Manipal Hospitals Unveil’s 'Guardians of Heart' Teachers Campaign On World Heart Day

Manipal Hospitals, India’s leading healthcare provider today announced the launch of its World Heart Day campaign “Guardians of Heart” in Bengaluru. A unique collaboration of two signature days in September, World Heart Day and Teachers Day, the campaign aims at creating 25000 ‘Heart Smart Teachers’ to create awareness on Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) among younger generation. The corporate campaign will be rolled across various centres of Manipal i.e. Vijayawada, Mangalore, Goa, Jaipur and Dwarka ( New Delhi).

This unique crusader was unveiled by T N Seetharam, Kannada Film & TV Actor, Director, Producer  in the presence of Dr. Sudarshan Ballal, Chairman, Manipal Hospitals.

India is diabetic capital of the world and we are steadily progressing towards becoming the capital of heart diseases as well. The disease needs to be  handled at grassroot level and education & awareness needs to be created amongst the younger generation. Hence, to connect the dots, Manipal aims to explore possibility of changes that teachers can bring about in students, who in turn can pass the message to their families.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Sudarshan Ballal, Chairman, Manipal Hospitals said, “The burden of heart disease is increasing leaps and bounds world over and India is no exception. Most heart diseases are not formed inside our body like tumors but are a result of our lifestyle. Research has shown that diet, exercise, prevention of active & passive smoking, lifestyle modification can prevent the disease from being life threatening. Via this campaign, we want to encourage preventative care at a young age itself.”

“Heart smart teachers will spread healthy heart concepts to kids who in turn will educate their parents and the chain reaction of Heart Smart Teachers - Healthy Kids - Healthy Family - Healthy Nation can be achieved,” he added.

Heart disease can be reduced by Educating, Inspiring, Motivating and Regular checkups.  Under the Guardians of Heart campaign, a comprehensive health programme will be conducted to make this campaign a success. Heart Smart passes and family health cards will be distributed. Every last Saturday, Teachers would be attending educative workshops and Manipal will facilitate unique series of candid interactions with Cardiac super specialists who will be educating Teachers about various heart medical emergencies faced and how best it can be addressed. Culmination of this program will take place on Feb 1, 2019 on National Red Day where 25000 teachers will avail the certificate to become Heart Smart. 

Speaking on the occasion, T N Seetharam, Kannada Film & TV Actor, Director, Producer said, “I congratulate Manipal Hospitals for ideating such a noble and thoughtful initiative which will help society at a larger level. Students are our future and teachers play a pivotal role in student’s life and their support is imperative in building a healthy new generation. Prevention is always better than cure and when teachers are ‘Heart Smart’ students will definitely be motivated towards adopting a healthy lifestyle. I wish them all the very best in this endeavour and I am confident that this campaign will impact the lives of younger generation positively.”

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Devananda N S ,  HOD & Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon said, “Students have an impressionable mind and since they spend most of their time in school, teachers can create everlasting impact. Children must know the consequences of heart diseases and teachers can act as evangelists in making kids aware and conscious. This collaboration will also benefit parents and society in general.”

Dr. Ranjan Shetty, HOD, Department of Cardiology, “Heart disease is the biggest killer in the world and India. Current projections suggest that India is witnessing the largest cardiovascular disease burden and occurs 10 to 15 years earlier than the west,  which has an average of 25 to 35. One fifth of the deaths in India are from coronary heart disease and by 2020, it will account for one third of all deaths. Adopting healthy lifestyle and regular exercise is the key towards maintaining balanced health and healthy heart.”