People in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and other Gulf countries are getting heart attacks at a young age, lowering the regional average for heart attacks to 50 years, compared with 65 in Western counties.
The Emirates Cardiac Society has been collecting data on the number of patients with heart disease as well as their medical history and lifestyle risk factors, and researchers have found that people as young as 21 are getting heart attacks. The prevalence of CVD among younger people is due to the high prevalence of risk factors in the Gulf region, including diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol and smoking.
Heart disease is the major killer in the UAE, and the country has the second highest rate of diabetes in the world. Doctors and researchers in the area are calling for the government to invest in more preventative measures, such as screening programmes.
Source: Gulf News, 25 June 2007