Using the results of a Heart Foundation of Jamaica (HFJ) screening survey done last year to point out that many Jamaicans are at a high risk of noncommunicable diseases and do not know, Deborah Chen, that organisation’s executive director, has implored people to stay up to date with their heart health.

“It is very important that we get ourselves screened and get checked. It is very concerning when I hear the COVID conversation briefings and I hear that out of the persons who have passed away from COVID, 60 per cent had heart disease. That is very worrying. We ask persons to get screened, particularly during Heart Month,” Chen said at the February 1 launch of Heart Month, being observed under the theme ‘The Weigh to a Healthy Heart’.

Pointing to the HFJ 2021 survey, Chen highlighted that of the 14,000 self-selecting individuals and/or people referred to the HFJ by their doctor to do blood pressure and other checks, approximately 7,280 of them were at a stage that required medication.

“They were walking around as if everything was fine, when actually there was a problem that could cause ill health to them,” she underscored.

“The other issue we found was that out of those we screened for blood pressure, over 6,000 said they did not have a history of high blood pressure. These are people who just turned up saying they want to be screened. When we looked at those who said they had no history, 31 per cent had a reading that was high enough that would require medical intervention urgently, even though they were telling us they had no history of high blood pressure,” Chen added.

Many of the people who admitted that they had a history of high blood pressure returned readings above acceptable limits.

“We have a problem in this regard,” said Chen.

For body mass index checks, which deals with weight, only 3,360 of the 14,000 people screened had the right body weight.

“The Jamaica Health and Lifestyle Survey national figures show that over half of our [almost three million] population is overweight. Over 30 per cent have high blood pressure; 10 per cent have diabetes and 17 per cent, high cholesterol,” Chen said.

She encouraged Jamaicans to utilise the pharmacy at the HFJ’s Beechwood Avenue office in St Andrew, which gives access to medication at a reduced cost.

Heart Foundation and Heart Month ambassador, Miss Jamaica World 2021 Khalia Hall pledged to play her role in achieving a healthier Jamaica. The beauty queen shared that she ditched her career as a mechanical engineer to become a plant-based chef and a healthy lifestyle advocate.

“People ask me all the time how did I go from being a mechanical engineer to a plant-based chef and now to Miss Jamaica World. I tell them that it sparked when I read a Ministry of Health lifestyle and health survey in 2007-08. I discovered a lot when I read it, but two of the things that stood out to me… was that cardiovascular disease is the number one killer in Jamaica, and that 62 per cent and 74 per cent of Jamaicans were not consuming their daily recommended portions of fruits and vegetables, respectively,” she said.

“I remember reading that people are consuming zero to one portion on a daily basis. While this was done 15 years ago, these numbers have not really changed. This information shocked me because these diseases are lifestyle-related. They depend on our daily choices and habits. We are the ones who are in control of what we eat and drink, how much and how often we move our bodies, and whether we smoke or not. I felt an urge to veer from that traditional career path I was on. I saw my love for cooking as a means of opening up Jamaican people’s minds to a different way of eating in hopes of not only adding more years to their lives but life to their years,” she said.