Media Centre

 

“Heart disease mainly affects men.” “I’m too young to have heart problems.” “I don’t have any symptoms of cardiovascular disease.” There are several myths about heart disease, which makes it the leading cause of death around the world.

City Centres in the Northern Emirates, the Matajer neighbourhood malls in Sharjah and My City Centre Al Dhait are encouraging residents and tourists to take charge of their heart health with complimentary screenings for women on dedicated days at each mall all through September and October. The next set of screenings are scheduled at City Centre Sharjah (September 27-29), Matajer Al Juraina (October 4-6), Matajer Al Mirgab (October 11-13) and My City Centre Al Dhait (October 21-23)

The screenings are part of Majid Al Futtaim’s annual cardio-health awareness campaign ‘Feel the Beat’ in all its shopping malls in the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Lebanon and Oman. Now in its 10^th year, the education campaign is in collaboration with the American Heart Association, the world’s leading voluntary organisation dedicated to building healthier lives, free of cardiovascular disease and stroke, along with the Emirates Cardiac Society. It aims to shed light of the misconceptions surrounding heart health, promote a healthy lifestyle and encourage the public to get regular check-ups, especially among women.  

The malls have allocated areas to host professionals from Dubai Health Authority and Zulekha Hospital who will administer complimentary cardio-health screening and conduct screening for women. At each designated location, visitors will be able to check their Blood Pressure, Blood Sugar and Body Mass Index (BMI) to determine if they are at risk of heart diseases and if they would require a follow-up consultation for further analysis.

According to a Nielsen study of women in the GCC, the top two health concerns were high-cholesterol levels and being overweight, both of which are risk factors for heart diseases. Despite heart diseases being the leading cause of deaths in the region, the perception of risk is low and warning signs are often ignored.

Visitors of malls in the UAE including Mall of the Emirates, City Centre Deira, City Centre Mirdif, City Centre Me’aisem, City Centre Al Shindagha, My City Centre Al Barsha, City Centre Ajman, City Centre Fujairah, City Centre Sharjah, My City Centre Nasseriya, My City Centre Al Dhait, Matajer Al Juraina and Matajer Al Mirgab; City Centre Muscat, City Centre Qurum and my City Centre Sur in Oman ; City Centre Bahrain in Bahrain; Mall of Egypt, and City Centre Beirut in Lebanon will be able to avail complimentary  screening by healthcare professionals on site.