Background: Coronary artery disease is a severe cardiovascular disorder and remains one of the major causes of death in adults older than 35 years. Saudi patients have a significantly higher prevalence of risk factors for coronary artery disease than the western population. Although there is no definite cure for coronary artery disease, the mainstay in the prevention of disease by tight control of risk factors. Thus, the current study aims to assess public awareness of coronary artery disease risk factors in Saudi Arabia.
Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Qassim during August 2019 to September 2019 by using online survey questionnaire to assess participants' awareness of 12 coronary artery disease risk factors, namely: obesity, smoking, lack of physical activity, fast food intake, soft drink intake, age risk, cardiovascular disease, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension; as well as, family history of cardiovascular disease, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension.
Results: Among the total of 1,041 respondents, 22.4% were male. The mean age was 23.26 ± 6.55 years. Approximately, 99.7% were Saudi and almost 71.3% had a university education. Smoking, obesity, hyperlipidemia, and fast food intake were the most commonly identified risk factors, reported as 95.1%, 94%, 87.8%, and 87.1% of participants.
Conclusion: In this study, we aimed to assess the public awareness of coronary artery disease risk factors. The study showed that there is a clear lack of knowledge and awareness of coronary artery disease risk factors in Qassim, Saudi Arabia. We recommended that the healthcare sector in Saudi Arabia should focus on public health education programs about the disease.
Key words: Public, awareness, coronary artery disease, risk factors, Qassim, Saudi Arabia
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