Dr Sushil K Sharma
The main aim of celebrating this day is to raise awareness about cardiovascular disease, its prevention and the impact it has on people across the world. CVD including heart disease and stroke bear a huge mortality and socioeconomic burden. Given this fact, the day highlights the actions that individuals can take to prevent and control CVD. The day is celebrated every year with a theme. World Heart Day is a reminder to everyone around the world to take care of their hearts. This year’s campaign focuses on the essential step of knowing our hearts first. In a world where knowledge about heart health is limited and policies are insufficient or lacking, aim is to shatter barriers and empower individuals to take control of their well-being.
To fight against cardiovascular diseases and to raise awareness about them, we celebrate World Heart Day every year on 29 September. Since a healthy heart is the gateway to a healthy life, it is important to ensure the health of your heart. With the growing number of heart patients worldwide, it has become a cause of concern of late. As per reports, millions of people die of heart diseases every year, which is an alarming scenario. Thus, to create awareness against heart diseases and to prevent heart diseases by giving it a tough fight, the World Heart Day is celebrated on the 29th of September each year. This year, the organizers have captured a beautiful World Heart Day 2024 theme – “USE HEART FOR ACTION”.
About CVD
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the world’s number one killer, causing over 20.5 million deaths per year. CVD is a class of diseases that affect the heart or blood vessels. More people die from CVD worldwide than from any other cause. Of these deaths, 85% are due to coronary heart diseases (e.g. heart attacks) and cerebrovascular diseases (e.g. strokes) and mostly affect low- and middle-income countries.
Prevention of CVD
According to the World Health Organization, as many as 80% of all heart attacks and strokes are preventable. The majority of deaths due to CVD are precipitated by risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, or diabetes, which can, to a large extent, be prevented or controlled through the consumption of a healthy diet, regular exercise and avoiding tobacco. Keeping an eye on your blood pressure, cholesterol levels and blood sugar levels is also very important.
Eat a healthy and balanced diet
Eating a healthy, balanced diet is crucial to maintaining a healthy heart and circulation system. A healthy diet should include a wide variety of unprocessed and fresh foods, including plenty of fruit and vegetables (at least five portions every day), whole grains, nuts and foods low in saturated fats, sugars and salt. Be wary of processed foods, which often contain high levels of salt, and drink lots of water!
Exercise regularly
It only takes 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity, five days a week, to improve and maintain your health. Adults (aged 18-65) and seniors (65+) should aim to do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity, or at least 75 minutes of high-intensity physical activity, every week. Children and adolescents should do at least 60 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity every day. Try to make exercise a regular part of your life: use the stairs instead of the lift, get off the bus a few stops earlier and walk the rest of the way. Being active is also a great way to relieve stress and control your weight, which are both risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
Maintain a healthy body weight
Lowering your risk of overweight and obesity normally involves reducing the number of calories consumed from fats and sugars, increasing the portion of daily intake of fruit, vegetables, whole grains and nuts, and exercising regularly. At least 60 minutes of exercise most days a week will help you maintain a healthy body weight.
Avoid tobacco use
If you stop smoking, your risk of coronary heart disease will be halved within a year and will return to a normal level over time. Avoid smoke-filled environments: exposure to second-hand smoke significantly increases the risk of heart attack. All forms of tobacco are harmful, and there is no safe level of exposure to tobacco. If you’re having trouble quitting tobacco, talk to your doctor about developing a tailored plan to suit your needs.
Avoid alcohol
As with tobacco, there is no safe level for drinking alcohol, and the detrimental effects of alcohol far outweigh any potential protective benefits. While drinking less may reduce your risk of CVD, evidence shows that the ideal situation for health is to not drink at all. Even moderate drinkers notice health benefits when they stop drinking alcohol.
Know your numbers
Knowing your numbers is an important part of keeping your heart healthy. Checking your blood pressure, cholesterol levels and blood sugar levels on a regular basis is important to help determine and control your risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
World Heart Day 2024 is a call to action for a healthier heart. By making small changes today, we can secure a healthier tomorrow. Whether it understands the impact of heart disease, adopting preventive habits, or embracing medical technology, each step counts towards a healthier heart and a longer life. In short this year World Heart Day aims to:
* Encourage and empower individuals to take responsibility for the health of their heart
* Advocate stronger initiatives and take steps aimed at improving heart health
* Execute cardiovascular health action plans on a national level
* Engage the public, patients, and doctors to drive positive impact.
(The author is Prof. & Head Dept of Cardiology, GMC Jammu)
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