Wockhardt Hospitals unveils initiative on Women and Heart Disease Awareness

February 6, 2009

Wockhardt Hospitals unveils initiative on "Women and Heart Disease Awareness" and launches a Heart Guide

Wockhardt Hospitals today unveiled the "Women & Heart" initiative as part of the National Wear Red Day - a day dedicated to creating increased awareness around heart diseases in Women. As part of the initiative Wockhardt Hospitals also launched a special heart booklet - "Heart to Heart: A Guide to understanding Women’s Heart disease". The booklet was launched an accomplished sports personality Ashwini Nachappa.

Through this initiative Wockhardt Hospitals’ aims to create increased awareness of Women and Heart Disease and make the society aware that woman are equally susceptible to heart diseases as men are. Wockhardt Hospitals in association with National, Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) is promoting Feb 6th as the National Wear Red Day in the country where everyone is urged to wear red and show their support for the cause.

Addressing the press conference Mr. Vishal Bali, Chief Executive Officer, Wockhardt Hospitals said, "Through the "Women & Heart" initiative Wockhardt Hospitals hopes to educate women and make them aware of the need to be heart smart. This is for the first time in India a hospital has taken an initiative to promote a cause on women’s heart disease in a sustained manner. Unveiling the initiative Mr. Bali also added, "Lack of awareness is the primary cause of the alarming increase in the number of women suffering from heart diseases in our country and it is precisely this awareness that we intend to create over the next few months."

Speaking at the occasion Dr. P Ranganath Nayak, Consultant Cardiologist, Wockhardt Hospitals said, "Heart disease is the leading cause of death and disability among women in the world. Prevention is the best way to tackle this menace. In this regard, spreading awareness about heart disease among women is of utmost importance and is the need of the hour."

Presenting a talk on Women & Heart, Dr. Nagraj Desai, Consultant Cardiologist, Wockhardt Hospitals said, "India is facing major health challenges due to drastic change in lifestyle and economic development. Coronary Artery Diseases in women has increased phenomenally in the last 20 years whereas there is a huge decline in the west due to aggressive modification of lifestyle habits. Statistics reveals Indians overall run the highest risk for heart diseases. Few simple lifestyle changes can substantially reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke."

According to Dr. Sugandhi Gopal, Consultant Cardiologist, Wockhardt Hospitals, "Cardiac disorder symptoms in Women are fewer than men hence diagnosis many a times is delayed due to late detection of the symptoms. Another reason for late diagnosis of heart disease in women is the peculiar manifestation of the symptoms. Timely diagnosis is only possible if all women are sufficiently aware of the risk factors. Women can significantly reduce their risk of heart disease if they have the information they need and know the questions to ask their health care providers."

Wockhardt Hospitals intends to take this initiative at a national level and several partnerships are on the anvil to give this initiative the desired visibility.

About National Wear Red Day:

National Wear Red Day originated in US and was launched by National, Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institute of Health (NIH) U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), in partnership with: The American Heart Association; Office on Women's Health, DHHS; Women Heart: the National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease; and other groups committed to the health and well-being of women. The objective of this campaign is to remind every woman that they need to protect their heart’s health. In keeping with the occasion all attendees at the press conference symbolically wore some form of red attire to show solidarity for the movement.

Cost estimate for surgery overseas

Source: Free Press Release