World Heart Day 2009

he championship football game for the ever-popular Kyoto Sanga team was the setting for a very successful World Heart Day event.

Some 10,000 people attending the game heard the appeal from a Kyoto Sanga football player to learn about and make lifestyle changes to reduce their risk of heart disease, and announced that September 27 was World Heart Day. Messages on the digital bulletin board included World Heart Federation and World Heart Day.

More than 5,000 “Work with Heart” pamphlets and 5,000 tape measures were given out to the soccer fans attending the game. Metabolic syndrome and waist circumference are hot topics in Japan now, with a national requirement that waist circumference be measured as part of the annual medical examination.

Children lined up to have their photo taken with the Kyoto Sanga mascot during the World Heart Day announcements. The Japanese Circulation Society and the Japan Heart Foundation were joint sponsors of this event, captured in the photos here.
A Professional football player Hiroki Mizumoto gave a supporting message for World Heart Day and presented autographed T-shirts.