In recent years, there have been more and more sudden deaths of young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
This worrying trend often affects people in their 20s and 30s.
According to Prof. Ph.D. Belme Pojskić, president of the Association of Cardiologists of Bosnia and Herzegovina, writes that serious cardiovascular events are usually accompanied by heart attacks and sudden cardiac death or very serious heart rhythm disorders and heart failure. Factor.
– Heart attacks and sudden cardiac death are no longer conditions affecting the elderly population. Unfortunately, this is what young people, working people, and those who have not yet started their families are facing now – points out Pojskić.
Risk factors are much higher than in European countries
Risk factors start very early, already in childhood. Pojskić says that BiH has far greater risk factors than in other European countries.
– BiH has a very high percentage of smokers among teenagers and students. There are more and more obese children, and this is accompanied by too little physical activity. There are young people who play sports, but I would say that it is more the exception than the rule. Also, we have a high exposure to stress and a messy lifestyle. Children are burdened in schools in the sense that they have to achieve perfect results. We lost track of it all. For older teenagers and adolescents, it is enough to read the news from the portal once, and they are under stress. It is very important to mention that a large number of our young people consume energy drinks and stimulants, and I will not exclude the use of drugs, which are increasingly available to them – says Pojskić.
There is of course also a genetic factor. According to the cardiologist, at BiH. citizens have many unrecognized genetic diseases, in terms of blood fat disorders, such as familial hypercholesterolemia and other blood fat disorders.
– It is estimated that in Bosnia and Herzegovina more than 17,000 citizens have extremely high levels of fat in their blood since birth, and most of them do not even know about it. They are the ones who have the highest possible risk factor of getting a sudden heart disease. The reason is also the lack of preventive programs, screening. The systematic examinations that children are subjected to when they start school are external examinations, because nobody has blood fats taken, which is extremely important in adolescence. Examinations should be in high schools and colleges in the form of laboratory analyzes where we would identify those who are at an increased risk of getting a cardiovascular disease. There is, of course, the youth factor, which means that young people often ignore the symptoms (rapid heartbeat, chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness). Such complaints are most often attributed to stress and exhaustion – adds Pojskić.
There is no scientific evidence on the impact of vaccines against COVID-19
He says that in recent years, the number of inflammation of the heart muscle (myocarditis), which causes heart failure, has increased.
– I have been working for a long time and what I have been seeing for the last five to 10 years is far from the previous figures. Our lifestyle can also be attributed to the list of reasons why young people are increasingly suffering from heart diseases and dying suddenly. Our food is rich in fat and salt. We don’t have to give up Bosnian cuisine, but it would be desirable to modify it and avoid fast food, which is an energy bomb with very little or no healthy substances – emphasizes Pojskić.
In order to reduce the number of young people with heart diseases, according to the interlocutor, healthy lifestyle habits should be started at an early age, and later built on through school activities and state support, in terms of starting preventive programs.
– Bosnia and Herzegovina does not have a registry of cardiovascular diseases so that we would know how many of us are sick and died and from which diseases. This is crucial in order to get to grips with solving the problem. In addition, in the prevention program, it is necessary to strengthen the role of family medicine, to have teams with nutritionists who would deal with obese children and their proper development – says Pojskić.
Regarding the impact of vaccines against COVID-19, Pojskić says that there is no scientific evidence of this.
– My opinion is that it did not have a significant impact on this phenomenon. I know of some cases where genetic modification, which was in the human body, could additionally encourage blood clotting. I think we should forget about COVID-19 in that sense, and deal with children and their proper development and lifestyle, without unhealthy food, stimulants, drugs – concludes Pojskić.
