27 June 2015

Yaduna Pleas the Inclusion of Cardio-Vascular Prevention Culture 

The Ministry of Public Health and Yaduna launch the ‘National Committee for Women Heart Disease Prevention’

June 27, 2015  : To renew and intensify the public health action targeting the prevention of women heart diseases, Yaduna, the Women Heart Health Center organized its first forum to demand the inclusion of women cardio-vascular prevention culture in the Lebanese health policies. The forum was headed by the President of Yaduna Mrs. Wafaa Sleiman, with the support of Health Minister Wael Aabou Faour and was attended by a number of current and former Ministers and Deputies, along with officials from women NGOS, health institutions, local authorities (municipalities), social and media figures.

The forum moderator Ricardo Karam, announced the launching of the national committee that will be responsible of the yearly campaigns and initiatives with an aim to reinforce the prevention core message that educates women on the importance of cardio-vascular screening testsز

Marking Yaduna’s and the Women Heart Health Center’s pioneering role, in fighting women heart diseases, Mrs. Sleiman stressed on the importance of encouraging women to take care of their hearts, and increasing the attention of medical professionals on cardiovascular diseases among women as well as prompting governments and policy-makers to bring this topic high on their health agenda: "Our initiative faced major obstacles that slowed down the execution of our program, namely, insurance companies do not cover preventive healthcare services, women do not consider prevention as important in addition to the absence of national awareness campaigns endorsed by the governmental institutions and the lack of financial support".

In turn, the Minister of Health Mr. Wael Abou Faour stated: “The establishment of a National Committee for cardiovascular Disease Prevention  is a top priority for the Ministry of Public Health and is aligned with our plans  to integrate non-communicable diseases within the primary health care services.”

The forum was divided into two discussion panels, both emphasizing on the importance of screening tests for women starting the age of 45, and the social and economic impacts of the prevention campaign, while urging the governmental institutions to incorporate a culture of prevention from heart diseases in their health policies.

The Women Heart Health Center strives to improve the treatment of cardiovascular diseases in women and reduce the burden of the diseases through awareness and prevention programs, early diagnosis and initial treatment. WHHC’s goals could only be achieved through the collaboration with The American University of Beirut Faculty of Medicine & Medical Center (AUBMC/FM) and Saint Joseph University Faculty of Medicine (USJ/FM). 

It is worth mentioning that the cardiovascular diseases are the number one cause of death among women in the world. In fact, 56% of deaths among women are due to cardiovascular diseases while 64% of them did not appear to have any symptoms. Cardiovascular tests are crucial for women above the age of 45, and are all performed at the Women’s Heart Health Centre in collaboration with eminent cardiologists regardless of the women’s social background, as the center is run by Yaduna, a not-for-profit foundation.