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Most of us don’t think much about our hearts when they appear to be working perfectly. We get on with our lives, go to work, look after our families and tell ourselves we’ll get around to that health check when we have the time. The problem is that some of the most important cardiovascular risk factors can develop without making us feel unwell at all. That is why, this World Heart Day on 29 September, the message should be less about what to do when something goes wrong and more about what we can do before it does.
In South Africa, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease is responsible for almost one in six deaths[ii], with around 225 people dying every day from heart disease and stroke, according to the Heart & Stroke Foundation South Africa. More than one in three South African adults also live with high blood pressure[iii] — a condition that often has no obvious symptoms and is estimated to contribute to two in five heart attacks and one in two strokes[iv].
“People often associate heart problems with an obvious warning — chest pain, shortness of breath or something that tells them they need to see a doctor,” says Lance Blumeris, from digital health platform Unu Health. “But some of the biggest risks can be developing quietly. By the time someone experiences a major event, they may have been living with an underlying problem for years.”
It is a reminder that prevention does not necessarily require a dramatic lifestyle overhaul. Sometimes it starts with something as simple as knowing your blood pressure, understanding your family history, checking your cholesterol or speaking to a healthcare professional about a symptom you have been dismissing.
The challenge is that access to that care is not always straightforward. For many South Africans, seeing a healthcare professional can mean taking time off work, travelling long distances, waiting for an appointment or simply not knowing where to start. Others may have access to healthcare but continue postponing it because they feel well.
Digital healthcare can help close some of those gaps by making it easier for people to connect with healthcare professionals, access advice and testing, and take the next step when something doesn’t seem right.
“Healthcare needs to be accessible before it becomes urgent,” says Blumeris. “If technology can make it easier for someone to ask a question, speak to a doctor, have a test or get appropriate follow-up, then we have an opportunity to intervene earlier rather than waiting for a crisis.”
That does not mean every heart attack can be prevented, nor that digital healthcare replaces face-to-face medical care when it is needed. It does, however, offer another route into the healthcare system — one that can make taking that first step easier. Perhaps the most important question to ask this World Heart Day isn’t whether your heart feels healthy. It is whether you actually know. Because sometimes the most dangerous warning sign is the one we never knew was there.
For more information, please visit www.unuhealth.org