By Frederick Wekesah
There’s a rise of cardiovascular diseases in developing countries which is linked to changes in diet, physical activity, and obesity.
The Kenyan urban population, including low-income settlements, are part of this trend. Like residents in other low-income settlements, the rise in diseases can be linked to their surroundings. Poverty and stress are prevalent in Kenya’s low-income settings which increases the behavioral risk factors for cardiovascular diseases – like smoking and drinking. In addition, many residents have a diet which doesn’t include the number of fruits and vegetables they need as they’re too expensive.
Cardiovascular diseases affect the heart (cardio) and blood vessels (vascular). People are more prone to them if they are overweight or obese, have high blood pressure, smoke, drink large amounts of alcohol, don’t do enough exercise and have a poor diet.
My colleagues and I wanted to know what people living in informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital city, knew about cardiovascular disease, the risks and how this affected the medical treatment they sought.
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