Make healthy heart choices
World Heart Day is observed on September 29, every year. Organised by the World Heart Foundation as an international campaign to inform people about cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), which are the biggest cause of death, the day promotes preventive measures to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
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Governments and non-governmental organisations celebrate and promote World Heart Day with activities such as fun activities, public talks, concerts, and sporting events.
The World Heart Federation organises awareness events in more than 100 countries and these include health checks, sports events, including walks, runs and fitness sessions, public talks and science forums, stage shows and concerts and exhibitions.
The event is also intended to encourage all to reduce cardiovascular risks, and promotes a heart-healthy planet for the future generation.
In Ghana, the event was celebrated last Saturday, September 26, 2015 on the theme, “Creating Heart-Healthy Environments” with an awareness creation health walk through some principal streets of Accra.
Make life changes
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 unhealthy food options, banning smoking from the home, learning more about your family’s risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), and understanding the signs and symptoms of a heart attack or stroke could reduce the risk of heart diseases,’’ he said.
Additionally, he said, CVDs were actually the number one killer of women causing one in three female deaths, thus one death per minute.
That, he said, also meant that the risk of getting heart-related diseases among women, was seriously underestimated and as such, there was the urgent need to adopt preventive measures, and avoid life choices that might put one at risk of getting CVDs.
Dr Entsua-Mensah, therefore, urged companies, schools, and hospitals to make their environments places where people could make healthy heart choices 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.
