On every 29 September, World Heart Day is celebrated and observed to aware people of the prevention of heart attacks, strokes, and other heart-related diseases.
It aims to decrease the global death rate because of heart diseases.
A person's lifestyle plays a vital role in leading towards heart-related diseases.
Below are some major reasons behind having the increased rate of heart attacks and strokes:
- Excessive use of tobacco
- Too much consumption of alcohol
- Unhealthy diet and Lifestyle
- Lack of physical activity in daily life
An unhealthy lifestyle can result in severe health conditions such as:
- Elevated blood glucose
- Increased blood pressure
- Obesity
- Increased overweight
- Loss in good heart health
Preview
Date of World Heart Day Observance
Initially, World Heart Day was celebrated on the last Sunday of September, that is, on 24 September 2000.
Now, it is marked on every 29 September on nearby places.
History of World Heart Day in India
Since the inception of the World Heart Federation, this Non-governmental organization has been sponsoring many causes and events worldwide. It has been declaring the celebration themes for various noble causes and internationally marked days. The organization aims to assemble and distribute the information to raise awareness about various issues and conditions on its particularly dedicated day or date. Such a specific day brings an opportunity to come together and unite the entire human community for a challenge that is faced globally.
In 1999, the World Health Organisation collaborated with the World Heart Federation to lay the foundation of World Health Day.
They established it with the objective of minimizing the death rates because of heart-related diseases.
The WHF president Antony Bayes de Luna invade the idea of observing World Heart Day as an annual event.
The first celebration of World Heart Day took place on 24 September 2000.
In May 2012, one more major decision was taken by the global leaders in this series. They committed to scaling up the mass awareness about the prevention of strokes and heart attacks so that the global mortality pictures of non-communicable diseases can be reduced by 25% by the end of 2025.
World Heart Day Celebration: How is World Heart Day is Celebrated?
The WHO, WHF, UNESCO, governments, global leaders, and other authoritative organizations come together to execute the strategic programs to fight against cardiovascular diseases.
All the organizations and concerned people work together at the global level for CVD monitoring, management, and prevention.
The global strategies are executed to reduce the mortality, incidence, and morbidity of CVD.
The campaigns programs and joint activities are executed for CVD prevention. Such activities include:
- Health-promoting activities among the school-age children
- Development of materials for the health education
- Building standards and norms for CVD management
- Controlling the risk factors such as tobacco smoking
- Organizing the teaching seminar on CVD prevention
- Executing the programs on managing and controlling the mild hypertension
- Maintaining and managing the membership networks dedicated to promoting the CVD prevention
- Establishment of joint projects for the continuous medical education of health personnel
- Including CVD management-related information in first aid training courses
- Launching the initiatives for increasing the CVD awareness in poor populations
Why is World Heart Day Celebrated?
Observing the world heart day is not celebrating merely an event. The cause of the day reaches millions of people to aware them of cardiovascular diseases that are the number one cause of death around the world.
The event doesn't just come and go; it ensures the circulation of useful information regarding heart-related conditions, their management, and the available effective medication.
One of such information is:
The medication can play a vital role in managing the cardiovascular with the below "3A":
- Affordability
- Availability
- Access
If access to the proper medication can be made available at affordable prices for the general mass, it can prove to be a massive success in decreasing the mortality rate due to heart diseases. Such medications are:
- Statin
- Aspirin
- Blood pressure controlling medicines
Significance of World Heart Day
The World Heart Day significantly focuses on:
Giving More Power to Tobacco Control
The researchers and medical experts have proven measures that controlling tobacco can defeat the Global tobacco epidemic.
Shaking People for Realising the Importance of Salt Reduction
There are many proofs and evidence available to support that the reduced consumption of salt is the key to prevent heart-related issues.
Joining Hearts for Strengthening the Management of CVD, Aiding the Primary Health Care System
The sound primary Health Care systems can play a major role in introducing the number of heart attacks and strokes.
Global Hearts declares the above three packages as superbly effective initiatives in order to prevent and control cardiovascular diseases.
Why People Follow World Heart Day?
Urbanization, globalization, and industrialization have greatly promoted a lifestyle that promotes heart diseases. It has increased the risk factors such as physical inactivity, excessive use of tobacco, and a healthy diet.
Exposure to such risk factors for a longer period is rising the rate of diseases as well. Poor-, low-, and middle-income countries are indeed facing many newly emerged risk factors of CVD such as folate deficiency, infections, and low birth weight.
Interesting Facts about World Heart Day
- Do you know that about 17.9 million people die every year because of cardiovascular diseases as per the information collected by WHO, the World Health Organisation? This data gives 31% of the share of global deaths to heart-related diseases.
- About one-third belongs to premature lives which are under 70 years. The most concerning factor of this fact is that this number is increasing steadily.
- As per World Heart Federation, cardiovascular diseases are responsible for about half of the total share of NCD deaths. This highlights it as a number one cause of death in the world which rules over the global mortality rate.
- 80% of the mortality rate because of CVD comes from cases of heart attacks and strokes. 75% of this part occurs in Nations that come under the label of developing countries.
- About 1.1 billion adults are suffering from the issue of raised blood pressure. It is a jaw-dropping fact that less than 1 in 5 has this under control.
Cardiovascular disease is the world's biggest killer.
The increasing number of premature deaths because of heart attacks and strokes is a great threat to the global health and development.
For better development and improved health, the governments have collectively committed themselves to step ahead and take actions for reducing premature deaths because of cardiovascular diseases and NCDs. This teamed-up commitment is also mentioned in the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.
The above Fact and figures alarm us to consider this issue as a serious concern.
In developed countries, cardiovascular diseases can also be considered as the result of afflictions.
Many people assume that cardiovascular diseases visit people in developed countries more as the sedentary lifestyle is quite common there. However, the data gives an eye-opener about it by revealing that about 80% of people who suffer from such diseases belong to middle-class families and incomes, giving the red signal to the developing countries.
Event Challenges
Social and Economic Challenges and Consequences
The prolonged and costly clinical care of CVD affects the valuable human resources at their most productive peak midlife years and undermines the national development.
Strategic Challenges
- Effectively monitoring the trends and reducing the risk factors of CVD
- Developing a cost-effective Healthcare system for the CVD management
An Appeal: World Heart Day 2020
Fix the Lifestyle
In this era of coronavirus, the way of living life has changed in a drastic manner. The need of the hour is to stay calm and composed and live a patient life. Changes in the Lifestyle can change the stress level irritation and uneasy surrounding to a great measure.
World Heart Day 2020: The Theme, the Highlight!
Use the heart to beat CVD is the theme and tagline for World Heart Day 2020 which is given by the world heart Federation to urge people to fight in the time of covid-19. In this time of coronavirus, heart care has emerged as the most important milestone in fighting against this virus and disease. Care and prevention of the heart have become more important than ever before.
