Brunei's Local News - Brudirect.com

Bandar Seri Begawan - A significant proportion of the Ministry of Health's annual budget is spent on fighting heart diseases, the Minister of Health said yesterday, adding that hundreds of millions of dollars were spent annually in ensuring the well-being of the citizens and residents of the country.

Pehin Orang Kaya Indera Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Hj Suyoi said the expenditure of such disease (which is the top three leading causes of deaths in Brunei over many years) increases every year. Among the top six drugs purchased by the Ministry of Health last year, five on the list are drugs used to treat and prevent heart diseases and stroke.

This was revealed in his speech at the launching of the World Heart Day 2008 at The Mall in Gadong, jointly organised by the Ministry of Health and Gleneagles JPMC.

"For instance, more than $10 million was spent to buy drugs against high blood pressure, while $8

million was spent on drugs to lower blood cholesterol.

"At the same time, the number of patients referred to Gleneagles JPMC, our partner in providing cardiac services, is steadily increasing year by year. For instance, the number of referrals from RIPAS Hospital Cardiac Centre to Gleneagles last year (2007) has increased 37 per cent compared to 2006 while in 2008 (till August), the figure has overtaken that for the whole year in 2006," the minister added.

He also said it is well known that heart diseases and stroke can be better prevented by regular exercise, no smoking and a healthier diet, which is low in salt and rich in fibres, fresh vegetables and fruits.

For instance, studies have shown that increased consumption of fruits and vegetables from less than three to more than five servings can lead to a significant reduction in risk of coronary heart disease.

Thus a simple action by the individual can lead to a profound difference in their health by reducing their own risk of developing heart disease.

He added that the World Heart Day is a very important date in the Ministry of Health's calendar because on this day together with more than 100 countries worldwide, Brunei focuses on the prevention of diseases related to the heart and the cardiovascular system.

Unfortunately, heart diseases and stroke remain the world's number one killer. In fact, globally, 17.5 million deaths annually are caused by heart disease and stroke, as many deaths as caused by HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and diabetes plus all forms of cancer and chronic respiratory diseases combined.

The minister added that because heart diseases put a significant burden on our health resources, our fight against it should be relentless and never ending, both at the individual and at the national level.

The ministry, as part of its overall policy and strategy, is putting the highest priority on the prevention of chronic diseases through effective health promotion, by focusing on heart disease prevention at all levels, from primary to tertiary prevention, he said.

The promotion of a healthy lifestyle, like obesity prevention, is amongst the key thrusts in primary prevention. Communities are targeted via Mukim Sihat programmes, and the ministries, along with other ministries, are having regular exercise activities for their staff.

At the health clinics and hospitals, we continue to have individual weight control programmes for patients, eradicating smoking which is a well-known risk factor for ischaemic heart disease, the minister said.

Another important strategy is screening for heart diseases and their risk factors to identify potential patients early before they are symptomatic so that early intervention and treatment can be instituted.

Integrated health screening for public servants and other screening are regularly held by departments. Preventive programmes do not stop once the patients have got the disease. Patients recovering from a heart disease are enrolled in the Cardiac Rehabilitation Programme at RIPAS, he said.

The theme for this year's World Heart Day is 'Know Your Risk'. The activities are held for three days starting yesterday. Among the highlights yesterday was the complimentary health screening.

On Saturday, (Aug 23), the health screening campaign will move to OGDC, Seria, while the Healthy Heart Awareness Carnival will be held on Sunday (Aug 24) at Jerudong Park Country Club Amphitheatre starting at 7am. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin