Yesterday, the opening session of the heart awareness month took place. The month of May is dedicated to cardiovascular diseases. Throughout the month, there are several activities, conferences and conversation cycles, organized by the Cardiovascular Rehabilitation Centre of the University of Lisbon (CRECUL), whose main objective is to help the recovery of patients with cardiovascular disease and provide assistance at physiological, psychological, social, vocational, and emotional level.
The opening session was marked by CRECUL's 5th anniversary. This programme has already had 129 participants and this year there are 55 registrations. To certify its quality, the Cardiovascular Rehabilitation Programme (CVR) has been certified by the European Association of Preventive Cardiology/European Cardiology Society (EAPC/ESC).
Fausto J. Pinto, Director of the Faculty of Medicine of Lisbon, opened the session and stated that “this is a pioneering project and a true academic programme”. He added that, "if there is an example that a university and an academic structure have the capacity to implement projects in the area of Health, this is an excellent one". He stated that this project "fills in the public space what is nowadays considered as one of the fundamental needs in rehabilitation, well-being, health promotion and the good prognosis of patients with cardiovascular pathology".
A defender of the project since the beginning, Professor António Cruz Serra, Rector of the University of Lisbon, stated that he cherished this project of the University of Lisbon and that its implementation “felt like it had taken place yesterday”.
Professor Luís Sardinha, Director of the Faculty of Human Kinetics of the University of Lisbon, said that with regard to physical exercise “it is never too late to start, but it is always too early to give up”.
The Cardiovascular Rehabilitation Centre of the University of Lisbon (CRECUL) operates together with the Faculty of Human Kinetics (FMH), the Faculty of Medicine (FM), the Faculty of Psychology (FP) and the University Stadium of the University of Lisbon (EULisboa). It is recognized by the University of Lisbon as a community initiative in the field of Health.
Then there was a guided visit by Professor Rita Pinto, who presented the numbers that attest the success of the programme, as well as the multiple skills of a young and very committed and dynamic team. To prove this spirit of mission, those responsible for monitoring Nutrition and Yoga gave their testimonials, stating that the improvement of the body is also about the balance of the mind.
The opening ceremony was attended by Professor Ana Abreu, Clinical Director of CRECUL; Professor Helena Santa-Clara, Director of the CRECUL Exercise Programme; Dr João Roquette, Director of the Lisbon University Stadium; Professor Luís Sardinha, Director of the Faculty of Human Kinetics of the University of Lisbon; Professor Fausto Pinto, Director of the Faculty of Medicine of Lisbon and the Rector of the University of Lisbon, Professor António Cruz Serra.
You can see the entire opening ceremony here
