The World Heart Day will be celebrated worldwide on 29 September 2017. The event is organised annually by the World Heart Federation to raise public awareness about cardiovascular disease – the major cause of death in the world today.
The World Heart Day will be celebrated worldwide on 29 September 2017. The event is organised annually by the World Heart Federation with a view to raising public awareness about cardiovascular disease (CVD) – the major cause of death and disability in the world today.
According to statistics presented by WHF, it is estimated that every year over 17.3 million people die from CVDs, including heart attacks and strokes. It is almost twice as many as deaths from cancer and 4.5 times as many as deaths from malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis combined! It is also a widely held myth that heart diseases mostly affect the more overweight or older male populations. In actual fact, CVDs can develop in all age and gender groups. Even worse, they can develop before birth – it is estimated that every year even one million children are born worldwide with a congenital heart defect.
An even more disturbing statistic is that 23 million people worldwide are predicted to die from CVD by 2030. We all know how essential the heart is, yet we often fail to give it the care it deserves. It is no secret that most of the risk factors for cardiovascular disease can be controlled using easily available methods. Being active, eating more healthily, maintaining a healthy weight, checking blood pressure and glucose regularly or quitting smoking – these might sound like clichés, but they are just some of the things that we can do to protect our hearts from the risk of CVD. As the World Heart Federation rightly puts it: “Your heart is at the heart of your health”.
For more information concerning the World Heart Day as well as the risks and prevention of CVD, visit the official website of the event >>
You can begin you heart-healthy project by joining the Family Bicycle Rally which will be held in Bydgoszcz on 1 October 2017, starting at 11.30 am. The event will start and finish at the Old Town Square [Stary Rynek] of Bydgoszcz (total distance – about 15 km).