A historical turning point for CVD Prevention in Turkey
Prof. Recep Akdag (Turkish Minister Of Health)
EUROPEAN HEART HEALTH CHARTER SIGNED BY THE MINISTER AND 9 SPECIALTY SOCIETIES
The Signing Ceremony of the European Heart Health Charter by the Turkish Minister Of Health Prof. Dr. Recep Akdag, Chairman of the Health Commission of the Turkish Parliament Prof. Dr. Cevdet Erdol and the presidents and secretary generals of 9 specialty societies led by the Turkish Society of Cardiology was held on December 25, 2007 in Ankara. The signatory societies were the Turkish Society of Pediatric Cardiology, Turkish Society of Cardiovascular Surgery, Turkish Society of Hypertension and Nephrology, Turkish Society of Internal Medicine, Turkish Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Turkish Society of Neurology, Turkish Society of Medical Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation and Society of Rheumatism.
The presidents and secretary generals of the Union of Turkish Doctors and its Standing Committee for Coordination among the Specialty Societies were also invited together with a crowd of journalists.
Cetin Erol, Recep Akdag, Ali Oto, Erdogan Ilkay
Ministry developed the strategic plan and action plan based on the National Heart Health Policy
After the President of the Turkish Society of Cardiology Prof. Dr. Erol's presentation of the European Heart Health Charter and the activities held in reaching to it, Chief Executive Officer of the soceity Ahmet Unver provided concise information about the EuroHeart Health Project where TSC participates in all 5 modules it can join.
Prof. Cetin Erol (President of TSC)
Ahmet Unver (TSC CEO)
Prof. Recep Akdag (Turkish Minister Of Health)
Turkish Minister of Health Prof. Dr. Akdag stated that they determined the first three targets related with CVD Prevention as
Struggle against smoking,
Struggle against obesity by promoting healthy eating habits and
Promoting physical exercise.
Prof. Dr. Akdag announced in his speech that within the ministerial organization, a new department, Department for Health Promotion is established recently, under the General Directorate of Basic Health Services to handle and coordinate these activities.
The Minister stated that they already issued a decree on controlling smoking and the preparations on revising the Tobacco Act were completed with the consensus of all the parties in the parliament; the Act will be discussed and expected to be approved in January 2008.
Related with the second target, Prof. Akdag reminded that they launched the European Charter for Counteracting Obesity last year in Istanbul, Turkey together with the European Regional Office of the World Health Organization (WHO).
After the Minister's speech the signing ceremony was held.
Prof. Akdag (Ministry of Health)
Prof. Erol (Turkish Society of Cardiology)
Prof. Gurlek (Turkish Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism)
Prof. Arpacioglu (Turkish Society of Medical Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation)
Assoc. Prof. Arici (Turkish Society of Hypertension and Nephrology)
Prof. Durmaz (Turkish Society of Cardiovascular Surgery)
Assoc Prof. Ozturk (Turkish Society of Neurology)
Prof. Tutar (Turkish Society of Pediatric Cardiology)
A new era in the persistent and comprehensive action against CV diseases
In the second part of the program, Immediate Past President of the Turkish Society of Cardiology Prof. Dr. Ali Oto and Chairman of the Parliament Council on Health Prof. Dr. Cevdet Erdol -also a member of TSC- briefed the audience on the developments related with the National Heart Health Policy.
Prof. Oto
Prof. Erdol
Dr. Yardim
Dr. Nazan Yardım from the Public Health School of the Ministry made a comprehensive presentation on the recent document of the Ministry published for the ceremony and distributed to the audience. "Turkiye Kalp ve Damar Hastaliklarini Onleme ve Kontrol Programi-Risk Faktorlerine Yonelik Stratejik Plan ve Eylem Plani"(Turkish Program for CVD Prevention and Control - Strategic Plan and Action Plan against the Risk Factors) based on the studies carried out by all the departments of the Ministry and the "National Heart Health Policy Document" prepared under the leadership of TSC with the participation of the other specialty socities.
Among the Annexes of the document were
The European Heart Health Charter,
Luxembourg Declaration,
European Charter for Counteracting Obesity -signed last year in Istanbul, Turkey-
and the Action Plan of the CVD Prevention and Control Program.
The new initiative: Cardiovascular Risk Prevention Platform
Prof. Kozan
The final presentation was made by the Secretary General of the TSC Prof. Dr. Kozan on the recent initiative "Cardiovascular Risk Prevention Platform" started by the ministry and 5 societies led by Turkish Society of Cardiology. The platform carries on intensive tele-conference courses for the training of the primary care doctors -practitioners and family doctors besides the ongoing campaign "Mind your heart, you have your loved ones in it" designed for general audience calling people to take action against the risk of sudden death by adopting a heart-healthy way of living.
"Total CV Risk Management" is the main theme of the initiative. 6,000 doctors working for the Ministry of Health attended the teleconferences and training kits were sent to 25,000 primary care doctors.
The tv commercials reached to 30 million people. A special website was established for the campaign and already 150.000 visitors visited the site. There is also a "CV Risk Assessment Program" is provided at the website.
There were the journalists from all the Turkish national tv channels, newspapers, general audience and medical periodicals, health and news web portals.
In a single line, the ceremony was an enthusiastic and encouraging beginning for the application of the European Heart Health Charter.
"Çocuklarımızın kalpleri için Avrupa Kalp Sağlığı Sözleşmesini kabul ediyoruz"
