Objective: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide. Amongst the Middle East countries, Saudi Arabia is facing rapid progressive urbanization by the adoption of a westernized lifestyle and food habits, which contribute to the rising burden of CAD. We aim to evaluate the awareness and prevalence of CAD risk factors among Saudi adults. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted between January and March 2020. Data were collected through an online survey using a self-administered questionnaire. Data assessed on socio-demographic variables, family history of CAD, knowledge of risk factors, symptoms, and complications of CAD. Results data were entered and analyzed using IBM SPSS statistics, version 25. All comparisons were considered significant at P < 0.05. Results: A total of 311 subjects (48.6% men and 51.4% women) included, and most of the participants were between 18 and 25 years. A majority of the participants did not hear about CAD (82%) and unaware of any risk factors (26.4%), symptoms (25.1%), and complications (72.7%) of CAD. The prevalence of a family history of CAD (9.3%), overweight/obesity (58.6%), physical inactivity (79.1%), and smoking (24.1%) observed considerably high among the participants. Conclusion: The present study reveals that a significantly low level of awareness and a high prevalence of CAD risk factors found among Saudi adults. Therefore, the awareness program is needed at the public level to increase the knowledge of CAD risk factors so that persons with high risk for future CAD can be prevented.

BackgroundHypertension is the leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease and death. Appropriate treatment of hypertension is necessary to reduce mortality. A prescription-based study is one of the most influential and helpful methods to examine physicians' irrational prescribing practices. This study was designed to investigate the antihypertensive prescription of physicians and their adherence to the treatment guidelines, as well as the blood pressure (BP) control rate in a general hospital in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. MethodologyA retrospective, cross-sectional study was conducted between February 2020 and June 2021 in an outpatient department. Patients diagnosed with hypertension as per the 2020 International Society of Hypertension guidelines and those who received antihypertensive drugs were included. Study data included prescriptions, patient's age, duration of hypertension, comorbidities, BP, drug therapy type, and antihypertensive class. ResultsOverall, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin II receptor blockers (67.1%) were the most prescribed agents, followed by dihydropyridine-calcium channel blockers (62.6%), diuretics (26.1%), and βblockers (10.1%). Comorbid and stage 2 hypertensive patients mainly received combination therapy (51.6%) rather than monotherapy (48.4%). The study revealed an 83.5% prescription adherence to the treatment guidelines. However, non-adherence was encountered in monotherapy, polytherapy, and elderly-treated patient groups. A 66.4% (at target BP in all cases <140/90 mmHg) and 39.3% (at target BP in comorbid patients <130/80 mmHg) rate of BP control was observed. Furthermore, the rate of BP control was significantly associated with prescription adherence (χ 2 = 71.316; p < 0.001). ConclusionsThe degree of prescription adherence and rate of BP control were found to be compatible with other published hypertension studies. However, considerable scope exists for improvement in rational drug utilization and rate of BP control, particularly in high-risk patients. Therefore, treatment guidelines must be followed by clinicians to achieve BP goals and reduce cardiovascular events among the Saudi population.

Background and objectiveBasic Life Support (BLS) is critical because it keeps patients with life-threatening illnesses or injuries alive and maintains viability until a team of paramedics or hospital staff can provide expert care. There are many events that can result in serious injury and cause a person to stop breathing. BLS awareness among the population who have relatives with heart diseases greatly increases their confidence to act quickly when necessary and reduces their level of hesitation. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the level of clinical competence in the population who have relatives with heart diseases for them to recognize and respond to individuals in need of BLS in the Qassim region of Saudi Arabia. MethodologyWe conducted a quantitative, observational, and analytical cross-sectional study to achieve our objective. The targeted population involved only Saudis. The study was conducted electronically using social network apps in the Al-Qassim region of Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire evaluated if the subject had a family member with heart disease. Data collected included sociodemographic characteristics and knowledge and awareness about BLS as related to specific objectives. ResultsOf the 414 participants, 58.8% were females; 33.3% were between the ages of 40-49 years, and 30.7% were between 18-29 years old. The prevalence of participants who reported participating in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training was 19.8%. The main reasons for not participating in these training were a lack of knowledge about the courses (60.5%), being too busy (16.2%), and thinking that they did not need them (12.3%). Being younger than 29 years in age was one of the factors associated with participating in CPR training [odds ratio (OR): 11.85, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.54-91.42, p=0.017] versus those aged over 59 years. Gender was significantly associated with the rate of participation in CPR training: females had significantly lower rates of participation than males (15.2% vs. 25.7%, OR: 0.52, 95% CI: 0.32-0.84, p=0.008). Of note, 25.5% of the participants had adequate knowledge regarding CPR. Having trained in CPR was significantly associated with a higher level of knowledge among the participants (1.82-fold) (OR: 1.82, 95% CI: 1.08-3.06, p=0.023). ConclusionBased on our findings, there is limited awareness and training related to CPR among people with relatives suffering from cardiac diseases in the Qassim region of Saudi Arabia. This may be associated with higher rates of morbidity and mortality related to heart diseases in the region.