Ranbaxy Laboratories : launches Red Heart Initiative to Raise Awareness on Women Heart Health

Indian badminton star Saina Nehwal joined doctors to create a large red heart to kick off this noble initiative

Hyderabad, To raise awareness on high prevalence of heart disease amongst women in India and identify challenges in its diagnosis and management, Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited (Ranbaxy) today launched the Red Heart Initiative at the Annual Conference of Cardiology Society of India (CSI) 2014.

Saina Nehwal, the shining star of Indian Badminton, joined the doctors participating at the national conference to form a large red heart for creating awareness on Woman Heart Health. For every doctor participating in Red Heart Initiative, Ranbaxy stands committed to provide one year of free cardiovascular therapy to one female patient.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in women, account for 40% of the total CVD deaths in India. The major CVD risk factors, which are highly prevalent among Indian women, are dyslipidemia, high blood pressure, diabetes, high waist-hip ratio, sedentary lifestyle, psychosocial stress and poor quality. In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, put together, 58.2% females suffer from dyslipidemia, while 64.4% females suffer across the country.

Over 5000 doctors from across the country participated at the conference, where leading cardiologists and experts stressed on the need to manage three major risk factors of CVD - dyslipidemia, diabetes and hypertension.

"It is generally not known that heart attack is a leading cause of death among women. Greater numbers of women die more from heart attacks than from cancer. The other problem is that women in India are usually not brought to the hospitals for treatment. It is high time that a program is dedicated to make women and people at large aware of this fact. We, from the medical community would very much like to back this Red Heart Initiative by Ranbaxy that protects women from CV risk", said Dr. S. C. Manchanda, Padma Shree Awardee, Senior Consultant, Cardiologist, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Formerly Head, Department of Cardiology, AIIMS).

"90% of the Women have one or more risk factors for developing heart disease. It is largely preventable and we need to address risk factors earlier and more aggressively to reduce the risk factors amongst Women. Management of high blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol is the key to a healthy heart", commented Dr. Asha Moorthy, M.D, D.M, Prof. and HOD of Cardiology, Saveetha Medical College, Chennai.

On the occasion, Rajeev Sibal, Vice President and Head, India region, Ranbaxy, said, "Women play a central role in the family and her adverse health has a significant impact on the entire household. The incidence of cardiovascular diseases amongst Indian women is on the rise and protecting them from heart disease is important. I believe the Red Heart Initiative will go a long way in spreading awareness about the prevalence of CVD risk amongst women and improving their heart health. At Ranbaxy, we remain committed towards creating awareness on social health issues in India."

At the conference Ranbaxy had set up a stall dedicated to female health - Red Heart Initiative. It highlighted the prevalence of dyslipidemia, diabetes & hypertension management for preventing heart disease amongst women.

Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited is an integrated, research based, international pharmaceutical company producing a wide range of quality, affordable generic medicines, trusted by healthcare professionals and patients across geographies. Ranbaxy's continued focus on R&D has resulted in several approvals, in developed and emerging markets many of which incorporate proprietary Novel Drug Delivery Systems (NDDS) and technologies, developed at its own labs. The company has further strengthened its focus on generics research and is increasingly working on more complex and specialty areas. Ranbaxy serves its customers in over 150 countries and has an expanding international portfolio of affiliates, joint ventures and alliances, ground operations in 43 countries and manufacturing operations in 8 countries. Ranbaxy is a member of the Daiichi Sankyo Group. Through strategic in-licensing opportunities and its hybrid business model with Daiichi Sankyo, a leading global pharma innovator headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, Ranbaxy is introducing many innovator products in markets around the world, where it has a strong presence. This is in line with the company's commitment to increase penetration and improve access to medicines, across the globe. For more information, please visit www.ranbaxy.com.