Avoid these top causes of death, live longer
Every normal human being loves life — and rightly
so. Many of us will do all that is necessary to keep alive by eating good food,
living in clean environment, observing good hygiene habit and the like.
Yet, many people are ignorant of certain causes
of death which, when known and avoided, will not only save you from untimely
death but also make living worthwhile for you.
Experts say knowing these causes of death can
make the difference between staying alive in sound health and experiencing
morbidity even while alive.
What are some of these top causes of death?
Please, read on.
Ischaemic heart disease
This is a disease that is characterised by
reduced blood supply to the heart, and scientists say it is the most common
cause of death in most western countries.
Physicians say most ischaemic heart disease is
caused by atherosclerosis — a condition in which an artery wall thickens as a
result of the accumulation of fatty materials such as cholesterol and
triglyceride.
What is your risk of atherosclerosis? According
to a cardiologist with the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, Dr.
Jane Ajuluchukwu, the risk factors include hypertension, unhealthy blood
cholesterol level, lack of physical activity, age, family history of early heart
disease, sleep apnea, alcohol, and stress.
Ajuluchukwu warns that being hypertensive and
being a smoker are two factors that can increase your risk for atherosclerosis
seven times!
Stroke
According to the World Health Organisation, 15
million people suffer stroke worldwide each year. Of these, five million die and
another five million are permanently disabled.
Physicians warn that high blood pressure
contributes to more than 12.7 million strokes worldwide.
Family physician, Dr. Bimpe Arogundade, explains
how strokes happen. She says, “A stroke is caused by the interruption of the
blood supply to the brain, usually because a blood vessel bursts or is blocked
by a clot. This cuts off the supply of oxygen and nutrients, causing damage to
the brain tissue.”
To save yourself from death through stroke, know
the most common symptom of a stroke, which experts say include sudden weakness
or numbness of the face, arm or leg, most often on one side of the body.
Other symptoms include confusion, difficulty
speaking or understanding speech; difficulty seeing with one or both eyes;
difficulty walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination; severe headache
with no known cause; fainting or unconsciousness.
Physicians say the effects of a stroke depend on
which part of the brain is injured and how severely it is affected. “A very
severe stroke can cause sudden death,” Arogundade warns.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
This refers to a group of lung diseases that
block airflow and make breathing difficult. An epidemiologist, Mr. Segilola
Araoye, describes emphysema and chronic bronchitis as the two most common
conditions that make up COPD.
Arogundade notes that chronic bronchitis is an
inflammation of the lining of the bronchial tubes, which carry air to and from
the lungs.
“Emphysema occurs when the air sacs (alveoli) at
the end of the smallest air passages (bronchioles) in the lungs are gradually
destroyed. Damage to the lungs from COPD can’t be reversed, though treatment can
help control symptoms and minimise further damage,” she explains.
Sad to say, physicians say, symptoms of COPD
often don’t appear until significant lung damage has occurred, and they usually
worsen over time.
Arogundade warns, “For chronic bronchitis, the
main symptom is a cough that you have at least three months a year for two
consecutive years. Other signs and symptoms are shortness of breath — especially
during physical activities; wheezing, chest tightness, having to clear your
throat first thing in the morning due to excess mucus in your lungs, a chronic
cough that produces sputum that may be clear, white, yellow or greenish;
blueness of the lips or fingernail beds (cyanosis), frequent respiratory
infections, lack of energy, and unintended weight loss (in later stages) of the
disease.”
Physicians are unanimous that the causes of COPD
are mainly avoidable, and they include smoking, and exposure to fumes from
burning fuel for cooking or heating in poorly ventilated homes.
Lung cancers
Along with trachea and bronchus cancers, experts
say lung cancers accounted for 1.5 million (2.7 per cent) deaths in 2011 alone —
up from 1.2 million (2.2 per cent) deaths in 2000.
The online portal, medicalnewstoday.com, explains
that lung cancer happens as a result of uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells
that start off in one or both lungs, usually in the cells that line the air
passages.
“The abnormal cells do not develop into healthy
lung tissue; rather, they divide rapidly and form tumours. As tumours become
larger and more numerous, they undermine the lung’s ability to provide the
bloodstream with oxygen,” the portal says.
Statistics reveal that this cancer alone is
responsible for 1,370,000 deaths on an annual basis globally.
Consultant Oncologist/Head of Radiology Unit at
the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, Dr. Remi Ajekigbe, warns that
lung cancer symptoms may take years before appearing, usually after the disease
is already in an advanced stage.
He says many symptoms of the disease affect the
chest and air passages and they include persistent or intense coughing, pain in
the chest, shoulder, or back due to coughing; changes in the colour of the mucus
that is coughed up from the lower airways; difficulty breathing and swallowing,
hoarseness of the voice, harsh sounds while breathing (stridor), chronic
bronchitis or pneumonia, and coughing up blood, or seeing blood in the
sputum.
Ajekigbe notes further that as lung cancer cells
spread and use more of the body’s energy, it is possible to present symptoms
that may also be associated with many other ailments such as fever, fatigue,
unexplained weight loss, pain in the joints or bones, problems with brain
function and memory, swelling in the neck or face, general weakness, bleeding
and blood clots.
The urologist enthuses that lung cancer is one of
the preventable cancers and that choosing not to smoke or drink alcohol
significantly lowers the risk of lung cancer and those of several other cancers
such as cancers of the throat, mouth, and liver.
“Even if you are currently smoking, quitting can
still greatly reduce your chances of getting cancer. That’s why the most
important preventive measure you can take to avoid lung cancer is to quit
smoking,” Ajekigbe counsels.
Physicians say quitting smoking will also reduce
your risk of several other types of cancers, including cancers of the
oesophagus, pancreas, larynx, and bladder.
Again, experts say, quitting smoking also fosters
additional benefits such as lower blood pressure, enhanced blood circulation,
and increased lung capacity.
Culled from Punch
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