Risk factors for cardiovascular disease in workers at a district hospital

Loading...
Thumbnail Image

Date

Authors

Nkombua, Lushiku

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Federation of Infectious Diseases Societies of South Africa

Abstract

Certain risk factors play an important role in a person’s chances of developing heart disease. The more risk factors a person has, the greater the likelihood of developing heart disease. Proactively addressing the modifiable risk factors reduces the chances for a person to develop a cardiovascular disease or die from its complications. The author wished to establish the prevalence of the risk factors for cardiovascular diseases in workers at a district hospital. From September 2007 to the end of October 2007, workers were invited, on a voluntary basis, to know their ‘numbers’ (measured levels) as far as the risk for cardiac disease was concerned. A total of 108 participants were recruited. Among them, 6% had a random glucose of between 7.8 to 11.0 mmol/l and 3% had a random glucose of more than 11.1 mmol/l. Of the participants, 12% had stage 1 hypertension, 14 % had stage 2 hypertension and 3% had severe hypertension. Among the participants, 47 % had a body mass index above the norm, hence being at risk of heart disease; 88% did not engage in any form of physical exercises and 7.5% were active smokers. The survey clearly established that the workers employed at a district hospital had risk factors for heart disease. Some of them had established conditions such as diabetes mellitus, overweight and hypertension.

Description

Keywords

Cardiovascular disease, Risk factors, Heart disease, District hospital workers

Sustainable Development Goals

Citation

Nkombua, L 2012, 'Risk factors for cardiovascular disease in workers at a district hospital', Southern African Journal of Epidemiology & Infection, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 38-39.