Heart Foundation Lauds Plan To Reduce Heart Disease

The Heart Foundation of Jamaica has lauded the National Multi-sectoral Non-Communicable Disease Strategic Plan as a major initiative to curb the prevalence of heart disease in Jamaica. Implementation of the plan, which is being led by the Ministry of Health, addresses the four major conditions that lead to illness and death in Jamaicans – heart disease, cancer, lung disease and diabetes.

Speaking at a JIS ‘Think Tank’ on February 3, in observance of Heart Month (February), Executive Director of the Foundation, Mrs. Deborah Chen, outlined some of the strategies that are included in the plan and the effect of heart disease on the country. She cited measures in the plan, such as the Ministry of Agriculture’s commitment to ensure adequate availability of fruits and vegetables to contribute to a healthy diet.

The Executive Director also noted some of the measures to be undertaken by the Ministry of Health, to include partnering with the food industry, to reduce the salt content of food prepared outside the home; developing and implementing policy measures directed at food producers to eliminate industrially produced trans-fatty acids; decreasing the level of saturated fatty acids in food; and reducing sugar in food.

Mrs. Chen pointed out that eight preventable risk factors are responsible for 61 per cent of the deaths from heart disease globally. They are alcohol use, tobacco use, high blood pressure, high body mass (overweight), high cholesterol, high blood glucose, low fruit and vegetable intake, and physical inactivity. The National Strategic Plan for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) aims to reduce by 25 per cent the number of premature deaths by 2025.