Dan Gaita, a FESC since 2004, is ‘a prevention guy’ to use his words. But Dan’s commitment to CVD prevention doesn’t stop when he leaves the Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases in Timisoara, Romania, where he is Professor of Cardiology.
Oh no.
Dan, along with cardiologists from Bucharest and Iasi to Cluj and Pitesti, runs the streets of Romania to spread the healthy heart message. It’s all about team spirit.
“We started to exercise together almost 20 years ago during the annual meetings of the Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation Working Group – a branch of the Romanian Society of Cardiology,” says Dan, who remembers those early days as a ‘mandatory’ part of his cardiology training. “Plus it was a great opportunity to show off!”
The ‘Cardiology Movement’ really took off however in 2007, when the Romanian Society of Cardiology held its annual congress on World Heart Day; some 50 people ran a short fun run with pupils from a local school in Sinaia. Dan recalls;
“Dan Deleanu, an interventional cardiologist from Bucharest ran this race with me. The following year he became the President of Romanian Society of Cardiology and his passion for sport started to spread among other cardiologists.”
Two years later, the enthusiastic group officially took part in the Bucharest Marathon. From then on, the number of Romanian cardiologists regularly running continued to increase, supported by the Romanian Society of Cardiology, the Romanian Heart Foundation, and the Romanian Forum of CVD Prevention.
“Daily exercise, balanced nutrition and no smoking is the foundation of a healthy life.” says Dan, who believes, as a cardiologist, practicing what he preaches is a great way to promote healthy heart messages.
Through participation in different national running events, the ‘cardiologist runners’ have been interviewed for national newspapers and radio. It’s not all about work though. Dan concludes;
“Running 20-30 km/week is now a bright part of our life! We enjoy each opportunity to run together, celebrating happiness and good health!”
The next running challenge is the Bucharest half marathon in May 2018, but as Dan says, the real challenge is to continue to be more visible and more ‘convincible’ that exercise paves the way for a healthy heart.
Why not join the Romanian Cardiologists and take part in the Bucharest half marathon on Sunday 13 May 2018!
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Our mission: To reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease.