World Heart Day 2024: A global call to heart health with the theme ‘Use Heart for Action’
Every year on September 29, the World Heart Federation launches the World Heart Day campaign. Its objective is to raise public awareness of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), the leading cause of mortality worldwide, by emphasizing the importance of heart health and motivating individuals, groups, and institutions to take steps to reduce the risk of heart-related problems.
In an effort to raise awareness and inspire global action against cardiovascular diseases, the World Heart Federation and the World Health Organization began to recognize World Heart Day together in 2000. September 24, 2000, was the first day of observation. Up until 2011, the event took place on the final Sunday in September each year.
The year's theme ‘Use Heart for Action’ which emphasizes using the right tools to manage and prevent cardiovascular illnesses. Being aware of concerns including high blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, and obesity can help one take charge of their life.
Here’s how you can protect your heart:
1. Healthy Diet: A healthy diet consists of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains with less saturated fats, salt, and sugar, which can reduce the risk of CVD to a great extent.
2. The most crucial measure is regular physical activity. Performing moderate exercise for at least 30 minutes a day keeps the heart active and healthy and improves circulation.
3. Smoking Cessation Tobacco smoking is a leading cause of heart diseases. Smoking cessation benefits heart health and wellness.
4. Management of Stress: There is much concerning the impacts of excessive stress on an individual's lifestyle. Other habits related to excessive stress include overeating, lack of exercise, and adding to heart conditions. Meditation, yoga, and mindfulness will be beneficial in this aspect.
5. Regular checkups: Regular checkup of blood pressure, cholesterol, and glucose levels and other examinations that may be relevant have been crucial in identifying possible heart conditions when treated in time.
The practice of maintaining a healthy heart is symbolized by World Heart Day. The government should introduce more laws that promote a healthy environment. Some of these laws could include accessibility and availability of healthcare services, safety in places where people may exercise, and more affordable healthcare. Communities could organize cardiovascular awareness events, free health screenings, and related awareness campaigns to achieve this goal.
While communities and governments can have a significant impact, each person's sphere of influence has some responsibility as well. Making small changes to one's diet or using the stairs instead of an elevator can have a positive impact on one's heart health.
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iPhone lands in temple hundial, everything in offering box goes into god’s account: TN Minister
Chennai, Dec 21: A devotee who has accidently dropped his iPhone into the hundial of a temple here is in a peculiar situation. He wants it back, but the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments department politely declined his request, saying it has now become temple property.
Immediately after realising his mistake, the devotee later identified as Dinesh, approached the officials of the Sri Kandaswamy temple, Thiruporur, and pleaded that his iPhone which inadvertently fell into the offering box when he was making a donation be returned to him.
On Friday, after opening the offering box, the temple administration contacted him saying the gadget was found in the hundial and he was free to retrieve only the data from it. However, Dinesh refused to accept and insisted that his phone be returned to him.
When this issue was taken to the notice of the HR & CE Minister P K Sekar Babu on Saturday he replied “anything that is deposited into the offering box, even if it be an arbitrary action, goes into god’s account.”
“As per the practises and tradition at the temples, any offerings made into the hundial directly goes into the account of the deity of that temple. Rules do not permit the administration to return the offerings back to the devotees,” Babu told reporters here.
He would discuss with the department officials to see if there was any possibility to compensate the devotee and accordingly make a decision, the Minister said after inspecting the construction of the Arulmigu Mariamman temple in Madhavaram, here, and the renovation of temple tank belonging to the Arulmigu Kailasanathar temple in Venugopal Nagar, here at an estimated cost of Rs 2.5 crore.
This incident is not the first such one in the state. According to a senior HR & CE official a devotee S Sangeetha from Alappuzha in Kerala unwittingly dropped her 1.75 sovereign gold chain into the hundial of the renowned Sri Dhandayuthapani Swamy temple in Palani in May 2023.
The gold chain fell into the hundial when she removed the Tulasi garland around her neck to make an offering. However, considering her financial background and after confirming through CCTV footages that the chain had fallen by accident, the chairman of the temple board of trustees bought a new gold chain of same value at his personal expense and gave it to her.
The official explained that as per the Installation, Safeguarding and Accounting of Hundial Rules, 1975, none of the offerings made into the hundials can be returned to the owner at any point, as they belonged to the temple.
