A global initiative: SAAOL introduces social venture to eradicate heart diseases
By: Dr Bimal Chhajer
Over time, there has been a substantial and significant rise in the number of heart problems in India, with the numbers having almost doubled in the last decade even with state-of-the-art infrastructure and best-in-class treatment modules available all over the country.
With the aim of solving the root cause of these problems, Dr. Bimal Chhajer started SAAOL in 1995 in order to spread awareness about preventing heart diseases through small lifestyle changes and avoiding surgeries like bypass surgery or angioplasty.
SAAOL has made an impact all over the country in the last 28 years with several initiatives and ventures, but is now eyeing to go global with the help of a new social venture, an NGO, Punyya Life Foundation (PLF) to educate the masses about the importance of lifestyle changes in order to prevent heart diseases.
Considering the current way of life, it is easily predicted that many people will experience cardiac difficulties in the future. In order to address this, we aim to reach every region of the nation and raise awareness of the importance of heart health.
This will be accomplished by spreading our “Education Vaccine” by arranging Free Heart Health Camps throughout India, specifically targeting the economically underprivileged section, and offering them free checkups including Lipid profile, Blood Sugar, and BMI checks, real-time doctor’s consultations, dietary advice from our expert dieticians, and bone care from our physiotherapists.
Since its inception, the Punyya Life Foundation has held numerous camps, beginning in the South Delhi area that serves as the foundation’s registered office. It plans to eventually reach out to every village in the city and help those who are unable to accommodate the Rs. 1000–Rs. 1500 it costs to have these checkups done on their own.
By covering all districts and states, setting up numerous camps across the country, and educating the public about heart health, PLF does indeed have a tendency to cover the entire country. In order to achieve our long-term aim of eliminating heart disease from the country and the world by giving free education to everyone and preventing heart disease fatalities, we want to engage all corporations, social workers, philanthropists, and other NGOs in PLF.
Recently, heart attacks claimed the lives of several well-known and young people. Additionally, there is no guarantee that treating cardiovascular problems with bypass surgery and stents has entirely cured your condition.
One of the greatest comedians of all time, Raju Srivastava, experienced this and passed away from a heart attack. Raju had approximately nine stents put in, as well as angioplasty, but he still passed away from a huge heart attack, prompting the question, “Are these stents, angioplasty, and bypass surgeries really successful? Will these treatments help save lives? Will they be successful in the long run?
Stent and angioplasty treatments have been a huge failure. PLF firmly believes that leading a healthy lifestyle, staying away from fatty foods, and using non-invasive treatments to treat heart problems can help prevent the deaths of thousands of people from heart attacks and other cardiovascular diseases.
Not just Raju Srivastava, but also famous people like KK, Puneeth Rajkumar, Sidharth Shukla, and others perished from heart attacks. Stents and angioplasty were not the only factors leading to these deaths; there was also a lack of basic knowledge regarding heart care.
The need of the hour is to spread the “Education Vaccine”.
Under the banner of “Beat Heart Disease,” SAAOL, with the assistance of Punyya Life Foundation, aims to eradicate the root cause of heart disease. SAAOL will reach out to every region of India and the entire world to inform the public about heart disease and its prevention.
Along with physiotherapy, nutritional and lifestyle counseling and thorough information about preventing heart disease will be provided by licensed allopathic doctors as part of the intervention. Blood parameters are the basis for prescriptions and recommendations, and PLF will provide free ECG and other parameter examinations.
According to PLF, “Awareness and correct education is the key to living a long and healthy life”.
(The author is Director, SAAOL Heart Centre, New Delhi)
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