The Tribune

By ALESHA CADET

Tribune Features Reporter

acadet@tribunemedia.net

HUNDREDS of Bahamians visited the centre court at the Town Centre Mall last Thursday to participate in screenings offered at the Bahamas Heart Association’s annual health fair.

The event was hosted at the close of Heart Month to educate the public and create an awareness about general health, and specifically heart health.

It was an opportunity for people to get tested for things such as cholesterol, glucose level, HIV etc. It was also an opportunity to meet pharmaceutical distributors, obtain information about heart related diseases and learn about alternative care and treatments.

Booths present at the event included the Bahamas Heart Association, the National Drug Council, Lowe’s Pharmacy, the Cancer Association of the Bahamas, the Nurses Association of the Bahamas, Symmetry, the Diabetes Association, Healthy Life Style, Thompson’s Trading, UNIFY, Owen Burrows, the HIV/AIDS Programme, Doctors Hospital and the D’Albenas Agency.

Thelma Johnson, president of the Bahamas Heart Association, told Tribune Health that they were happy to host the event.

She encouraged the public to become educated about their health, in particular heart health, as the Heart Association is here to create more awareness about heart disease.

“We can provide presentations/lectures to schools and work places. We welcome the public to become a part of the Bahamas Heart Association. Your support helps not only you, but also a child in need of heart care. We thank everyone who has supported and joined us,” said Ms Johnson.
At the health fair, Ms Johnson encouraged attendees to take part in the free health screenings. She said people also walked in with the aim of looking for information that she was happy to provide.

“We do this because heart disease is the number one killer, and unless our people know this, their life span can be very short. Our main objective is to educate our people about heart disease and preventative care,” she said.

Ms Johnson said heart disease in Bahamians is usually the result of bad eating habits and the way they take care of their bodies.

“Our eating habits here in the Bahamas are bad because we eat lots of greasy foods. Our foods have to be highly seasoned, our sugar intake is high and those that partake in drinking alcoholic beverages, that is high as well,” she said.
“What our people have to do is cut out the salt intake, cut out the sugar, eat lots of fruits and vegetables, drink water and get plenty of exercise. If we do that we can survive,” said Ms Johnson.

She said the goal is to keep educating the Bahamian public, starting with the children.

“If we start with the children, teaching and telling them how to take care of their bodies, they will know the right thing to do. Our aim is to go out and educate our people in the form of many events,” said Ms Johnson.

Sponsors for this event were Aquapure, Town Centre Mall, Fashion Hall, Doctors Hospital, Thompson’s Trading and D’Albenas Agency.