Written by Sofiya Shahiwala
The human body is the most evolved, complex and refined creature created by the Mother Earth. SciKnowTech as an initiative, attributing the World Heart Day, took the enthusiasm of the students to a new level by Continuing SciKnowTalk Series (in association with American Corner). That as the name itself implies, would be about engaging with an expert, understanding and exploring different aspects of scientific fields.
World Heart day is celebrated on the 29th of September every year. The expert called upon on this day was Dr. Sukumar Mehta, a senior Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeon with 34 years of experience and a pioneer of the CABG program. He has operated on about 15,000 hearts (and counting) with various symptoms and diseases and is attached to sterling hospitals in Gujarat.
Science remains to be the only reason due to which mankind has been able to reach the moon, literally and metaphorically. The human heart is just the size of a fist; however, it possesses the capacity to beat about 42 million times in a year.
Dr. Mehta went on to explain the working of a human heart, its functions and the circulation of blood throughout the body of a human being.The students were shown Audio-visuals on the working of the circulatory system, the transfusion of blood in different blood groups, etc. The blood is made up of various components. In ancient days, the complete blood was transfused into a person. However, science has advanced enough for us to understand the deficiency of the blood component, thereby allowing the doctors to transfuse the deficient material instead of the entire blood.
The seminar went on and the expert explained the reason behind the shape of the Red Blood Cells, Anaemia and the different types of blood groups.
Dr. Mehta went on to clarify that the diagrams in the study show blue colour for deoxygenated blood; however, in practice, the deoxygenated blood does not appear blue but brownish-red.
Approaching the end of the seminar,Dr. Mehta talked about the numerous diseases and symptoms related to heart problems. He began by stating the audience about how it is extremely common to have little to no symptoms before having a heart attack. He talked about the differential diagnosis, the mechanism behind Angioplasty and Bypass surgery, the treatment, risk factors and prevention of heart diseases. The parents were guided on the practical usage of science in conventional life and how they can try to decrease the temperature of a feverish person.
Summarizing it all, the World Heart Day is not merely about taking care of one’s own heart but also about coming together, spreading awareness and trying to gain access to more information regarding heart-related problems.
The theme of this year’s World Heart Day by the World Heart Federation was to be a Heart Hero by making a Heart Promise to someone whom you love and care.
Let us come together, have a heart-to-heart and promise ourselves to serve mankind by becoming a Heart Hero.