The 2015 World Heart Day has been launched in Accra with a call on the general public to make healthy heart choices wherever they find themselves.
According to a Cardiothoracic Surgeon of the National Cardiothoracic Centre (NCTC) at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr Kow Entsua-Mensah, making a few changes at home could help reduce the risk of heart diseases and stroke.
“Things like stocking up on healthy food options, banning smoking from the home, learning more about your family’s risk of cardiovascular diseases and understanding the signs and symptoms of a heart attack or stroke could reduce the risk of heart diseases,’’ he said.
World Heart Day
The World Heart Day is an annual event which takes place on September 29, every year. However, Ghana will celebrate the day on September 26 on the theme: “Creating Heart-Healthy Environments,” to reflect on the key issues and topics related to heart health.
It is being sponsored by the Ghana Community Network Services Limited (GCNet) who presented a cheque for GH¢ 10,000 at the launch.
Blame game
Dr Entsua-Mensah said it was sad that too often individual lifestyle choices were blamed for cardiovascular diseases “but the environments in which we live, work, and play can have huge effect on our ability to make the right choices for our heart health.”
He, therefore, encouraged companies, schools, and hospitals to make their environments places where people could make healthy heart choices.
That, he said, could be done by saying no to smoking, encouraging cycling to work or school, taking the stairs instead of lifts, offering healthy and affordable food and reducing stress.
Physical activities
Additionally, he said, physical inactivity could also lead to unhealthy weight gain, diabetes, and a rise in blood pressure and, as such, there was the need for everyone to take control of their heart health and get more active.
