Comedian DKB named ‘Heart’ Ambassador

Comedian DKB has been named as heart ambassador 2016 by the National Heart Center. The announcement was made as part of the center’s awareness creation exercise tagged ‘Power Your Life.’

According to the World Health Organisation, Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs) are the number one cause of mortality globally. Annually, it is responsible for 17.5 million premature deaths and, by the 2030, the figure is expected to rise to 23 million. CVDs are also the cause of 60 per cent of all deaths in people with diabetes whilst cholesterol is responsible for about 4 million deaths annually.

Against this backdrop, the World Heart Foundation is aiming at reducing the figures by 50 per cent through the World Heart Day initiative, which seeks to create awareness on healthy lifestyle.

Speaking at the 2016 launch of the World Heart Day, Director of the National Cardiothoracic Centre Dr. Lawrence Agyemang Sereboe stressed that healthy living is a crucial step to the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, mentioning funding as a challenge to many patients. He added that Ghanaians must begin to incorporate healthy lifestyles that include healthy eating, exercising of the body and consistent medical checkups.

He pleaded with government to give the Cardiovascular Unit at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital a relief in the area of infrastructure. He stated emphatically that the medical staff at the unit and patients has outgrown the capacity of the building and government must provide an all-inclusive operational facility since the country has the most effective team in the sub-region.

The World Heart Day is slated for September 29, this year and October 1, 2016 is scheduled for the celebration.