JAMMU: Department of Cardiology, Government Medical College, Jammu, celebrated World Heart Day here at Superspeciality Hospital on Saturday. The event was attended by heads of different department and faculty members of GMC Jammu, graduates and post graduates, nurses, technicians and paramedical staff of the CCU catheterisation Lab under the theme of creating a Heart Healthy Environment.
Dr Ghanshyam Dev, Principal GMC and Dr Mohan Lal, Senior cardiologist also spoke on the occasion.
Dr Arvind Kohli, Cardiothoracic surgeon highlighted the importance of healthy environment for a healthy heart and stressed upon that a person should take care of his own heart himself so as to extend this care to family members.
The Coordinator of the Event, Dr. Sushil Sharma, Head of Cardiology at GMC Jammu, pointed out that Indians are worsening their risk for heart diseases with poor physical activity, a high-fat diet and by steadily shunning fruits and vegetables.
Dr Sushil mentioned “Claiming 17.3 million lives per year, cardiovascular disease, which comprises of heart disease and stroke, is the number one killer worldwide. It claims more than the total deaths (3.86 million deaths per year) due to malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis put together. In fact, the risk for heart disease is found to be higher in Indians than that in U.S. and Western Europe. In India too, cardiovascular disease is the largest cause of mortality, leading to 1.7-2.0 million deaths annually.”
Dr. Sushil also utilised this opportunity to emphasise the importance of creating a healthy heart environment at places where you work, live and play.
“The majority of risk factors for CAD can be improved by lifestyle modification. Remember that modest changes in diet, weight, and exercise can have a big impact on cardiac risk. A heart-healthy lifestyle should be encouraged from youth, but even changes later in life lead to important benefits” he added.
To best combat heart disease in India, according to Dr. Sushil Sharma , there needs to be a comprehensive approach, which will require improvements in basic amenities, healthcare facilities and, perhaps most importantly, education that will enable people to take responsibility for their own actions. Truly, it is important for us to understand that, let’s step up and protect our hearts by creating a heart healthy environment, he stated.
