World Heart Day: Looking after ‘All Our Hearts’

block
Prof. Dr. Gobinda Chandra Das :
World Heart Day has been observed on 29th September across the world, including in Bangladesh. The day, an annual event, is the World Heart Federation’s and the world’s biggest platform for raising awareness about cardiovascular disease. This year, global campaign focuses on looking after our own hearts, and the hearts of our loved ones: MY HEART, YOUR HEART.
According to World Heart Federation, “it’s about saying to ourselves, the people we care about and individuals all around the world, “what can I do right now to look after MY HEART… and YOUR HEART?” It also resonates with the professional cardiology and healthcare audiences who dedicate themselves to looking after ALL OUR HEARTS”.
The Federation says its main call to action for this year’s campaign is to make a promise. “A promise as an individual to get more active, say no to smoking or eat more healthily … as a healthcare professional to save more lives … or as a policymaker to implement a noncommunicable disease (NCD) action plan. A simple promise… for MY HEART, for YOU HEART, for ALL OUR HEARTS”.
Anxiety, aggression of emotion, excessive workload and miscellaneous burden of life increase the risk of the disease. In our daily life, continued increase of demand, rush in work and daily stress in modern life directly affect the cardiovascular system of human body. If the heart is compared with horse then the mind is its rider.
So when mind increases the pace of run in life then naturally it increases pressure on mind and it create impact on heart. Today people are competing with the pace of time. Naturally it is taking its toll. As a result, many are being affected by cardiovascular disease. And without any forecast, at anytime it can snatch away man’s life.
Regarding treatment of the disease, there are two processes–bypass and stenting. But these are very expensive and risky. Though patients become well through the treatment, but they have to live on medicine and with different physical inability. Even after all these he lives in the fear of becoming affected by the disease again.
Cardiovascular disease has been identified as the number one killer disease of the world. Every year 17.3 million people die of the disease.
On the other hand, about 38 lakh people die of malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. These diseases are presented as more severe ones than cardiovascular disease.
It has been observed that the disease’s risk is reduced to a large extent if weight and blood pressure is kept under control.
The risk of cardiovascular disease depends on one’s lifestyle. Certain steps need to be taken for keeping our heart healthy.  
By controlling body weight, it is possible to reduce the risk of the disease. Children are the future of the nation. We have to keep an eye on their healthy heart.
In the same way, half of our population is women. We have to take steps so that women can remain healthy. It means that to gain a healthy heart we have to take some measures.
Family can play an important role in preventing the cardiovascular disease. Parents can encourage their children to refrain from smoking, to do physical works, to take healthy foods by avoiding fatty and artificial foods. Regular exercise can reduce the disease’s risk.  
Earlier world health conference called for taking action plan by identifying cardiovascular disease as one of the most dreadful non-contagious diseases and setting an objective of the lowering death rate to 25% in 194 countries by 2025.
Along with 194 countries of the World, the day will be observed in Bangladesh. We think that celebrating the day will become successful only when the less rich people of the country will be able to come under the prevention and cure of heart disease.
For living healthy life, especially for the better health of heart, the United Nation recognized June 21 as International Yoga Day, declaring Yoga as the alternative treatment of cardiovascular disease.
This alternative treatment is called holistic treatment. Holistic treatment is the tremendous combination of modern technology and ancient natural method.
There are two main key factors of this treatment: Taking healthy diet and physical exercise. Daily food taking depends on patient’s age, state of disease and his present situation. And the matter about taking physical exercise is miscellaneous.
Before all these, meditation in a proper method is needed to control mind. Mental stress is the main cause of illness and unhappiness. It is very much important to lessen the mental pressure. It has also been said to collect the ray or life power from the cosmic power. To gain all these is not an easy task at all.
For this, time need to be spent regularly and taking exercise regularly by obeying the rule properly is needed. Yoga, Pranayam, meditation and Neurobic Gym etc, for everything there is its own set of rule. In holistic treatment, a program is given to follow observing soul, mind and body.
In short, it can be said that holistic treatment has gained people’s trust. It has played a vital role in curing thousands of patients of heart disease over the last 8 years.
In Bangladesh, Holistic Health Care Centre is carrying out activities for creating awareness to prevent the disease through the natural system.
Most people think that if once block begins to build in coronary artery it cannot be reversed. Its only treatment is angioplasty or bypass surgery. Millions of patients of our country who spent huge amount of money in bypass surgery for the treatment or many others going abroad, they are again in the risk of being affected by cardiovascular diseases. Through the alternative system, they can get a disease free life.
It’s time to take some control in lifestyle. Bringing control in lifestyle is difficult but if someone make efforts to do so, then it will not be difficult for him/her later. As treatment for cardiovascular disease is very much expensive, it is impossible for about 90% people of the country to bear the cost.
Most of our people live in villages. Communication system is not developed everywhere. As a result, patients die before they are admitted to hospital. So before the heart attack happens, attack the heart attack. It means keep your heart healthy and strong. For this purpose, Holistic Health Care Center is working.
On the occasion of the World Heart Day, we must listen to our heart. We must look at our heart well. To keep our body disease-free, what is needed to be done we must try to do that. Besides, we have to create awareness about alternative treatment.
To get rid of cardiovascular disease, we have to take treatment consciously. We must ensure proper treatment for middle class, insolvent and poor patients.
(The writer is Director, Holistic Healthcare Centre, Panthapath, Dhaka).
block