Heart disease is the leading cause of premature death in Albania.

Lifestyle, diet, and lack of physical activity directly affect the physical well-being and overall health of an individual.

“Albania is characterized as a country with a high-risk factor. Modifiable factors include hypertension, smoking, diet, lifestyle, abdominal obesity, chronic renal diseases, psychosocial factors, and inflammatory diseases”, says cardiologist Engjellushe Hasani.

While the unmodifiable factors are age, gender, ethnicity, and family hypercholesterolemia.

The COVID-19 pandemic has also influenced the premature appearance of cardiovascular diseases.

“Not only in hypertension disorders, not only in rhythm disorders but also in the occurrence or exposure of myocardial infarction or coronary disease. People who had a tendency to have coronary problems if this event happened 2, 3 or 5 years ago, COVID-19 has influenced this event to happen earlier”, she emphasized.

Young people are also at risk, the specialist doctor gives some advice to reduce the chance of being affected by heart disease.

“We recommend them to eat a healthy diet, reduce salt, reduce alcohol and increase physical activity. It is recommended that physical activity be done about 150 min a week, about 30 min a day, light to moderate exercises or a quick walk between speed-walking and running”, said the doctor.

Cardiovascular diseases, if caught in time, are 80% preventable.