Free heart check-ups this week at Abu Dhabi’s The Galleria Al Maryah Island

From Wednesday September 25 until Monday September 30, anyone going to the mall’s Central Atrium can receive a free public screening. Provided by Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, the check-up will check your height, weight, Body Mass Index (BMI), blood sugar, and blood pressure.

All of these things can be used to assess a persons’ risk of heart disease or other heart-related issues.

The clinic will also provide a tutorial on how to use the online BMI and Heart Age Calculators at home.

The service aims to answer everyday health questions you should be asking yourself. These include: ‘How healthy is your heart?’, ‘Is smoking putting your heart health at risk?’, ‘Is your BMI affecting your heart health?’, and ‘Is your blood pressure too high for a healthy heart?’

The will be available from 10am-10pm on Wednesday. Saturday, Sunday and Monday and between 10am and midnight on Thursday and Friday.

UAE residents particularly have an increasing risk of heart-related issues due to the lack of knowledge around the ways to protect your heart. The National reports that a survey has revealed that many people fail to give up smoking or take proper exercise.

The survey had 1,000 UAE residents identify ‘potential catalysts of heart disease’ in their own lives.  Dima Quraini, a cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic, warned “Less than one out of three people reported having no risk factors, so there’s a lot of work for us to do. But the problem is probably much larger.”

“Our survey shows that while there is a growing awareness among the population of how lifestyle impacts their heart health, there is still a great deal of work to be done in order to tackle the issues that drive high levels of heart disease in our community,” said Professor Murat Tuzcu, Chair of the Heart and Vascular Institute at Cleveland Clinic.

Even if you think you’re living a healthy life, go and get checked! You might receive a wakeup call that will save your life.