HEALTH AWARENESS TALK ON HYPERTENSION AND HIGH CHOLESTEROL ORGANIZED BY UKM-MSD

On July 19, 2017, a public health awareness  session on hypertension and high cholesterol was held at the lobby of Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz Hospital (PPUKM) from 10.00 am to 11.00 am.

Two medical officers from Klinik Primer PPUKM Cheras were invited to deliver the session . Dr. Wan Nur Sabrina Wan Manshol has delivered a talk on hypertension  while Dr. Sharifah Najwa Syed Mohamad presented the topic on high cholesterol. The session was jointly organized by MSD and HEJIM PPUKM.

About 20 participants attended, where most of them were hospital staff such as nurses, health care assistants, and supporting staff. Only one patient attended the talk.

This may be because there are still many patients attending appointments at outpatient clinics.

In general, the basic knowledge of the participants on how to prevent or make lifestyle changes for those living with  high blood pressure and cholesterol levels are inadequate. On average they thought that daily activities such as climbing stairs, walking from the car park to the workplace, doing house chores are categorized as exercising. Only a handful of participants have taken the initiative to work out, care for nutrition and also their own health. However, most people knew that hypertension and high cholesterol have no signs of early detection and know the appropriate dietary practices for lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

From the session, it is evident that information on hypertension and cholesterol still need to be widely and correctly disseminated to increase awareness among Malaysians. This is important because high blood pressure and cholesterol are a silent killers . It is hoped that similar  health talks and public forums can open the minds of Malaysians to make healthy lifestyle choices to manage their illnesses  at an optimum level and to seek early medical treatment if necessary.