“Hearts for Heart” to raise funds for Karapitiya Hospital
The Sirasa TV and YES FM together with Unilever’s brand Flora have joined hands to create awareness towards making a change for a healthy lifestyle. Together they announced a Health event “Hearts for Heart” which also aims to raise funds towards the upgrading of the cardiac unit of the Karapitiya Hospital Galle.
Heart disease is ranked as the leading cause of hospital deaths in Sri Lanka with one in 4 deaths resulting from it. With an ageing population, the impact of heart disease on the society at large is astounding. “As a nation, we are spending a significant amount of time and money on dealing with the disease but we are also discovering that heart disease is no longer striking the elderly alone but also the young.” says Dr. Thalatha Liyanage who heads the NCD Unit at the Ministry of Health.
“We have a high level of premature mortality, where a population under the age of 65 is struck by heart disease. In reality, up to 80 percent of the coronary heart disease can potentially be avoided by adopting simple lifestyle changes. We must develop a healthy lifestyle that includes eating healthily, exercising and reducing smoking and drinking.” says Dr. Liyanage, “In Sri Lanka, of the total population, about 25% are completely inactive and are not engaged in any exercise. We also have an increasing obesity rate of 31% which can induce heart disease and other forms of NCDs.”
Dr. Susi Perera who developed the concept of Super Eight, along with other medical professionals, believes that adhering to the areas covered in Super Eight will bring about a change in adapting to a more healthy lifestyle. “Super Eight is a set of guidelines which gives you goals towards making a positive change in lifestyle.”
The concept of Super Eight focuses on areas from maintaining a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 18.5 – 24.9, avoiding excessive salt, spending at least 30 minutes of moderate exercising, consuming five servings of fruit and vegetables every day, limiting foods with trans fats, giving up smoking and alcohol and maintaining a normal level of blood pressure below 140/90.
The introduction of a healthy lifestyle that combines with cardiovascular health is the theme behind ‘Hearts for Heart’, “Run or Ride. Save lives.” a unique Charity Run and Ride organized by the Ministry of Sports together with Sirasa TV and YES FM. This mega event is supported by the Ministry of Health and is sponsored by Flora, world’s no.1 healthy choice for your bread.