World Heart day being observed today

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Last Updated29/09/2021

September 29 is observed as World Heart Day.
It is an initiative by the World Heart Federation to spread awareness about cardiovascular diseases (CVD), including heart disease and stroke.
World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that over 17.9 million people die of CVDs every year, accounting for over 31 per cent of global deaths.

According to WHO, CVDs are a group of disorders of the heart and the blood vessels.
They include diseases such as coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, rheumatic heart disease and congenital heart disease among others.
Largely, these diseases are associated with lifestyle choices such as an unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, tobacco use and excessive use of alcohol, and therefore are preventable to some extent.
About 80 per cent of all CVDs manifest themselves as heart attacks or strokes and 75 per cent cases come from low and middle-income countries.

In India, the prevalence of CVDs is estimated to be around 54.5 million.
In September 2018, The Lancet published a report about cardiovascular diseases in India and their risk factors as part of its Global Burden of Disease Study 1990-2016.
The report noted the prevalence of CVDs in Indian states along with the disability adjusted life years (DALYs) or the number of years lost to ill-health which has increased.
In 2016, CVDs contributed to 28.1 percent of the total deaths, as compared to 15.2 percent in 1990.
The report cited high systolic blood pressure, ambient air pollution, high total cholesterol and high BMI among major risk factors contributing towards heart diseases.

In 2013, WHO developed targets to control and prevent non-communicable diseases – of which CVDs make a large part of.
The target included a relative reduction of 25 per cent in overall mortality from CVDs by 2025.
India’s National Health Policy 2017 too, aims to reduce premature mortality from CVDs, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases by 25 per cent by 2025.