City hospital to give healthy heart lessons to teachers

In a bid to create awareness about cardiovascular disease (CVD) among the youth, 25,000 ‘Heart smart teachers’ will be trained as part of “Guardian of Heart” campaign by Manipal Hospitals.

“These teachers will share healthy heart concepts with children who in turn will educate their parents. A chain reaction of Heart Smart Teachers - Healthy Kids - Healthy Family - Healthy Nation can be achieved,” said Dr Sudarshan Ballal, Chairman, Manipal Hospitals.

Under the “Guardians of Heart” campaign, a comprehensive health programme will be conducted and heart smart passes and
family health cards will be distributed.

Teachers will attend educative workshops and candid interactions with cardiac super-specialists, who will guide them about various heart related medical emergencies on the last Saturday of every month. The campaign will culminate on February 1, 2019, on the National Red Day where the teachers will be certified as Heart Smart.

“The burden of heart disease is increasing by leaps and bounds across the world and India is no exception. Most heart diseases are a result of our lifestyle. Research has shown that diet, exercise, prevention of active and passive smoking, lifestyle modification can prevent the disease from becoming life-threatening. Through this campaign, we want to encourage preventive care
from a young age,” Dr Ballal added. The campaign was launched in Bengaluru on Saturday and will soon be rolled out in the hospital’s other centres in Vijayawada,
Mangaluru, Goa, Jaipur and Dwarka.

The campaign was unveiled by T N Seetharam, Kannada film and television actor, director and producer.