Heart2Heart Challenge for the healthy heart has kickstarted as over 700 people have already taken the challenge
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India]: Toeing the theme of World Heart Day 2022 – ‘Cardiovascular Health for Everyone’, India is taking Heart2Heart Challenge for a healthy heart – a unique physical activity campaign to inculcate the healthy habit of checking whether one’s heart is healthy or not by climbing 4 floors (60 steps) because a study published in Rev Esp Cardiol (Engl Ed) reveals so.
The study further reveals that by climbing stairs one can check one’s heart health as failing to climb 4 floors (60 steps) in one-and-a-half minutes is a sign of sub-optimal heart function.
By taking the Heart2Heart Challenge for Healthy Heart, one needs to climb 4 floors i.e., 40 feet in a minute, and if 726 people take this challenge, then the height of Mount Everest (29028.9 feet) in a minute can be climbed. And the height of Mount Everest has been already climbed as over 700 people have taken this challenge.
In the opinion of Dr Ajay Mahajan, Prof & Head of Cardiology at KEM Hospital, Mumbai, “Coronary Artery Diseases (CAD) occur in the younger population of India as compared to the western world. The average age of heart attack is 56 years & about 30% occur at the age of fewer than 40 years. This is a decade earlier than the western world. The urban & semi-urban areas have 80% of these heart attacks. Fuelling the rise of coronary artery disease is the fact that 16% worldwide diabetics reside in India making it the infamous diabetic capital of the world.”
Dr Mahajan further added, “The overall mortality of heart attacks of 13% and it is higher in women than the men. Compounding problems is the fact that sudden cardiac death occurs for 10% of are in age groups less than 40%. This leads to a loss of productivity and has a profound socioeconomic impact. A large-scale primary prevention initiative dealing with lifestyle changes of regular exercise, consumption of a balanced and healthy diet and tobacco cessation. Training of personnel in resuscitation is also needed. To spread awareness, the Heart 2 Heart campaign Healthy Heart challenge is the need of the hour.”
By taking the Heart2Heart Challenge – Doing it yourself (DIY), Indian youth – who are succumbing to cardiac arrest, and middle-aged people will be able to take preventive measures to resist heart risks in future.
“India is anticipated to have the world’s greatest number of cardiac deaths by 2030, with Cardio Vascular Deaths accounting for roughly every fourth death. High blood pressure (BP) is a common risk factor for cardiovascular disease. 42% of Indians with hypertension don’t know that their blood pressure is higher than normal. Heart attack and stroke account for 85 % of CVD-related mortality. One of the leading behavioural risk factors are physical inactivity and lack of exercise. Hence, climbing stairs is one of the many forms of exercise that has been scientifically proven to be beneficial for one’s heart. The stair climbing test is an easy way to check one’s heart health at no cost. The Heart2Heart campaign is an initiative that needs to be propagated in India to prevent future cardiac problems,” stated Dr Jamshed J Dalal, Director, Centre for Cardiac Sciences, Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital & Medical Research Institute, Mumbai.
JB Pharma’s initiative – Heart2Heart Healthy Heart Challenge is a unique campaign of its kind, which aims to revive some of the forgotten but essential habits to stay heart healthy.
First, people have forgotten stair climbing, which JB Pharma’s initiative – Heart2Heart Healthy Heart Challenge wishes to revive through this campaign to stay heart-healthy.
Second, people have stopped going for preventive health checks as 75% of the Indian population never goes for diagnostic tests, which is the reason why they miss the early signs of (CVDs). But #heart2heartchallengeindia is, do it yourself (DIY) indicative assessment.
Third, in the campaign, the simplest methods of BP measurement (BP Right Karo) have been listed because hypertension is a ‘silent killer. But most people with hypertension are unaware of the problem because it may have no warning signs or symptoms. For this reason, blood pressure must be measured regularly.
