Douala: 10,000 people march against heart diseases

About 10,000 people marched against cardiovascular diseases to celebrate International Heart Day which fell on Tuesday, September 29, 2015.

The march was dubbed ‘10 kilometres for the heart’. The point of departure was at an area called Closed Circuit and ended at Vita in Douala.

This exercise, which was attended by nearly 10,000 people including several authorities, politicians and doctors, was organised to close the 3rd edition of "Heart Day", an initiative of the Cameroonian Society of Cardiology (CSC) with the support of the Eneo society of Cameroon.

This year, the theme was: "A healthy heart for all children, it’s possible." According to cardiologists, cardiac diseases affect both adults and children. In the latter, they can be as a result of poorly treated angina, high consumption of sweets and fatty foods, lack of physical exercise, consumption of alcohol and smoking or physical inactivity, explains.

To raise awareness about the causes and methods of prevention against these diseases in children, the Cameroonian Society of Cardiology organized a tour in several primary and nursery schools throughout Cameroon last week.

During the tour in classrooms of the establishments visited, health professionals conducted auscultation of each student to identify abnormal cases. "“When a symptom is detected, we send them to one of our colleagues in another room with an ultrasound device to examine the children."

"And when the cardiac ultrasound is performed and a defect is confirmed, we push our investigations further and we see how to provide support,” explained Dr. Armel Djomou, a cardiologist, deployed at the New Bell nursery and primary school Bassa. This professional organization has similarly increased awareness through media campaigns.

According to experts, hypertension affects about one out of three Cameroonians. “30% of Cameroonian adults suffer from hypertension. Today, we can say that cardiovascular diseases — heart attacks, stroke and diabetes are the leading cause of mortality in Cameroon. Currently, it is a situation which is quite alarming and that baffles us,” warned Dr. Armel Djomou.