The city of Makati today joins 94 countries in the global celebration of “World Heart Day 2004” with a huge assembly of residents, students, local and national government officials and workers, heart specialists, diplomats, and members of the pharmaceutical industry converging at Tower One of the Philippine Stock Exchange Plaza on Ayala Avenue, Makati.
Over 2,000 participants are expected to witness the highlight of the festivities which is the signing of a “Joint Declaration Towards the Achievement of a Healthy Makati City” by Makati Mayor Jejomar C. Binay, Health Secretary Manuel M. Dayrit, Dr. Norbert Lingling D. Uy, president of the Philippine Heart Association (PHA); Dr. Francisco G. Dizon, president of the Heart Foundation of the Philippines; and Dr. Jean-Marc Olivé, representative of the World Health Organization.
To make way for this important event, the city government, through the Makati Public Safety Department (formerly MAPSA), closed the Ayala Triangle to traffic from 6 a.m. to 12 noon. The focal venue has been provided by the Ayala Land Inc., led by president Jaime Ayala, in support of the city’s health initiatives.
This year’s World Heart Day celebration has the theme “Children, Adolescents, and Heart Disease.”
The theme aims to raise public awareness, especially of parents, about the importance of developing healthful eating and lifestyle habits early in life to effectively curb the growing prevalence of heart-related ailments among children and adolescents worldwide.
The PHA, which has led the local activities for this annual event for the past two years, has chosen Makati to host it this year in recognition of the pioneering efforts of its local leaders towards promoting the health of its constituencies, particularly the effective city-wide implementation of its anti-smoking ordinance.
Leading pediatric cardiologists have identified exposure to second-hand tobacco or cigarette smoke to be a major factor that increases a child’s risk of developing heart disease, aside from obesity and lack of exercise.
Capping the event is the opening of a heart fair that features booth exhibits of some 22 participating companies, mostly from the pharmaceutical industry, offering to the public free screening services such as blood pressure, blood sugar, lipid screening, body mass index, and bone density, among others, for risk factors of cardiovascular diseases.
