KUWAIT: Recent surveys revealed that 20.5% of adult Kuwaitis are smokers and about 56% suffer from high cholesterol, Health Ministry media office said. Head of the media office Dr Ghalya Al-Mutairi revealed these statistics during an awareness day that was held as the world is celebrating World Heart Day.

The event is organized by the social committee for National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim and is under the sponsorship of Dr Fayza Al-Kharafi. The one day event, under the slogan “charge your life,” touched on the Health Ministry’s plan to raise awareness of chronical and communicable diseases and means of preventing them. She pointed that cardiovascular diseases come high on the list of diseases suffered by the Kuwaiti population.

According to a health survey conducted in 2014 by the Health Ministry and World Health Organization, nearly quarter of the Kuwaiti population is troubled with high blood pressure. In addition, 11% of Kuwaitis aged 40-69 have some type of cardiovascular diseases. Heart diseases are attributed to overweight that is widely spread among Kuwaitis by 77%, she said. She pointed out that today’s event has a significance to raise awareness on how to deal with these diseases, steps to prevent them and adopt a healthy lifestyle to improve overall wellbeing. — KUNA