Clinical Pharmacology & Biopharmaceutics
Open Access

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease has become one of the main health concerns worldwide. Knowledge and awareness of cardiovascular risk factors are essential components of behaviour change; however, little is known about knowledge of cardiovascular risk factors among public in Kuwait. Therefore, this study was designed to determine public knowledge and preventive screening of cardiovascular risk factors in Kuwait. A descriptive cross-sectional study, which included a total of 100 randomly selected individuals living in five governorates of Kuwait. Data were collected via face to face structured interview of the respondents using a pre-tested questionnaire. The response rate was 93%. Fifty two percent aged between 40-49 years and 55.9% were females. Eighty seven percent of the participants agreed that the heart disease is preventable. Respondents demonstrated high knowledge of obesity (97.8%), smoking (93.5%), physical inactivity (90.3%), high cholesterol (86.0%), stress (81.7%) and unhealthy diet (80.6%) as major causes of heart disease. The general level of agreement about diabetes, hypertension, and family history of heart disease was low ( < 60 %) compared to the other risk factors. The risk factor that most screened by the respondents at least once within 1 year prior to the study period was obesity/overweight (83.9%) followed by blood pressure (79.6%), cholesterol level (71.0%) and blood glucose (68.8%). Overall, participants knowledge of the most significant cardiovascular risk factors is low. The present findings highlight the need for more public education to improve knowledge and the importance of preventive screening for cardiovascular risk factors to promote cardiovascular wellness.

Biography

Abdelmoneim Awad is an Associate Professor of Clinical Pharmacy in the Department of Pharmacy Practice, Kuwait University. He has published 32 papers in reputed journals and more than 30 abstracts in international conferences.