Healthy Nation Must For Better, Healthier Pakistan: Dr Arif Alvi

President Dr Arif Alvi on Friday said Pakistan was really becoming a land of opportunities but a healthy nation was a must for a better and healthier country to join the comity of nations with a prestige

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Nov, 2019 ) :President Dr Arif Alvi on Friday said Pakistan was really becoming a land of opportunities but a healthy nation was a must for a better and healthier country to join the comity of nations with a prestige.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of 49th Cardio Conference 2019, the president urged the doctors community that besides medicines prescription, more focus should be given on prevention of diseases.

The president said there was a need to correct direction in medical institutions where besides imparting modern medical sciences, more focus should be given on compassion.

"Your priority must be provision of modern treatment but besides this, you people must be compassionate," he said, adding taking part in social welfare activities should also be the main focus of doctors.

Referring to the rapid rise of cardiovascular diseases, President Alvi said besides prevention, more focus should be given to quality of life and instead of over-eating and taking junk food, balanced and simple diet should be preferred to avoid the killer diseases.

He said stress in the society, which was one of the reasons of heart diseases, was on the rise and more concentration must be given to live a simple life, and make walking and exercise a regular part of life.

"The people doing regular physical exercise by advocating benefit of physical activity in preventing heart diseases and get feedback of this is bringing positive changes in their lives," he added.

The president urged the doctors to serve the patients with dedication and take some time from their busy schedule to reach out to the ailing community in rural areas with the help of modern technology.

He said Pakistan was now on the right road and its respect had increased at the international level.

Pakistan Cardiac Society (PCS) President Prof Feroz Memon, while speaking on the occasion, said the rapid rise in heart diseases was a major challenge for the developing world. The growing challenge threatened economic and social development as well as lives and health of millions of people all over the world, including Pakistan, he said.

He said the mismatch between the healthcare needs and resources in developing countries added to the complexity of the problem. The hearth disease, which was number one disease in the world, had now come to number two owing to awareness and timely measures to check it.

Commandant Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology (AFIC) and Executive Director Maj Gen Sohail Aziz, in his welcome address, said conferences like the current one encouraged global cooperation in cardiovascular medicines by providing an opportunity to share experience and learn from one another. The 49th conference would come up as a platform for future innovations and advances in treating cardiac treatment.