Heart disease affects rich and poor alike<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Coronary heart diseases, long popularly believed
\nto be a \"rich man's affliction\", turn out to also be a major
\nhealth problem for the poor. In fact, in certain cases, the poor
\nare more prone to heart problems than the rich.<\/p>\n
Senior heart specialist Dr. Lily Ismudiati Rilantono, in a
\nlecture marking her installment as professor at the School of
\nMedicine of the University of Indonesia on Saturday, said people
\nfrom the lower social-economic brackets are several times more
\nlikely to experience heart problems.<\/p>\n
Quoting recent studies conducted in Southampton, England,
\nRilantono said certain prenatal and post-natal conditions,
\nrelated to the poor diet of pregnant women, increase risks of
\nheart diseases and strokes.<\/p>\n
In England, those categorized as \"high risk\" include people
\nfrom lower social-economic class and low birth-weight infants.<\/p>\n
\"We should pay greater attention to this trend, especially in
\nconnection with Indonesia's lower economic groups,\" she said. \"We
\nshould seek correlation between retarded fetal growth and the
\ncondition of placenta, with risks for heart diseases.\"<\/p>\n
She quoted another study which shows that formula-fed babies
\nare seven times more likely to suffer from damage in blood
\nvessels, a condition leading to heart failure, than breast-fed
\nbabies.<\/p>\n
\"The process of arteriosclerosis (the constriction of blood
\nvessels) does not start with aging,\" she said. \"The problem
\nstarts even when a baby is not yet born, so the strategies to
\nprevent it should also start that early.\"<\/p>\n
Lily's lecture was on The role of scientific research and
\ndevelopment for the management of cardiovascular problems which
\nshe delivered before a panel of professors and several government
\nofficials.<\/p>\n
She expressed concern that the frequency and variety of heart
\ndisease has increased at greater rate than medical research and
\ndevelopment anticipated.<\/p>\n
The 1992 Household Health Survey carried out by the Ministry
\nof Health shows that cardiovascular diseases are now the top
\nkillers and cause 15 percent of deaths nationwide.<\/p>\n
Third rank<\/p>\n
According to a similar survey in 1986, the disease ranked
\nthird below diarrhea and acute lower respiratory tract infections
\nwith a figure of slightly below 10 percent, while in 1972 it
\nranked eleventh among the top causes of death in the country.<\/p>\n
Experts on heart disease have been concerned about the speed
\nwith which the disease increases. They linked the trend with the
\ngrowing \"coronary prone behavior,\" a life-style centered in
\nconsumerism, stiff competition, lack of exercise and over-
\nconsumption of fatty foods, usually identified with
\nindustrialized societies.<\/p>\n
In the penultimate survey it was predicted that the disease
\nwould top the list by the year 2000, but, as it turned out, it
\ndid so in 1992. \"The speed is too high for Indonesia, which has
\nnot actually reached a stage of development similar to
\nindustrialized countries,\" Rilantono said.<\/p>\n
She also expressed concern that the current sophisticated
\nmedical intervention for coronary heart diseases have not yielded
\nthe desired results.<\/p>\n
In a technique called balloon valvuloplasty, where a catheter
\nis inserted into the valves of the heart, there is a 30 percent
\npossibility that the condition will recur, she said.<\/p>\n
Rilantono called on her colleagues to study and identify new
\nrisks of heart diseases other than the known factors of smoking,
\nobesity and hypertension.<\/p>\n
She also called for the establishment of a national commission
\nfor cardiovascular problems and a comprehensive solution to the
\nproblem.<\/p>\n
She specifically asked manufacturers of canned or instant
\nfoods and dairy products to join the campaign against heart
\ndiseases, and the Health Ministry to implement the food labeling
\nregulation.<\/p>\n
Rilantono was born in Bandung in December 1932, and was a 1991
\nfellow of the American College of Cardiology as well as former
\npresident of the Asian Society of Pediatric Cardiology.<\/p>\n
A mother of two, she is also known for her involvement in
\nvarious campaign for maternal and infant welfare. She founded the
\nFoundation for the Welfare of Indonesian Children in 1979. (swe)<\/p>",
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