Public awareness of Ischemic heart disease symptoms among the Saudi population

Abstract

Background: Ischemic heart disease (IHD) is the leading cause of death and disability worldwide. To assure survival, early access to health care, and the requirement of advanced treatment is necessary, which requires recognition of the warning symptoms of the IHD. The current study aimed to assess awareness of Saudis regarding different symptoms of heart attack, especially the unusual or unfamiliar ones, and to assess the public need for more education and to obtain high quality of life in our community. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 5,170 individuals from the general Saudi population. Information was obtained from a self-administrated online questionnaire. Data were collected, revised, coded, and then analysed using IBM SPSS version 22. Results: The study included 5,170 participants; more than 96% of the participants were Saudi, and 61.9% were female. Regarding awareness of the signs and symptoms of the cardiac attack, chest pain was recorded by most of the participants (85.9%), followed by dyspnoea (85.1%), palpitation (82.5%), tiredness (71.6%), and fainting (66.9%). In comparison, nausea was the least identified symptom (33.6%). Moreover, 42.9% of the participants had a good awareness level regarding signs and symptoms, with a mean score of 57.6% ± 20.3%. Conclusion: The study indicated that Saudi nationality, female gender, old age, and high education level were the factors that were significantly associated with a good awareness level.