Knowledge regarding preventive measures of heart disease among the adult population in Kathmandu

Abstract

Heart disease is the leading cause of death globally. Prevention is the most effective way of combating its epidemic in the resource poor nations. Knowledge on preventive measures of heart diseases has been identified as a prerequisite for change in behavior. This study was conducted with the purpose of identifying the knowledge on heart disease and its prevention among the adults population residing in Dadhikot VDC of Bhaktapur district by interviewing house to house survey. A total of 405 respondents who met the eligible criteria were systematically sampled and interviewed face to face for the study. A pretested Nepali version semi-structured interview schedule was used to collect data from adults. The duration of the study was one month i.e. June, 2011. Among total respondents, 57.8 percent had adequate knowledge on heart disease. Only less than half (46.9%) knew age as non-modifiable risk factor for heart disease followed by hereditary (39.8%) and sex (13.8%). Regarding modifiable risk factors, the most cited response was fatty food consumption (72.6%) followed by smoking (70.4%), stress (63.7%), physical inactivity (61.7%), hypertension (59%), obesity (58.8%), high cholesterol diet (36.5%) and diabetes (30.1%). Most of the respondents (57.8%) knew dyspnea during exertion as symptom of heart disease followed by chest pain (24%). Majority of respondents (80.7%) cited decreasing fatty diet as preventive measure of heart disease following daily exercise (75.6%), eating vegetables and fruits (71.6%), keeping blood pressure under control (59%) and keeping diabetes under control (33.8%) respectively. Knowledge was significantly associated with age, gender, education level and family history of heart disease. Conclusion: The findings concluded that significant percentage (42.2%) of respondents had inadequate knowledge on heart disease. The findings also highlighted the lack of knowledge on high cholesterol diet and diabetes as modifiable risk factors for heart disease i.e. 36.5% and 30.1% respectively. So it is recommended that awareness raising programs could be beneficial on prevention of heart disease is correcting in the deficient areas of knowledge regarding preventive measures of heart disease

Knowledge on Risk Factors of Coronary Heart Disease among Middle Aged Administrative Staffs of Kathmandu

“…Another study conducted by (Pandey & Khadka, 2012) in Kathmandu showed that age, family history was recognized was 46.9 % and 39.8% of study participants respectively which is similar with the finding of this study. However, sex was recognized by only 13.8 % of respondents which showed distinction with the finding of this study.…”

“…In this study decreasing fatty food consumption, eating fruits and vegetables was most recognized by the respondents as the ways to prevent CHD which is similar to the study conducted by (Pandey & Khadka, 2012).…”

“…Studies conducted in Nepal also revealed low knowledge of Coronary heart disease among the general public. A study conducted to assess knowledge of modifiable risk factors of coronary atherosclerotic heart disease in Kathmandu showed that only 22% of study population had good level of knowledge regarding the risk factors (Khadka,2012).Another similar study done in Kathmandu revealed that 67.8%of participants had adequate knowledge regarding heart disease among 405 participants (Pandey & Khadka, 2012). Ageing populations and rapidly changing lifestyles, the burden of CHD is increasing in almost all developing countries including Nepal.…”

The Association Between Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors and Level of Knowledge About Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in People With Type 2 Diabetes

“…(9) Karşılaştırmalı bir çalışmada da, tip 2 diyabetli bireylerin diyabeti olmayan bireylere göre risk bilgilerinin daha düşük olduğu, ancak her iki grup arasında anlamlı fark olmadığı saptanmıştır. (12) Toplumun kardiyovasküler hastalıklar risk faktörlerine yönelik bilgi düzeylerinin incelendiği çalışmalarda ise, katılımcıların orta (29,(31)(32)(33) ya da iyi düzeyde bilgiye sahip oldukları belirlenmiştir. (34) Çalışma bulgusu, bireylerin kardiyovasküler hastalıkların önlenmesinde ve tedavisinde kısmen bilgi sahibi olduklarını göstermesi açısından olumlu olarak değerlendirilmektedir.…”

Assessment of knowledge about healthy heart habits in urban and rural population of Punjab after SMS campaign—A cross-sectional study

“…Creating awareness about these risk factors and spreading knowledge about their prevention should be the main target of health education programs. 3 , 4 …”