Spencer said the observance of February as Heart Month in Jamaica provides the opportunity to highlight the growing problem of cardiovascular diseases and the need for consistent and creative action to deal with these conditions in every sector in our society.

Spencer said the theme this year ,'Heart Disease - Check The Risks', focuses the attention of the nation on the factors that contribute to heart disease.

Number one cause of death

"Heart disease is the number one cause of death in Jamaica today. Therefore, we must take these risk factors seriously if we want to see a reduction in the number of persons dying from this disease," said Spencer.

However, he noted that many persons are ignoring the risk factors. In addition, he said they do not get regular screening checks such as a simple blood-pressure check, adding that far too frequently heart disease is discovered following sudden death from a heart attack.

Spencer said the Jamaica Health and Lifestyle Survey 2007-2008 revealed that, compared to the earlier survey in 2000, there were some negative trends for the risk factors associated with cardiac disease.

He noted that there was a five per cent increase in obesity as well as a 4.3 per cent increase in hypertension and the number of persons in the pre-hypertensive stage also increased.