damages the heart and blood vessels. When you smoke, you inhale various chemicals causing damage to the heart and blood vessels which leads to increasing the blood pressure making the heart work harder. This can reduce the flow of blood to the heart and increase the risk of having a heart attack,” he said.

Dr Cheruiyot said it was important to know the potential symptoms, as many forms of heart disease can be prevented or treated with healthy lifestyle choices.

• A Tell Media / KNA report / By Sarah Njagi