Children taking part in the walk. PHOTO: EXPRESS
Various events and walks were held on Tuesday to mark World Heart Day with pledges to reinforce public awareness activities for prevention of heart diseases. Experts stressed to have a healthy lifestyle in order to prevent cardiovascular diseases.
Public awareness walks were separately organised by Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH) and Shifa International Hospital (SIH).
Doctors, paramedical and nursing staff, patients and students participated in the events. Informative booklets were also distributed among participants.
“Over 80 thousand people die every year in Pakistan due to heart diseases,” said BBH Consultant Cardiologist Dr Mehdi Hassan Raja. He said the situation can be averted by changing lifestyles and making daily walk and exercise a habit. He termed smoking, obesity, diabetes, and high cholesterol main reasons of heart attack.
“If the situation remained same, the figure would be doubled in next 20 years,” said BBH Cardiology Department Head Prof Fayyaz Shah, while reinforcing that heart attack remained main cause of mortality, both nationally and internationally.
BBH Medical Superintendent Dr Asif Qadir Mir underlined the need for creating awareness to educate masses about precautionary measures so that it could be prevented.
“Regular check-up is a must in order to avoid possible heart diseases,” said SIH Consultant Cardiologist and Cardiology Department Head Dr Asad Ali Saleem. These are one of the leading causes of death among adults aged between 40 to 60 years, he said. Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are among greatest public health challenges around the globe and are very common, costly, disabling and deadly, he added.
SIH Chief Operating Officer Aziz A Jan said the objective of the walk was to raise awareness about heart diseases, their prevention and to promote active and healthy living. He requested the participants to communicate the message to family and friends, so that they may also benefit from the health related tips and practice them in their daily life.
Dr Saleem recommended the participants to achieve energy balance and a healthy weight. He also urged to limit energy intake from total fats and shift from saturated to unsaturated ones.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 30th, 2015.
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