Knowledge and awareness level of cardiovascular diseases of Halic University Faculty of Science and Letters students

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death and disability worldwide. It is necessary to measure the level of knowledge about cardiovascular disease risk factors in order to plan and evaluate the programs to be applied for prevention from cardiovascular diseases. The aim of the study was to reveal the knowledge and awareness levels of university students about cardiovascular diseases. In addition to this aim, it was determined whether the demographic variables and the knowledge and awareness levels about cardiovascular diseases differ significantly. 205 students from Haliç University Faculty of Arts and Sciences were randomly selected and included in the study. In the study, "Sociodemographic Information Form" was used to determine the demographic data of the participants and the "Cardiovascular Diseases Risk Factors Knowledge Level (CARRF-BD) Scale" was used to investigate the knowledge levels of individuals on cardiovascular diseases. The data obtained were evaluated using the SPSS 25.0 package program. The data on the identification of the participants were determined by means and percentages. The Whitney u test was used to define the relationship between the demographic data of the participants and their level of knowledge and awareness about cardiovascular diseases. 55% of the participants are women and 45% are men. 24.9% of the participants do not have a chronic illness. The eating habits of the participants were found to be healthy. In the research, 24.9% of men and 28.3% of women had high blood pressure; 18% of men and 24.4% of women reported the presence of high cholesterol and 22.4% of men and 29.3% of women reported high blood sugar in the last 3 years. It was found that the cardiovascular disease risk factors knowledge level of the femalex and male participants was low. The knowledge levels of cardiovascular disease risk factors of the participants differ according to the presence of chronic disease. In the last 3 years, those who measured blood pressure and blood glucose were found to have higher levels of knowledge of cardiovascular disease risk factors than those who did not. Cardiovascular disease knowledge level affects awareness about cardiovascular disease. It is necessary to increase the knowledge level of individuals about cardiovascular disease. Keywords: Cardiovascular Disease, Knowledge Level, Awareness