A workshop presented at the 2017 Annual Meeting of the "Mbatu Women's Convention" held in Douala on Saturday May 27th 2017. Author: Esoh Godfrey Nji

1. goddynji@yahoo.com
WOMEN AND
CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH
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About 80% of health related activities take place in the
community and not in the hospital. Thus the real doctors
are the mothers of the community, not the “repairers” in
the hospital Question is ARE YOU EQUIPPED FOR YOUR ROLE?
Why a health talk at a MBAWECO Convention?

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Just as many tributaries join to for a river, it is our little efforts that come together
to change the world.
Nangha-bere is the Nbatu word for Tributary and the traditional motto of the
Mbatu Women’s convention.

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Objectives of this session

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Case Study: Stroke in the Mbatu home
My Mom’s story
Exercise 1
Reflect on your own experiences. Do you know any
victim, be it a family member, friend? neighbor,
colleague, etc? What happened? What did you do?

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Post Workshop Notes
I began the session by narrating my real life experience about how my
mother came down with a stroke at the age of 69, how I recognized it,
what emergency actions we took, and what we as a family did to
complement medical treatment, thereby ensuring that she had the best
quality of life possible until she passed away at the age of 75.
During Exercise 1, over 40% of the close to 200 participants responded in
the affirmative; i.e. they knew at least a family member, neighbor, friend,
or colleague who was a victim of CVD.

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heart disease
atherosclerosis
Source: American Heart Foundation
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Support/What-is-Cardiovascular-Disease_UCM_301852_Article.jsp#.WSjuNOvyvIU
(Accessed 27th May 2017)

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A heart attack occurs when the blood flow to a part of the heart is
blocked by a blood clot. If this clot cuts off the blood flow completely,
the part of the heart muscle supplied by that artery begins to die.
Most people survive their first heart attack and return to their normal
lives to enjoy many more years of productive activity.
But having a heart attack does mean you have to make some changes.
The condition is managed with medications and lifestyle
changes according to how badly the heart was damaged and what
degree of heart disease caused the heart attack

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An ischemic stroke (the most common type) happens when a blood
vessel that feeds the brain gets blocked, usually from a blood clot. When
the blood supply to a part of the brain is shut off, brain cells will die. The
result will be the inability to carry out some of the previous functions as
before like walking or talking.
A hemorrhagic stroke occurs when a blood vessel within the brain
bursts. The most likely cause is uncontrolled hypertension.
Some effects of stroke are permanent if too many brain cells die after a
stroke due to lack of blood and oxygen to the brain. These cells are
never replaced.

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The good news is that some brain cells don't die — they're only
temporarily out of order. Injured cells can repair themselves.
Over time, as the repair takes place, some body functioning
improves.
Also, other brain cells may take control of those areas that were
injured. In this way, strength may improve, speech may get
better and memory may improve. This recovery process is what
rehabilitation is all about.

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(No longer the diseases of the rich!)

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can be prevented
early detection
Source: World Health Organization http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs317/en/
Accessed 27th May 2017

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Source: World Health Organization http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs317/en/
Accessed 27th May 2017

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Cameroon, like other LMICs on the African continent, is currently experiencing an
increase in NCD-related deaths. According to the 2014 NCD profile report for
Cameroon, 239,000 deaths were NCD-related and NCDs accounted for an
estimated 31% of total deaths that year (WHO 2014).
The same report states that there is a 20% probability of dying between the ages of
30 and 70 years from the 4 main NCDs in Cameroon. This situation could worsen
with an increasing population aged 50 or more, and an increase in obesity,
diabetes, and hypertension because of urbanization and social mobility (Echouffo-
Tchegui and Kegne 2011).
Alarmingly, in developing countries, NCD-related mortality is occurring at earlier
ages, affecting more people who are in the prime of their economically productive
years; 29% of NCD-related deaths occur before the age of 60.

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Exploring Perceptions

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Post Workshop Notes

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risk factors
atherosclerosis.
What Causes CVD?

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MODIFIABLE RISK FACTORS
NON-MODIFIABLE RISK FACTORS
OTHER FACTORS
CVD Risk Factors

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Signs and symptoms: How do you
know someone has a CVD?
Often, there are no symptoms of the underlying
disease of the blood vessels.
A heart attack or stroke may be the first warning
of underlying disease.

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• Pain or discomfort in the centre of the chest;
• Pain or discomfort in the arms, the left shoulder, elbows, jaw, or back.
• In addition the person may experience difficulty in breathing or
shortness of breath; feeling sick or vomiting; feeling light-headed or
faint; breaking into a cold sweat; and becoming pale.
Women are more likely to have shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting,
and back or jaw pain.

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The most common symptom of a stroke is sudden weakness of the
face, arm, or leg, most often on one side of the body. Other symptoms
include sudden onset of:
• numbness of the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the
body;
• confusion, difficulty speaking or understanding speech;
• difficulty seeing with one or both eyes;
• difficulty walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination;
• severe headache with no known cause; and
• fainting or unconsciousness.
Source: World Heart Federation
http://www.world-heart-federation.org/heart-facts/resources/videos/about-cvd/risk-factors/ (Accessed 27th May 2017)

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1. Know your blood pressure and keep it under control
2. Exercise regularly
3. Don't smoke
4. Get tested for diabetes and if you have it, keep it under
control
5. Know your cholesterol and triglyceride levels and keep
them under control
6. Eat a lot of fruits and vegetables
7. Maintain a healthy weight
Source: MedLine Plus
https://medlineplus.gov/heartdiseasesprevention.html (Accessed 27th May 2017)

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What can we do as a community?

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The Community Cardiovascular Disease Program
CCDP is a project initiated in 2012 within the Mbatu
Community by a group health professionals from that
community under the leadership of Esoh Godfrey Nji.
The project uses a community and home-based approach to
fight CVD risk and complications through;
• Education
• Screening
• Referral for specialized medical attention
• Home management

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Community Cardiovascular Disease Program
https://www.facebook.com/pg/CommunityCardiovascularDiseaseProgram/about/?ref=page_internal

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Exercise 2
Now go back to the example you listed in exercise 1
With what you no know, what would you do differently to
help that family member, neighbor, friend, colleague?

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31. THANK YOU FOR JOINING
THE FIGHT
WONDERFUL WOMEN OF
MBATU
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