THE IMPACT OF LIFESTYLE CHOICES ON HEART HEALTH IN SA: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

EVERY weekend, South Africans gather for braais, indulge in rich foods, and often binge drink without a second thought.

- VUYILE MADWANTSI

SMALL lifestyle choices can prevent cardiovascular disease.

(Ron)

These habits, seemingly harmless in the moment, can quietly pave the way to one of the world's deadliest health crises: cardiovascular disease (CVD).

It's the small, everyday choices - what we eat, how we move, and the stress we carry that slowly chip away at our heart health.

Cardiovascular disease isn't just a health statistic; it's a silent epidemic. Globally, it claims 17.9 million lives every year.

In South Africa, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) like CVD account for 43% of adult deaths, with nearly a fifth of these directly caused by heart-related conditions, according to the World Heart Federation.

But here's the truth: CVD is largely preventable. The choices we make today could save our hearts tomorrow.

The numbers paint a sobering picture of South Africa's heart health crisis:

• 18% of adults smoke.

• 11 litres of pure alcohol are consumed per person annually.

• one in three adults (33.7%) suffers from hypertension, a major risk factor for heart attacks, kidney disease, and strokes.

• 31.3% of adults are obese, and 40% of South African women are classified as obese.

Even more alarming, South African women aged 35-59 are 1.5 times more likely to die from CVD than their counterparts in the US.

Children aren't spared either; one in four girls and one in five boys aged 2-14 are overweight or obese.