HMC observes World Heart Day

Staff, patients and visitors to the Heart Hospital at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) were joined by Ali Janahi, HMC chief of business services; Mahmoud al-Raisi, HMC chief of Continuing Care Group; and David Flory, HMC chief of Tertiary Hospitals Group, on Thursday to mark World Heart Day and learn more about maintaining a healthy heart.
World Heart Day is the biggest global awareness-raising platform for cardiovascular disease (CVD) which includes heart disease and stroke with the aim of helping people live longer, better, more heart-healthy lives.
Information booths were set up at Heart Hospital to provide heart health-related screening and educational materials and information. Staff from HMC and visitors were also provided with check-ups on vital signs monitoring, blood sugar checking and height and weight measurement. A physician and dietitian were also present to counsel individuals with elevated blood pressure and high blood sugar.
Ali al-Khater, chief communications officer at HMC, said it was important to recognise the steps we can take to prevent heart disease. “Cardiovascular disease adversely affects the lives of many people in our society. Qatar’s public health sector has made great progress in recent years to improve care for people with heart conditions but our aim is do even more. We want to educate people about important health issues so that they are able to take control of their own health and the HMC heart health campaign and World Heart Day help to do this.”
CVD is the world’s number one killer and is responsible for 17.5mn premature deaths, and by 2030 this is expected to rise to 23mn. The good news is that we can help prevent heart disease by making just a few simple daily changes, like eating and drinking more healthily, getting more exercise and stopping smoking.
HMC’s heart health campaign is currently educating the public on how to recognise the signs and symptoms of a heart attack and provides advice on what to do if a heart attack is suspected. It also provides the public with tips on how to improve their heart heath by sharing information about heart conditions and the importance of maintaining a healthy heart.