CAIRO - Egypt has one of the highest rates of arteriosclerosis in the world. Many of its citizens suffer from high levels of harmful cholesterol in the blood, known as low-density lipoproteins (LDLs), according to cardiologists. The problem is that Egyptians love food containing a lot of animal or saturated fats. Cholesterol is lipoprotein that the body needs, although in the minds of most people it'sassociated with heart disease and arteriosclerosis. The only way to detect high cholesterol levels is through blood tests, as there are no symptoms. During the 18th Conference of the Egyptian Society for Arteriosclerosis, recently held in the coastal city of Alexandria, cardiologist Dr Osama Abdel-Aziz, head of the society, stressed the importance of a healthy diet, including plenty of fresh vegetables, fruit, grain and fish, especially tuna and salmon. He also underlined the need to avoid fast food and food containing saturated fats. Dr Abdel-Aziz noted that 'good' cholesterol, known as high-density lipoprotein (HDL), removes the LDL that accumulates on artery walls. "LDL penetrates the artery walls, causing narrowing of the arteries. This can lead to angina, thrombosis in the coronary artery and clots on the brain,” he said. "According to him, in the past, the only way to increase good cholesterol was to adopt a healthy, low-fat diet, lose weight and jog for at least 30 minutes daily. “But today there are medicines that can raise the HDL in the blood by 30 per cent, without an accompanying increase in LDL. These medicines have no adverse effect on the liver or other organs,” he added. “The level of HDL shouldn't be less than 40mg per decilitre of blood," Dr Abdel-Aziz added, warning that smoking also plays a major role in arteriosclerosis. The conference also focused on the relationship between diabetes and cholesterol and how they can lead to arteriosclerosis. Dr Abdel-Aziz explained that many kinds of insulin appeared on the market that can help prevent arteriosclerosis. Another session in the conference dealt with the relationship between hypertension and arteriosclerosis, with Dr Abdel-Aziz explaining that high blood pressure can cause narrowing of the arteries, hence hindering easy flow of blood in the arteries. This leads to arteriosclerosis. He said smokers ran the risk of a higher level of LDL, stressing that the level of HDL in the blood of people who quit smoking rises, even without medication. As for thrombosis and heart disease, Dr Hisham Abul Einein noted that Egyptians have a high rate of cardiac thrombosis, stressing that the people should be aware of the symptoms and how to deal with this problem. He was critical of the fact that the treatment at local hospitals of patients with cardiac thrombosis is very slow. They should have a catheter within six hours of first experiencing the symptoms, which include severe pain in the chest or limbs. Dr Abul Einein mentioned that, just before the revolution erupted, the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with First Aid Authority and a number of NGOs, was about to launch a campaign to fight cardiac thrombosis. The idea was to hospitalise patients and give them a catheter, within six hours of their first experiencing the symptoms. Meanwhile, Dr Sherif Abdel-Hadi, the former Dean of the National Heart Institute, said that this campaign was already underway at the NHI and some other medical centres. Dr Abul Einein added that they were trying to establish how many cases there are in Cairo and Alexandria.
