Free check-ups for heart diseases held

The Ministry of Health (MoH) organised an open day in Dubai to provide free cholesterol, blood sugar, blood pressure and BMI tests on Thursday to assess the rate of serious heart disease cases. The people who underwent the tests were also given individual advice, tips and plans based on the test results of each person to improve their health. The open day was attended by Dr Salem Abdul Rahman Al Darmaki, Acting Undersecretary of the ministry; Dr Mahmoud Fikri, Assistant Undersecretary for Health Policies; Awad Sagheer Al Kitbi, Assistant Undersecretary for Institutional and Supporting Services; directors of the departments and visitors.  The open day was organised in view of World Heart Day which is observed tomorrow under the theme ‘One world, one home, one heart’. Dr Fikri said the open day comes as part of the health awareness activities and events conducted by the ministry to disseminate the importance of regular tests and at the same time avoid unhealthy habits. He also noted that World Heart Day is an annual tradition to assist all health sectors highlight different health problems especially those related to the heart diseases and make greater efforts in maintaining the health of individuals and communities. He said: “The theme of the ceremony this year ensures the necessity of applying various health guidelines at home to guarantee the availability of a healthy heart in a healthy home, prevent smoking at home, provide healthy meals and encourage family individuals to practise physical activities”. The open day was also attended by the employees of the ministry and customer services clients. Each year, the ministry of health highlights the dangers of heart and blood vessel diseases by organising a number of activities and programmes represented by the health education and promotion department. These activities highlight the dangers of heart diseases, strokes, high blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose standards, smoking, unhealthy meals, overweight and obesity and less physical activities. The health education and promotion department will organise a similar campaign in cooperation with public and private organisations in various shopping malls and public areas during World Heart Day.