Obama DMW's death: A lesson to all

The death of a popular Nigerian music executive, Habeeb Uthman popularly known as Obama DMW should be a wake-up call and lesson to all youths as regards heart attack, and the need to intensify its awareness.

His death came as a surprise to those in the music industry and to those who were close to him due to the fact that the megastar was sound and healthy until his last breath, however, many medical and health connoisseurs would not be surprised, especially with the rising "sleep-to-death" cases in the country. For example, two prominent Nigerians were pronounced dead: TB Joshua, a famous Nigerian prophet died of heart related ailment just days after Pastor Dare Adeboye of the Redeemed Christian Church was surprisingly pronounced dead, reportedly of the same sickness.

Heart attack, a deadly disease which occurs when an artery supplying oxygen-laden blood to the heart becomes blocked as a result of plaques formed in the heart's arteries. It is caused by fatty deposits built up over time. Thus, if you have coronary artery disease, those arteries become narrow, and blood will not flow as it should. When your blood supply is blocked, you have a heart attack.

While the sickness can be easily detected through symptoms such as chest pain, shortness of breath, cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness; silent heart attacks often go undiagnosed for many years.
Symptoms of a silent heart attack are so mild that they are barely noticed, in fact, sometimes more subtle than crushing chest pain

Just like the popular adage which says "prevention is better than cure", the only and best way to avoid this silent killer is to prevent its manifestation.

Heart attack can be prevented by being active on a daily basis, eating healthy foods, exercising, and avoiding smoking and alcohol.

However, no matter how deadly heart attack is known to be, it can be treated when detected at early stage. Once the symptoms of heart related ailment is noticed, quick medical attention is necessary to cushion its further development. If diagnose with heart attack,you need quick treatment to open the blocked artery and lessen the damage. The best time to treat a heart attack is within 1 or 2 hours after symptoms begin. Waiting longer means more damage to the heart and a lower chance of survival for the patient.

Although Obama DMW was known to smoke and drink a lot, his death could not be attributed to those habits alone as T.B Joshua and Dare Adeboye who are abstemious died of the same sickness, thus all measures must be observe as they are not mutually exclusive.