BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - Health is unarguably the most important issue for any society. When health is impaired there is a reduced standard of life and, in some cases, a loss of life. When one considers economic hardships, educational challenges, community unrest, or even criminal activity, they all pale in comparison to one’s very physical existence as each person enjoys the health needed to live life.
Everyone should pay attention therefore to the statistics revealed by President of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Barbados (HSFB) Inc, Humphrey Metzgen, during his report at that organisation’s annual general meeting recently. Metzgen disclosed that over the next 20 years, heart disease is expected to cause three times more death and disability in the Caribbean than all of the infectious diseases including HIV/AIDS. He also stated that: “… of Barbadians aged 20 years and older, 38 000 are living with high blood pressure, 90 000 are overweight, 19 000 are diabetic and one person suffers a stroke every day”.