“Prevalence And Risk Factors Of Cardiovascular Diseases Among Adults Of Selected Rural Community At Siliguri, West Bengal.”

Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a group of disorders of the heart and blood vessels and include coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, rheumatic heart disease, and other conditions. More than four out of five CVD deaths are due to heart attacks and strokes, and one-third of these deaths occur prematurely. Since there are not many studies on these rural communities to identify the prevalence rate and associated risk factors, so the investigators have selected this study for proper risk identification, assessing the prevalence rate and educating and motivating adults on appropriate screening, prevention, and treatment. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted in a rural community in West Bengal, India. Total 100 numbers of adults were selected for the study. The prevalence rate and risk factors of cardiovascular diseases were assessed using the structured interview schedule and physical measurements. Results: The result reveals that regarding behavioural risk factors of Cardiovascular diseases, among the 100 participants, 60(60%) consume Tobacco products and 81 (81%) consume Alcohol, Adequate consumption of Fruits and vegetables is only 10(10%) i.e. more than 5 times in a week, 19(19%) perform sufficient physical activity/exercise i.e more than 150 minutes/week. Regarding physical assessments, the overweight was 19(19%) and obesity was 9(9%), the abdominal obesity in males was 31(31%), and in females was 35 (35%). The prevalence rate of Hypertension was 23(23%), Stroke was 2(2%), Coronary Heart Disease was 7(7%), High blood cholesterol was 2(2%), and Diabetes Mellitus was 11(11%). Conclusion: The study demonstrated the high burden of fatal CVDs and identified the impact of CVDs risk factors such as hypertension, self-reported diabetes, high cholesterol, smoking, alcohol, and abdominal obesity. The significant incidence of CVDs risk factors in the rural communities, particularly among those who are overweight or obese, necessitates early clinical identification, referral and appropriate management of clients in primary health care settings