September 29 was World Heart Day.
The aim of the day is to create awareness of cardiovascular diseases.
The City of Johannesburg, which is concerned about the high rate of cardiac diseases and related deaths among its residents, embarked on a series of intensive educational initiatives at primary health facilities across its seven regions.
According to Ms Elionora Lebethe, the City’s deputy director of public health, diseases of the circulatory system account for 15.1 percent of all deaths in Johannesburg and 17.6 percent of all deaths in Gauteng.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) states that cardiovascular diseases cause 30 percent of all deaths globally.
“We are concerned and we believe regular support group sessions can be used as a platform to encourage communities to get involved in physical activity,” said Ms Lebethe.
Residents were screened for hypertension and diabetes at the health facility.
Ms Lebethe said the good news about cardiovascular diseases was that they were preventable.
“There are low-cost and straightforward steps that can be taken to reduce the major risk factors. Controlling these helps the heart to age more slowly and dramatically reduces the risk of heart disease.
“Love your heart and live a healthy and long life by making simple, positive lifestyle changes,” said Ms Lebethe.
World Heart Day was first observed in 2000 by the World Heart Federation to promote cardiac health on a global scale.
According to the federation, up to 80 percent of the world’s premature deaths can be prevented by controlling risk factors and adopting positive lifestyle changes.
The federation says heart diseases and strokes are the world’s largest killers, claiming 17.5 million lives a year.
By 2030 this is expected to rise to 23 million.
To prevent cardiovascular diseases, people are urged to:
- Eat healthy food.
- Exercise regularly.
- Avoid smoking.
- Avoid drinking.
- Avoid taking drugs.
- Control weight levels.
- Address high levels of bad cholesterol.
- Address increased glucose levels.
