Celebrate this World Heart Day with Workplace Wellness

Heart Insure – A novel Concept
 Heart disease is the number one cause of death globally. By 2015, almost 20 million people will die from cardiovascular diseases, mainly from heart disease and stroke, estimates the World Health Organization.  At least 80% of premature deaths from heart disease and stroke could be avoided through a healthy diet and other wise lifestyle choices. Millions of productive life-years are lost annually, posing significant threats to the vitality of our highly-interdependent global system, especially in the context of the current financial crisis.
Businesses around the world, as well as leading organizations such as the World Health Organization and the World Economic Forum have recognized the importance of employee health to achieve core business objectives. This is why World Heart Day 2009 is calling on everyone to “Work with Heart” – encouraging you to make small changes that together could make a big difference in favor of greater health and productivity. World Heart Day was created to inform people around the globe that heart disease and stroke are the world’s leading cause of death, claiming 17.2 million lives each year. It will be held on Sunday, 27 September 2009.
Almost half of those who die from chronic diseases are in their productive years. The economic consequences - driven by productivity reduction and increase in costs caused by these diseases among workforces - are dramatic. The WHO estimates that between 2005-2015 income loss (in international dollars) could rise to as much as $558 billion in China, $237 billion in India, $303 billion in Russia and $33 billion in the UK.
Countries such as Brazil, China, Russia and India currently lose more than 20 million productive life-years annually to chronic disease, and that number is expected to grow 65% by 2030. The losses in productivity associated with those diseases like disability, unplanned absences and increased accidents are as much as 400% more than the cost of treatment.
"Most people spend about 60 percent of their waking hours at work, so healthy choices in the workplace are critical for overall wellness," says Dr R. S. Venkatesulu, Managing Director& CEO, Consultant Cardiologist, Sarvodaya Hospital.
 "A diet low in saturated fat and rich in fruits and vegetables combined with regular physical activity can lower the risk of heart disease," he added.
Why “Work with heart”
When it comes to thinking about the things that we do that affect our health – like what we eat, how physically active we are, and whether we consume tobacco – it makes sense to think about the way that our workplaces affect our behavior.
1. Save lives. Almost half of those who die from chronic diseases, including heart disease and stroke, are in the productive period of their lives – between 15 and 69 years old. Yet many of the causes of these diseases – tobacco, unhealthy diet, or not being physically active – are factors we can control.
2. Increase personal well-being. Employees engaged in physical activity have greater enjoyment of their work, increased concentration and mental alertness, and better rapport with colleagues. Activity stimulates endorphins, nature’s natural mood boosters, giving you plenty of enthusiasm for your leisure when you’ve finished work. Staying active while you cope with life’s ups and downs relaxes the mind and body, and helps to reduce the build-up of tension.
3. Enjoy social benefits. Activities in groups, with colleagues, clubs or leisure centers, are great for meeting people outside your usual team and expanding your network of friends. Feeling healthy and developing new skills builds confidence and can help you feel more in control of your life.
4. Economic payback. A healthy workforce can contribute to the health of a business in many ways – even in times of economic slow-down. Benefits include:

• increased productivity
• reduced absenteeism rates – up to 20% fewer days lost
• lower medical costs (for both employers and employees)
• fewer workplace injuries
• a positive corporate image
• improved morale and loyalty
• enhanced staff retention

Promoting physical activity and healthy eating, and discouraging smoking and other forms of tobacco use in and around the workplace can be simple and inexpensive.
Heart-smart tips for Workplace Wellness:-

• Eat Right - Eat at least five servings of fruit and vegetables a day. Make smart choices, like choosing the “healthy menu” in your canteen or bringing your own food from home.
• Use less salt and avoid processed foods – Try to limit your salt intake to about a teaspoon per day. Be wary of processed foods, which often contain high levels of salt. Weight loss, especially together with lowered salt intake, leads to lower blood pressure. High blood pressure is the number one risk factor for stroke and a major factor for approximately half of all heart disease and stroke.
• Stepping Away from Desk is not too bad– Even 30 minutes of activity can help to prevent heart attacks and strokes and your work will benefit too. No matter how busy your day, head outside for lunch or take a short break in the kitchen or cafeteria. You'll be ore satisfied and recharged after paying attention to your food instead of your e-mail. Plus, your work area will stay cleaner. Take the stairs, go for a walk during your break, or get off the bus a couple of stops earlier and walk the rest of the way.
• Know your Risks – Visit a health-care professional to check your blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels, together with waist-to-hip ratio and Body Mass Index. Once you know your overall risk, you can develop a specific plan of action to improve your heart health.
• Break For Water, Not Coffee - The human body loses about 10 cups of water during daily activity, so it's important to replenish. The AHA recommends drinking six to eight glasses of water per day to stay hydrated.
• Say no to tobacco – Your risk of coronary heart disease will be halved within a year and will return to a normal level over time.
• Laugh For Life - Minimizing stress is important for wellness and laughter is the best medicine. Crack jokes with your co-workers - whatever it takes to ease deadlines.

Novel Concept of Heart Insure - A need for patients Post-Angioplasty
Heart disease is a progressive disease & even after effective treatment strategies, the risk of progression can be minimized only by bringing changes in one’s lifestyle through an appropriate diet regimen, regular exercise, avoiding discontinuation of medicines & periodic monitoring of blood pressure. Since every individual is not habitual to such a lifestyle, there is a dire need for a team who can continuously manage this for a post angioplasty patient.
For patients post-angioplasty, the risk can only and only be minimized by bringing changes in the life styles otherwise the disease may aggravate post angioplasty. An appropriate diet regimen, regular exercise, avoiding discontinuation of medicines, periodic monitoring of blood pressure, cholesterol & glucose is the only requirement for a post angioplasty patient.
Heart Insure program mainly aims at enrolling a post-angioplasty patient for a 3 year health monitoring & disease management strategy. Here patients are provided with tools to help identify and reduce their CVD (cardio vascular disease) risks & what steps they can take to reduce this risk. The HIP has sought to use technologies such as the internet, social media & personal health records to make information and learning tools more available, portable, and engaging. In specific, HIP aims at
1. Disease Management
2. Personal Health Records
3. Specific Patient Education Tools
4. General Health & CVD Awareness
The Heart Insure team takes the responsibility of doing a 3 year compliance monitoring of the patient & seeing whether they are taking their medicines in time, whether they are maintaining their health, etc by sending out regular SMS’ to the patients & making live calls to them. Patients are also sent a disease management kit available in local Indian languages containing information on heart disease, healthier eating, the importance to physical exercise, and suggestions for reducing stress in their lives.
The Heart Insure team does not stop here but in any event of repeat procedure in the duration of 3 years they reimburse some amount and one drug eluting stunt free of cost for PCI to the patient.
“We as doctors appreciate this noble act and wish the Heart Insure team to be successful in their project not only at national level but also at international level as it is a dire need for every patient in the world to have such close care control,” says Dr R. S. Venkatesulu.
Patients can also log on to the Heart Insure website, www.heartinsure.com which provides access to their information & the list of medications they currently need.
By giving individuals a newfound ability to understand their risk factors, view and control their health records and monitor & improve their health, HIP is at the forefront of a new revolution in healthcare where it aims at engaging the patients in creating a healthy lifestyle & making them active partners with their healthcare providers.
For more information please contact: 23144735, 38 & 39, Eamil: gkjeevanihealthcare.com
Or drop in @ 11/2, Magadi Main Road, Agrahara Dasarahalli, Bangalroe-79