BAPS Charities in collaboration with the Radha Krishna Mandir organised a Healthy Heart Workshop at the Gandhi Hall in Manchester on April 26.
The workshop provided valuable information on diet, exercise, symptoms and signs of heart disease. An added benefit at the event was Blood Pressure awareness and screening provided by health professionals. Almost 30 people took advantage of the screening and advice offered by volunteers from BAPS Charities and Kapoor Pharmacies.
High blood pressure – also called ‘hypertension’ – is when your blood pressure is constantly higher than the recommended level. If you are of a South Asian background, you may be more likely to have high blood pressure. High blood pressure can increase your risk of having a heart attack or a stroke.
“Heart disease is a major issue in the Indian community. Providing information and advice in a community venue increases the chances of raising awareness. The fact that our volunteers are able to speak to enquiries in Hindi or Gujarati makes people feel at ease and willing to take part,” said Jagruti Vaidya, a BAPS Charities volunteer.
Earlier in the month, the health volunteers had provided a similar workshop as part of the BAPS Charities Annual 10K Challenge.
The event hosted at the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Ashton was organised for individuals to unite as a community to support a worthy cause. One of the beneficiaries of this event was The British Heart Foundation, and so the Healthy Heart Workshops perfectly complemented the event.
Pharmacist Maneet Kapoor said “I’m very happy with how the workshops have gone. This joint working is great; it benefits the community and we reached out to about 100 people during the two-day event.”
BAPS Charities volunteer Sunil Mistry explained: “This year’s event continues to build on last year’s health workshops where Diabetes Awareness was the targeted health issue. We are really pleased with the support received, and look forward to organising future events.”