Do you know how many people die globally of Cardiovascular Diseases each year? 

The World Health Organisation estimates that Cardiovascular Diseases kill about 17.9 million people annually.  

In South Africa, deaths related to Cardiovascular Diseases come 2nd after those caused by HIV/AIDS. Cardiovascular Diseases are a group of disorders that affect the structures or function of your heart and include heart (30-33SEC) disease and strokes.

Did you know that most cardiovascular disease related deaths are preventable?

The problem is that people lack awareness and access to appropriate health care services. This is especially true for people in rural and disadvantaged communities. 

Our research project tackles this global health problem by reaching out to disadvantaged communities in selected sites in Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa. 

In South Africa, our research team has amongst others managed to…

Build working relationships with local primary health care facilities.
We have also trained and capacitated Community Health Care Workers (CHWs).
CHWs play a crucial role by raising awareness on cardiovascular diseases in their respective communities
They also screen people on the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.
Those found to be at a high risk are immediately referred to local health care facilities, and this has been yielding positive results. 

On the one hand, those with low-to-moderate risk are encouraged to lead a healthy lifestyle by:
    eating a healthy balanced diet, being physically fit, stop smoking and
    reducing alcohol consumption. 
In so doing, they are reducing the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.