February is here and for those of you that are romantic you will be thinking of Valentine’s day but February is also Heart Awareness Month around the world. Countries have developed campaigns to raise awareness of the dangers of heart disease and the importance of adopting healthier lifestyles.
Heart disease is a non-communicable condition that comes under the umbrella of Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) and in 2016 CVD was responsible for 17.9 million deaths worldwide; that is 31% of all global deaths, of these 85% were due to heart attack and stroke. This figure is high and the number of deaths could be reduced by changing lifestyle habits and recognising the risk factors. The World Health Organisation (WHO) have identified interventions aimed at altering individual risk behaviour, that can be easily implemented and globally they are promoting and supporting campaigns to increase physical activity and encourage people to stop smoking and limit alcohol consumption.
Physiopedia recognises Heart Awareness month and is committed to providing up to date information for physiotherapists to improve knowledge and highlight different approaches to assessment and treatment. So, this month take some time to explore the Cardiovascular Category on Physiopedia, it has information on everything you need to know conditions, assessment, treatment, interventions and outcome measures plus a few more.
For those of you who want to learn more about physical fitness and find new ways to encourage clients to get more active why not sign up for the new short course Physical Activity Programme on Physiopedia Plus, which explores the benefits of physical activity and the role of the physiotherapy profession.