Fatima Zulfiqar, Shazia Hafiz, Sobia Sabir Ali, Rahema Aman, Mussarat Zahra, Adnan Mahmood Gul, Mohammad Hafizullah.
Putting knowledge and attitude into practice- a huge challenge!.
Pak Heart J Jan ;52(1):41-6.

Objective: To study knowledge, attitude, practice and behavior about CVD in college and university students of Peshawar. Methodology: This cross sectional study was conducted in colleges and university students from October 2015 to May 2016. A questionnaire based on WHO stepwise approach to surveillance was used to study the understanding of knowledge, attitude and practice/behavior towards cardiovascular health and barriers to healthy practices besides demographic data. The questionnaires were distributed among students through administration of the institute. Data was analyzed using SPSS 16. Results: A total of 618 participants were included. The response rate was 61.8%. Among these, 43.5 % were males. Mean age of students was 20.58 +- 2.16 years. Knowledge of risk factors of CVD was documented as high blood pressure 77.2%, diabetes 34.3%, high cholesterol 77.5%, physical inactivity 41.1%, overweight 66.7%, 44.3% smoking 44.3%, mental stress 57%. Of respondents 69.9% knew pain in chest as a major heart attack warning sign. Respondents familiar with one sign of heart attack were 50%, two signs 37%, three signs 11.42%, four signs 2.5%. Consumption of more fruits and vegetables and exercise can prevent heart disease was known to 85.1% and 82.1% respectively. As regarding practice, 59.5% of the respondents had their blood pressure measured, 75% took healthy food and reduced their consumption of unhealthy foods, 44.2% tried to lose weight, 67.5% tried to increase physical activity, 50% of smokers said that they had attempted to quit smoking. Conclusion: College students had satisfactory knowledge of CVD, its risk factors,warning signs, heart healthy diet and physical activity. However, knowledge has to be put into practice to create positive attitude and good practice.

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