World Heart Day launched in Accra

The National Cardiothoracic Centre (NCTC) yesterday launched the 2018 World Heart Day in Accra, with a call on the public to cultivate healthy lifestyles to help reduce Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs).

The Director of the NCTC, Dr Lawrence Agyeman Sereboe, who made the call, said heart-related diseases resulting from unhealthy lifestyles were killing many people in the country

This year’s campaign will be held on September 29 on the theme: “For my heart, for your heart, for all our hearts”. 

It will focus on encouraging people to look after their own hearts and those of their loved ones.

The annual event is used as a platform to raise and create awareness of cardiovascular diseases and promote various preventive steps of cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack, stroke and heart failure.

Habits

Speaking in an interview after the launch, Dr Sereboe cautioned against the smoking of shisha, as it was one of the major causes of heart diseases across the world.

He said smoking shisha for an hour was equivalent to smoking 100 sticks of cigarette, a situation he described as dangerous to the lives of people who smoked it and those who sat around the smoking area.

“An estimated 17.7 million people died from Cardiovascular Diseases in 2015, representing 31 per cent of all global deaths.

This could be reduced by avoiding tobacco use, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and harmful use of alcohol, which are some causes of heart diseases,” he said.

Dr Sereboe called on everybody to come on board to help with initiatives meant to promote healthy living, particularly among the younger generation.

World Heart Day activities

Outlining the activities to mark the day, the Head of the Cardiology Division of the NCTC, Dr Samed Tanko, said a free screening exercise would be organised to check for sugar levels, blood pressure, cholesterol and weight.

“There will also be a health walk that will begin from the Efua Sutherland Children’s Park in Accra through to the Osu Oxford Street, the Danquah Circle and back to the Efua Sutherland Children’s Park,” he said.

Brand ambassador

It was announced that the Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Mr Emmanuel Kofi Nti, was the brand ambassador of the 2018 World Heart Day celebration but he was not personally present.

In a speech read on his behalf, Mr Nti called for a collective effort to help address the high number of heart diseases in the country.

He commended the NCTC and its sponsors for their efforts to educate the public on their hearts and urged the public to exercise regularly and also reduce alcohol intake.