29TH September 2017
Goal: ‘25 by 25’
Theme: share the power
World Heart Day celebration is a global day of awareness instituted by World Heart Federation to direct attention and proffer strategies and solutions to the scourge of cardiovascular diseases [CVDs].
Globally, cardiovascular diseases [CVDs] as a group are the commonest cause of death. CVD is an umbrella term encompassing all disorders of the heart and blood vessels. According to the World Health Organisation, of the CVDs, the Big Four are strokes, heart attack, hypertension and rheumatic fever/ rheumatic heart disease. The other common ones include, but are not limited to heart failure and congenital heart disease, eg ‘hole in the heart’. Research and trends show that these CVDs are on the increase in most regions of the world. Furthermore, the increase appears greatest in the Low and Middle Income Countries [LMIC] of the World Bank regions.
A majority of these CVDs have associated ‘risk factors’. These risk factors are attributes that contribute to the development of certain diseases. More importantly, when risk factors are corrected, there is prevention of or improvement in the disease status. The themes of the World Heart Day are directed towards knowledge and early detection of cardiovascular diseases and their risk factors, based on the maxim of knowledge is power. The risk factors of cardiovascular diseases are broadly divided into correctable life-style factors and biological factors. The lifestyle issues are diet related factors; such as consumption of high salt diet, saturated fat/oils and low consumption of fruits and vegetables. Other life-style risks are tobacco use/smoking and lack of physical activity. Disease or biological risk factors include presence of hypertension, diabetes, abnormal cholesterol/blood fats, stress, and overweight/obesity/‘fatness.’
Over the years, the World Heart Federation rolls out different strategies and themes to help in their objective of CVD reduction. The current big goal of the World Heart Federation is TO REDUCE CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE BY 25% BY THE YEAR 2025. For simplicity, that strategy is tagged ‘25 by 25’. Every year, by consensus a World Heart Day theme is thought out to help towards the chosen goal. In 2016, the theme was POWER THE HEART; this year 2017, the theme is SHARE THE POWER. The sub-themes are ‘fuel your heart’- with fruits, ‘move your heart’- with exercise and any physical activity; and ‘love your heart’ by insisting on tobacco-free and safe environment.
During the World Heart Day, different stake-holders-ranging from World Health Organisation, Departments of the Ministry of Health, Non-Governmental Organisations, Associations such as Nigerian Cardiac Society, and different groups of Healthcare Providers, their institutions, such as Lagos University Teaching Hospital, ALL have the opportunity to work in one way or other towards the themes and correction of cardiovascular risk factors in people. Some stakeholders provide health promotion talks using different media, health facts pamphlets, while others offer free screening for CVD risk factors [BP checks, blood sugar, calculation of BMI] in different arenas, such as market places, worksites and worship sites.
By Professor Jane Ngozi AJULUCHUKWU [MBBS Lag]; MMed Melb; FESC, FMCP
Consultant Cardiologist/Chairman LUTH Open Heart Surgery Program [LCP]