Sea-to-Everest expedition to protect the heart

HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE

KATHMANDU: The Nepal Heart Foundation is embarking on a global expedition against heart diseases titled Save Heart Expedition (SHE)-2013 from the sea-level of Bangladesh to the top of Mount Everest on March 1-May 15 next year to raise awareness on the killer diseases.

A Nepali team under senior cardiologist Dr Prakash Raj Regmi plans to reach the sea level in Bangladesh on March 1. Dr Regmi will lead the team up to the Everest base camp. A separate team with mountaineer Speed Kaji Sherpa as the leader and Pasang Sherpa, Kami Sherpa, Lakpa Sherpa and Dr Nima Namgyal Sherpa as members plans to make it atop the world’s tallest peak by May 15. Dr Regmi said at a press conference today the project, which has an estimated budget of $2 lakh, aims to raise awareness on heart diseases worldwide and enable people living in different altitude levels across the world to change their lifestyle to healthier side in a bid to protect themselves from number-one killer diseases. He informed that two separate teams from Bangladesh and Nepal will meet at a mutually-agreed point in Nepal and move ahead together to Solukhumbu and proceed to the Everest.

He said an altitudinal geographical coverage of the expedition will encompass a wide range of social as well as geographical diversities.

Dr Regmi said the expedition will have about 25 people, including heart specialists, medical practitioners, mountaineers, health educators and development professionals. He said the team will carry a flag with seven important messages related to heart disease — treat throat infection in children, stop smoking and tobacco use, eat food low in salt, fat, sugar and high in fibre, exercise regularly, know your numbers, treat hypertension and diabetes early and control your emotions. Mountaineer Speed Kaji said the team will hold advocacy meetings at different places with line agencies and other health service providers to raise awareness on the causes of heart ailments and preventive measures as part of the project.

According to the World Health Organisation, over 80 per cent of deaths related to heart diseases occur in low and middle income countries. By 2030, almost 23.6 million people will die from heart diseases, while in 2008, the diseases claimed 17.3 million people.