HEALTHY HEART = HEALTHY LIFE

Every year on 29th September, world heart day is observed in order to create awareness regarding how important it is to keep your heart healthy. Not only this, but also this day is also for spreading awareness about cardiovascular disease (CVD) and stroke. According to the World Heart Federation, CVD is the cause for maximum number of deaths (about 18.6 million every year). CVD is a deadly disease. Mainly, it is caused by smoking, blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, pollution etc. Hence, eating a balanced diet and saying no to cigarettes and alcohol forms a very integral part of preventing this deadly disease.

This day was first founded in 1999 by the World Heart Federation (WHF) in collaboration with the World Health Organization. The idea of making this day an annual affair was first formulated by Antoni Bayes de Luna- the president of WHF in 1997-2011. The first celebration of World Heart day was observed on 24th September 2000.It was planned that the last Sunday of September will be marked as World Heart day, and this was done till 2011. From 2012 onwards, this 29th of September is marked as World Heart Day.

This year’s theme is ‘USE HEART TO CONNECT’. According to WHF, the purpose of this year’s theme is to use one’s knowledge as well as influences and compassion in order to make sure that every one of us lives with a strong heart. Apart from this, this day is also about making sure that the lives of our loved ones are nurtured as well as we can.

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--- Jayati Roy Choudhury