World Heart Day
How young is
your heart?
A message from the World Heart
Federation
In it’s mission to try and
reduce the number of
people dying of heart
disease, the world’s number
one cause of death, the
World Heart Federation is
marking this year’s World
Heart Day on 24 September
with the theme: “How
Young is Your Heart?”
The federation points out
that a calorie-restricted,
nutritionally balanced diet
is associated with slowing
the ageing process of the
heart, which is why this
year’s World Heart Day
campaign asks: “How
Young is Your Heart?”
Heart disease and stroke is
the world’s largest killer,
claiming some 17.5 million
lives a year.Eighty per cent
of these lives are from populations
in low and middleincome
countries, many
amongst people of working
age. Controlling major risk
factors such as an
unhealthy diet, physical
inactivity and tobacco use
can prevent heart attacks
and stroke and help the
heart to age more slowly.
“It’s almost an obsession
in many societies to look as
youthful as possible, but we
should really be thinking
about the age of our hearts,”
said Professor Valentin
Fuster, president, World
Heart Federation. “If we put
as much effort into keeping
our hearts young, we would
see a dramatic decrease in
the number of premature
deaths from heart disease
and stroke each year.”
Physical activity is vitally
important. Running for one
hour or more each week could reduce the risk of
heart disease by 42%. Brisk
walking just 30 minutes
each day could reduce the
risk of heart disease by about
18% and stroke by about
11%. Going for a regular
brisk walk in the park, along
the beach or corniche is an
easy way to achieve this
level of activity.
Physical inactivity
contributes significantly to
the heart’s ageing as it leads
to obesity, diabetes and
hypertension. The heart is a
muscle which needs regular
activity to keep it pumping
blood efficiently with every
heart beat. Regular physical
activity and its impact on
associated risk factors helps
to slow down the narrowing
of the arteries to the heart
and brain, encourages the
body to use up excess stored
fat, can help to reduce high
blood pressure, improves
“good” cholesterol levels (HDL cholesterol) and
maintains normal blood
glucose levels.
It is also important to
balance calories consumed
with calories burned to
help maintain a young
heart for life. For adults, at
least 30 minutes of brisk
walking a day is recommended
and adopting a
balanced diet with plenty
of fruits and vegetables,
whole grain products, lean
meat, fish and pulses,
alongside low-fat and fatfree
products. Unsaturated
soft margarines and oils
such as sunflower, corn,
rape-seed and olive oil are
preferred to saturated fats.
Tobacco use is one of the
most important risk factors
to control. Quitting will
help to keep the heart
young as it improves
“good” cholesterol, reduces
the levels of blood clotting
and overall decreases the chance of a
sudden blockage
of a blood
vessel.
Smokers
not only put
their own lives
at risk, but they
also endanger
the lives of
those around
them, with
passive smoking
increasing the
risk of coronary
heart disease by
25-30%.
Breathing
second-hand
smoke for even
a short time can
have immediate
adverse effects on the cardiovascular
system, increasing the risk
of a heart attack.
Never too late
“Controlling the major
cardiovascular risk factors
can prevent heart disease
and stroke and thereby slow
the impact of ageing on the
heart,” said professor Sidney
Smith, University of North
Carolina and chairman
Scientific Advisory Board,
World Heart Federation.
“It
is never too late to start
living a healthy lifestyle. By
asking everyone to think
about the age of their hearts
on World Heart Day we are
encouraging the world's
population to adopt a hearthealthy
lifestyle.”
World Heart Day is run by
the World Heart Federation's
member organisations in
100 countries.
To find out
more visit: www.worldheartday.com
