Abstract

Background: Cardiovascular diseases are considered as the most common cause of death worldwide; resulting in 50% of total deaths reported throughout the globe, and it’s expected to increase significantly. Cardiovascular diseases are also the most common cause of death in Saudi Arabia. The current study was aimed at determining the level of awareness regarding cardiovascular diseases among a random representative sample of Riyadh population, Saudi Arabia during the year 2017. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was carried out employing random sampling technique and with a sample size of 388 adults (age of 18 years to 50 years and more) among the general public excluding the medical staff. Results: Among the total subjects studied, half of the respondents reported good knowledge regarding the risk factors of cardiovascular diseases (46.6%) and a good level of awareness regarding prevention of cardiovascular diseases (71.2%), while a majority of them had (67.2%) poor knowledge regarding the clinical characteristics of cardiovascular diseases. Most respondents had a moderate level of knowledge of cardiovascular diseases (60.5%) and they belonged to a lower economic status group. Majority of the participants who had a moderate level of awareness of cardiovascular diseases were educated at university level (36.3%). Conclusion: Most participants had good knowledge regarding risk factors and prevention of cardiovascular diseases, the majority of participants had poor knowledge regarding the clinical characteristics of cardiovascular diseases. There was no statistically significant relationship found between economic status, education level, and the level of awareness of cardiovascular diseases.

Key words: Cardiovascular, symptoms, risk factors, associated, prevention, education