51st Cardio Conference Held At Khyber Medical University

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Nov, 2022 ) :The 51st Cardio Conference organized by Pakistan Cardiac society was held at Khyber Medical University (KMU), here, on Friday with participation by renowned cardiologists including Dr. Saleem S. Virani, Dr. Khurram Nasir, and Dr. Naeem Tahirkheli from the USA .

According to a press release issued here, the vice chancellor of KMU Prof. Dr. Zia ul Haq, ex-vice chancellor Prof. Dr. Muhammad Hafizullah, Prof. Dr. Sheryar A. Shaikh, Prof. Dr. Sohail Aziz, Prof. Dr. Kiramat Ali Shah, and Prof. Dr. Sahibzada A. Waheed also addressed the conference.

The experts said that across four studies involving 55,685 participants, genetic and lifestyle factors were independently associated with susceptibility to coronary artery disease.

Indo-Pakistani populations have one of the highest risks of coronary artery disease (CAD) in the world. Apart from smoking, women had more CAD risk factors (diabetes, hypertension, obesity, dyslipidemia) than men, they added.

Definite CAD (history and Q waves on ECG) was more prevalent in men than in women (6.1% vs 4.0%). The findings indicate that one in five middle-aged adults in urban Pakistan may have underlying CAD. Women are at greater risk than men.

A US-based study revealed that South Asians had a higher prevalence of T2D 23 % compared with other ethnicities (6% in Caucasians, 13% in Chinese Americans, 17% in Hispanics, and 18% in Blacks).

South Asians have increased visceral fat in the abdomen liver and around the heart.

Approximately 6% of pregnancies in the US are complicated by gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), and the estimated prevalence of GDM in South Asia is up to 17%. GDM results in a long-term increase in CV risk for both mother and offspring.

South Asians have a distinct bio profile related to measures of insulin resistance, biomarkers, and lipid markers. Diabetes and Coronary heart disease (CHD) is more frequent and more premature in South Asians. Early hypertension also appears to be more prevalent in South Asians. There is an ongoing need for further disaggregation of ASCVD risk among various subgroups of South Asian individuals. Most of the ASCVD in South Asians can be explained by traditional risk factors.

The speakers also advised participants that secret to living well and longer is eating half, walking double, laughing triple, and loving without measure.

Both genetic and lifestyle factors contribute to individual-level risk of coronary artery disease. The extent to which increased genetic risk can be offset by a healthy lifestyle is well-known. We need to make the move from secondary to Primary and primordial prevention, they added.