Campaign to educate 6 crore people about heart disease

A new campaign to educate over six crore persons across the country about Cardio Vascular Diseases (CVD) was launched here on Wednesday by the Science and Art of Living (SAAOL) and Emami Foundation.

The National Programme for Prevention and Eradication of Heart Attack (NPPEHA) was launched ahead of the World Heart Day and would inform people about measures to eradicate heart attacks, along with understanding indicators that could trigger various types of heart-related diseases.

"Everyday about 9,000 people die of heart attacks -- which means one in every 10 seconds. Of them 900 are youth below the age of 40 years. The only way to prevent the epidemic of heart diseases in India is to educate the masses," said Bimal Chhajer, a prominent city-based cardiologist and the founder of Science and Art of Living (SAAOL), a comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation and reversal programme in India.

Chhajer said NPPEHA's main focus was to provide quick and effective education on healthy living and making people understand about heart diseases. The motto of the first phase of the campaign is to collect data and provide free bio-medical analysis across the country to determine cardiac health status of people.

According to the organisers, a new software application named SHARAS has been designed for the campaign, through which users can know the condition of their heart and the vulnerability to heart diseases.

"SHARAS is the most simplified digital way to understand the reasons of heart diseases that asks a few questions about health habits, helps in rectification for a healthy heart and gives lifestyles advice to prevent heart attack," Chhajer told IANS.

He said a heart attack is triggered due to lack of knowledge. The effects of heart blockage become apparent in the body when the blockage becomes 80 per cent and that is when doctors step in to suggest surgery or angioplasty to clear complications.

"Our policy is simple, if polio can be eradicated, then why not heart attacks. All we need is to provide vital heart health education to the masses through a preliminary medical check up for cardiac diseases," said Chhajer.

--IANS

rup/ask/dg