World Heart Day 2018- “Making A Promise”

I still remember when I was about 4 or 5 years old, we were asked at school which part of our body was the most important part, and everyone in my class would answer “our heart!” in unison. Back then, my reasoning was because the heart was associated with love, and when you’re a 4 or 5 year-old kid, love was the most important thing. As I grew older, I began to understand the real reason behind its importance. It is the main engine of our body, pumping the blood that provides the body with oxygen and nutrients. In honour of our heart being the most important part of our body, we celebrate World Heart Day every 29^th of September.

World Heart Day is the platform for the Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) community to unite in the fight against CVD. CVD is accountable for nearly half of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) deaths.

Following the Political Declaration on NCDs adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2011, the World Health Organisation (WHO) developed a global monitoring framework to enable global tracking of progress in preventing and controlling major NCDs, CVDs, cancer, chronic lung diseases and diabetes-and their key risks factors. –

World Heart Day was created by the World Heart Federation. It raises awareness on CVDs, including the fact that it claims 17.5 million lives each year, and actions individuals can take for prevention.

World Heart Day 2018’s campaign is “Making A Promise.” As per the extract from the National Heart Association of Malaysia’s website on World Heart Day – “This year we’re asking people around the world to make a promise… for my heart, for your heart, for all our hearts.” The three main promises that were focused on are:

1. A Promise as an Individual
   1. To cook and eat more healthy

Malaysians and Singaporeans love their abundance choices of local dishes. How can we not? We are pampered with choices of delicious dishes from different backgrounds and ethnicities. However, our not all dishes contain the healthiest options when it comes to clean eating. According to Better Health, “Food is directly involved in many of the risk factors for coronary heart disease.” Fatty deposits, or plaques cling to the artery walls and can clog arteries. A heart attack is when one of these blood clots block one of the arteries of the heart. This leads to insufficient oxygen blood supply to the heart to pump. Malaysian famous national delicacy Nasi Lemak has ‘fat’ in its name. The amount of oil in the fried dishes we eat has to be taken into account too. 100 gram of oil is equivalent to 49g of saturated fat.

However, as the awareness of eating and living healthily increases over the last few years, we now have choices to cook and eat healthy from our supermarkets. The best action in eating healthily is by cooking healthily. By cooking your own meals, you are aware of the amount of protein, nutrient and oil you will be consuming. The only obstacle of cooking is finding time to cook. However, when there is a will, there is a way. Investing time into something that will benefit you in the long run will pay off one day.

Healthy food=Healthy heart

 

1. To do more exercise and encourage your children to be more active

In India, Exercise for Prevention of cardiovascular disease: Evidence-based recommendations stated “More than 25% of the population attributable risk for myocardial infarction (MI) is due to physical inactivity”.  As technology advances, the choices of sedentary lifestyle increases: Netflix, gaming, and etc. All of these activities are harmless when it is balanced with a healthy physical lifestyle. Be sure to slot 2 physical activities in a week. A sedentary lifestyle is a high-risk factor in multiple CVDs. As we tend to do more physical activities frequently, our children will naturally follow us. It is also easier to instil good habit by way of example. In return, they will lead more healthy lifestyles.

1. To say no to smoking and helped your loved ones to stop

If further explanation is needed regarding the relationship of cigarette and CVDs, then Malaysia has failed in public health. Smoking increases blood pressure, decreases exercise tolerance and increases the tendency for blood to clot.

The Ministry of Health has launched four Anti-Smoking campaigns: the “Tak Nak” campaign, Smoking-Free Generation Initiative, Malaysian Quit Smoking Service (or mQuit Programme), and KOTAK (or Oral Health without Cigarattes).

Deputy Director-General of Health (Public Health) of Malaysia Datuk Dr Azman Abu Bakar told the New Sunday Times, “The campaigns generated significant long-term benefits in smoking reduction, by indirectly inducing adult smokers to quite and deterring adolescents from smoking.” In addition to the government’s efforts in containing smoking, we ourselves should play our own parts in combating smoking and drop it like a bad habit.

2. A Promise as a Healthcare Professional
   1. To save more lives

As a Healthcare professional myself, it is our daily goal to save lives. However, in cases of NCDs like CVDs, we have to educate our patients regarding the diseases. For World Heart Day this year, I will start to fulfil this promise by writing an article in educating my readers on CVS:

• “Help! My baby is not breathing!”

 

3. A Promise as a Politician.
   1. To implement an NCD action plan

To support the fight against NCDs, the Malaysian published the National Strategic Plan for Non-Communicable Disease (NSPNCD) in 2010: “The NSP-NCD in Malaysia presents a way to operationalise existing knowledge and current scientific evidence in reducing the burden of CVD and diabetes in Malaysia, while taking into account the national, social, cultural and economic context of Malaysians.”

 

The NSPNCD came up with 7 strategies:

1. Prevention and Promotion
2. Clinical Management
3. Increasing Patient Compliance
4. Action with NGOs, Professional Bodies & Other Stakeholders
5. Monitoring, Research and Surveillance
6. Capacity Building
7. Policy and Regulatory Interventions

On 17th February 2018,the Strait Times reported Singaporean Minister of Health Gan Kim Yong has been appointed in his personal capacity to a high-level World Health Organisation (WHO) commission. “In a statement on Saturday (Feb 17), the Singapore Ministry of Health said the WHO commission will support ongoing efforts to accelerate action on cardiovascular disease, cancers, diabetes and respiratory disease, as well as reducing suffering from mental health issues, and the impacts of violence and injuries.”

Our governments are taking measures in preventing NCDs, however the question is are we doing our part to achieve the same?

Menara SUEZCAP KL Getaway Mall lighting red

 

The previous World Heart Day held in 2017 was a success as there was tremendous support by participants who attended events that are aimed at raising health awareness such as running events, forums focusing on the CVDs, and also lighting Menara KL, KL Getaway Mall and Singaporean Flyer  red. Ever since 2014, the World Heart Federation (WHF) had also encouraged iconic buildings and landmarks around the world to light up in red to help promote its campaign and raise awareness of CVDs.  To see more activities on the recent World Heart Day 2018, you may refer to Singaporean Heart Foundation and National Heart Association of Malaysia.

In a way, the heart is the most important part of the body because of love. Love is an emotion produced by the limbic system of the brain. In order for the brain to function, the heart has to pump blood to the brain. So, take care of your heart. Make this promise a true one.

If you would like to make an appointment with an cardiologist:

Find a cardiologist in Malaysia, on GetDoc

Find a cardiologist in Singapore, on GetDoc

References:

https://www.nst.com.my/news/exclusive/2018/02/336525/no-smoking-campaigns-having-impact-young

Zachariah G, Alex AG. Exercise for prevention of cardiovascular disease: Evidence-based recommendations. J Clin Prev Cardiol [serial online] 2017 [cited 2018 Oct 1];6:109-14. Available from: http://www.jcpconline.org/text.asp?2017/6/3/109/209385

http://www.moh.gov.my/images/gallery/nspncd/NSPNCD%202010_2014.pdf

https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/heart-disease-and-food

http://www.who.int/nmh/global_monitoring_framework/en/

https://www.malaysianheart.org/?p=whd18

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/minister-for-health-gan-kim-yong-appointed-to-world-health-organisation-commission-on-non

 

 

 

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