printThe World Heart Day is traditionally celebrated on the last Sunday of September in over 120 countries. Its main objective is the popularization of basic knowledge of heart diseases and the possibilities of their treatment and prevention.
This year, the Central Celebrations of the World Heart Day, organized by the Board of the Polish Cardiac Society, the Board of the Kraków Branch of the Polish Cardiac Society, the Institute of Cardiology at the Jagiellonian University, Collegium Medicum, were held on 28 September 2014 in Zakopane. Our Company also participated in the event, together with the organizers promoting the motto: "Remember about your heart, be good to your heart, fight for your heart".
The programme of the event emphasized mainly the promotion of physical activity and pointed out the most important health threats at the beginning of the 21st century:
- atherosclerosis,
- high blood pressure,
- overweight and obesity,
- diabetes,
- stress and depression,
- stimulants (cigarettes, alcohol and drugs).
This year a lot of attention was also paid to the influence of the environment - both the unpolluted and the polluted one - on our health and on our heart's health.
The following artists: Andrzej Sikorowski from the Group ‘Pod Budą’, Anna Szałapak, Andrusy and local folklore groups from the Zakopane area added splendour to the celebrations of the World Heart Day in Zakopane, the partners of which were our products, Novocardia and Sterolea, and in which approximately 300 cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, nurses and technicians participated.
Just like in the previous years, everybody who came that day to the Independence Square in Zakopane to take part in the event could have free of charge tests carried out:
- blood pressure test
- body weight and BMI
- sugar level in blood
- cholesterol level in blood
People could also get medical advice provided by cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, dieticians, and in specially prepared tents they could have ECG and heart echo tests carried out.
Our Company participated in this important event for the third time in a row. In ASA's tent qualified nurses measured blood pressure, and glucose and cholesterol level in blood, and a dietician, Maria Brzegowy, MSc provided guidance in healthy nutrition. She also prepared and presented a Quiz concerning the knowledge of factors influencing the heart’s health, both the positive and the negative ones. The questions focused on the knowledge of the proper values of blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels, and the factors increasing the risk of heart diseases.
In our tent and on the stage we warned people against smoking, improper nutrition and cholesterol disorders (the majority of the persons who had it tested had increased cholesterol levels) all of which are serious threats to the heart, as they may limit our everyday activity and lead to very serious health problems, such as atherosclerosis, cardiac infarction or cerebral stroke, or even death.
In Zakopane, we appealed to everyone, just like we appeal every day:
Take care of your heart every day, it beats for you, but also for your relatives, and therefore:
- regularly have your blood pressure measured,
- check your cholesterol level,
- live an active life,
- as far as possible, do physical exercises regularly,
- eliminate stimulants or keep them within limits,
- think about taking the dietary supplements, Novocardia or Sterolea,
- and above all, keep smiling and be optimistic.