In celebration of World Heart Day, the Health Promotion Department at the Supreme Council for Family Affairs in Sharjah has organized an awareness event at Al Resalah American International School, which is located in Al Rahmaniya in Sharjah. The event, which will be held under the slogan “Healthy Heart,” aims to raise the awareness of both the students and the families of the school on the importance of preventing heart disease and identifying its causes.

HE Iman Rashid Saif, Director of the Health Promotion Department at the Supreme Council for Family Affairs in Sharjah, said: “This day represents an opportunity to raise the community’s awareness on heart disease, and encouraging them to adopt a healthy lifestyle, especially in the case of children and teenagers. Most of these diseases can be prevented by eating nutritional foods, increasing the level of movement and exercise, staying away from smoking and seeking regular health check-ups.”

The event included a workshop on heart disease, and the role of nutritional food and exercise in preventing it. The workshop was attended by a large number of students from the school. Meanwhile, the faculty of the school participated in free health examinations provided by the department, which included tests for diabetes, blood pressure and cholesterol, in addition to receiving health tips and advice that were presented by health experts.

The Health Promotion Department also launched the online campaign “My Heart Your Heart” to go along with the global trends of World Heart Day. The campaign witnessed high levels of engagement from senior officials, employees and the general public, and a large number of the campaign’s participants promised to maintain the health of their heart by adopting healthy practices and consuming nutritional foods.

The first World Heart Day was celebrated in 2000 as a joint initiative between the World Heart Foundation (WHF) and World Health Organization (WHO). The event promotes awareness on the dangers of heart disease and the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. On this occasion, many events and activities are organized globally with the aim of reducing premature deaths caused by heart disease, which is considered the number one leading cause of death worldwide.