Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am glad to participate in this year’s World Heart Day celebrations. I wish to first of all extend my sincere compliments to the World Heart Federation for the role it has continued to play in containing cardiovascular disorders.

May I also register my appreciation of the good work that the Kenya Cardiac Society continues to do in addressing the problem of heart disease in Kenya. Through the promotion of healthy lifestyles and dissemination of knowledge regarding the preventive and curative aspects of heart disease, the Kenya Cardiac Society has contributed significantly to the reduction of heart disease in the country.

I also take this opportunity to thank all of you for taking time out to participate in these celebrations. Your presence here is not only an indication of your concern about your health as individuals. It is also an expression of solidarity in the fight against heart disease, which has continued to be a leading killer in the modern world.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Although many cardiovascular diseases can be treated or prevented, an estimated 17 million people die of these diseases each year. While women are at greater risk of heart disease, children and adolescents are increasingly becoming more vulnerable. I am, therefore, pleased to note that this year’s World Heart Day focuses on Children, Adolescents and Heart Disease. This is encouraging because changing lifestyles have exposed children and adolescents to a higher risk of developing heart problems.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The key to eliminating the problem of heart disease is to address its root causes. In this regard, the causes of heart disease are well known and some are very easy to eliminate. They include use of tobacco, physical inactivity, poor nutrition, high blood pressure, diabetes and high blood cholesterol.

The use of tobacco in particular is a major cause of heart disease. It is estimated that 5 million deaths that occur each year are tobacco related. The tragedy of tobacco smoking is that it is increasingly affecting young people. Globally, nearly 25 per cent of all students smoke. Perhaps more worrying, almost half of all the children worldwide are subjected to passive smoke as they live in the home of a smoker. Children who are regularly exposed to second-hand smoke involuntarily suffer from many diseases of active smokers. Such children have a 25 per cent increased risk of developing heart diseases and an 80 per cent increased risk of suffering a stroke.

Any serious effort at addressing heart diseases must, therefore, pay due attention to the use of tobacco. I am glad to note that in June this year, Kenya became the third country in Africa to ratify the World Health Organisation Treaty on tobacco control. This is an important move as it has set the stage for the tabling in Parliament of the Tobacco Control Bill.

I urge parliamentarians to resist any lobbying by cigarette manufacturers and speedily pass the Bill in the interests of the health of our people. I also urge the Ministry of Health to gazette smoking regulations and to enact the tobacco regulatory Bill. I also appeal to teachers to spare no efforts in fighting smoking among students. Teachers who smoke should quit the habit as they are setting a bad example.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Physical inactivity is also a cause of heart disease. Regular physical activity reduces people’s risk for heart attack, high blood pressure and stroke among other diseases. As health experts have stressed, physical activity does not have to be strenuous to be beneficial. Indeed, people of all ages can benefit from as moderate a physical activity as a 30 minutes of brisk walking five or more times in a week. It is, therefore, important that people are educated on the need for regular physical exercises.

Poor nutrition, especially the consumption of diets rich in fats, also exposes people to the risk of heart disease. In Kenya, as in other countries, it has been noted that children and adolescents are increasingly adopting unhealthy feeding habits. This is perhaps best exemplified by the high preference for fast foods among our young people. Measures, therefore, need to be taken to protect our people from risk of heart disease by teaching them healthy eating habits and limiting their exposure to unhealthy food. I encourage the young and the old alike to have balanced diets, to exercise regularly. I also urge Kenyans to ensure they undergo regular cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar level check-ups.

In conclusion, it merits mention that Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) remains the only option for most heart patients in Kenya. This is because the hospital is subsidized by the exchequer and its services are, therefore, more affordable. Considering the high incidence of heart problems, it is imperative to increase facilities handling heart cases in the country. Moreover, there is need to modernize and expand the Kenyatta heart unit. There is also need to increase the number of doctors in order to cope with the number of patients seeking heart services. I challenge the government, the private sector and non-governmental organizations to facilitate training of cardiac professionals and to spread heart services across the country.

With these remarks, it is now my pleasure to flag off the World Heart Day walk.

Thank You