BY JOHN HOUANIHAU
HONIARA City Council’s Non-Communicable Disease Program Officer, Julia Richardson described heart attack as one of the leading causes of death today in the Solomon Islands.
“This disease is silent and we need to make sure we let people know they can prevent it. Heart attack disease is responsible for more deaths in the country.
“Heart attack happened due to high blood pressure and high blood pressure happened due to diabetes or having too much sugar.
“Locals are more likely to die from a heart attack, anyone at any time can walk around and end up in a heart attack. This is because of unhealthy lifestyle practices like eating unhealthy foods, and starchy foods, drinking too much alcohol, and as well as not having enough rest.
“Taking too much alcohol, eating a lot of processed food from the shop, not having enough rest, smoking and betel nut are some of the contributing causes,” Richardson, who is also a registered nurse told Sunday Isles,” Richardson, is also a registered nurse told Sunday Isles during the recent World Food Day Celebrations in Honiara.
She said that another chronic disease common in the country is diabetes, it caused by having more sugar inside of the blood because of an unhealthy lifestyle, poor eating practices, less physical activity, and eating too much processed foods from the shops.
“Most people in the country go for noodles, biscuits, bread, and rice instead of going to purchase local foods from the market.
“It’s evident to say that most people living in Honiara travel a lot by vehicles, or stay at home without doing exercises when compared to people back in villages where they go every day to gardens, fishing or involved in sports and eat a lot of healthy local foods.
“Some of the complications related to diabetes are stroke, amputation of legs, blindness, kidney problem and the most common one is heart attack which happened due to high blood pressure,” she said.
