Lesotho joins the rest of the world in marking World Heart Day today, amid the threat posed by the global Covid-19 pandemic.
World Heart Day is annually observed on September 29 around the globe in an effort to raise public awareness about cardiovascular diseases, their prevention and global impact. Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) claim the lives of around 17.9 million people each year, as per data collected by the World Health Organisation, and it results in 31 percent of all global deaths.
These diseases, which manifest primarily as heart attacks and strokes, are triggered by excessive use of tobacco, unhealthy diets, a lack of physical activity and alcohol abuse. All of these unhealthy lifestyle choices result in raised blood pressure, elevated blood glucose, overweight and obesity, and risks detrimental to good heart health.
In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the World Heart Federation is urging people around the world to ‘Use Heart to Beat CVD’, with the message, “In the time of Covid-19, taking care of your heart is more important than ever before.”
World Heart Federation is a non-governmental organisation and has, since its inception, sponsored various events around the world, assembling and distributing information and even declaring themes for the celebration of this day. In 2020, in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the World Heart Federation urges people around the world to ‘Use Heart to Beat CVD’, saying that, “In the time of Covid-19, taking care of your heart is more important than ever before.”
