Majid Al Futtaim Launches its Heart Health Campaign ‘Feel the Beat’ to Raise Awareness on Cardiovascular Disease

Dubai, United Arab Emirates: In partnership with the UAE Ministry of Health and City Centre Clinic, Majid Al Futtaim, the leading shopping mall, retail and leisure pioneer across the Middle East and North Africa is hosting its regional health awareness campaign ‘Feel the Beat’, delivering complimentary heart health testing to women across 19 shopping malls in the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Lebanon and Oman.

Building awareness for heart health while motivating women across the region to enjoy the benefits of physical activity, Majid Al Futtaim’s UAE malls are setting the sound of healthy heartbeats to music via the latest technology. The month-long initiative will encourage wellness and exercise through the pumping beats of participants’ own hearts, turning each unique heartbeat into a musical track, and will offer visitors access to complimentary preventative screening and professional healthcare advice to prevent cardiovascular diseases.   

Visitors of participating malls: Mall of the Emirates and City Centres Deira, Mirdif, Sharjah and Bahrain will be able to record their heartbeat into a personalised soundtrack mixed by a professional DJ. Participants will be guided to a recording booth where a digital stethoscope will be connected to a computer, to create the unique beat.

The stethoscope will be used to listen, monitor and record the heartbeat (e.g. 60 bpm). Through a customized app, the DJ will mix the beat within a soundtrack and extract a track from the 500-strong music library (that matches the visitor’s bpm). Each track will then be personalised using special effects to create a unique heartbeat tune for that person.

“One of the most beautiful sounds in the world is the one of a healthy human heartbeat: a powerful, representation of vitality and life. With this in mind, Majid Al Futtaim’s ‘Feel the Beat’ campaign combines technology and healthcare to empower our visitors to make informed decisions about their health. ‘Feel the Beat’ campaign gives participants a personalised heartbeat soundtrack to motivate them in the most original way to help them make a commitment to an active and healthy lifestyle,” said Fuad Mansoor Sharaf, Senior Director, Property Management – Shopping Malls for Majid Al Futtaim – Properties.

“The promotion of well-being is a key element to build prosperous communities, which is at the heart of Majid Al Futtaim’s leading Corporate Social Responsibility policy. In line with our vision to create great moments for everyone, everyday, we are proud to bring back ‘Feel the Beat’ in the most creative and innovative way and hope to raise awareness across the region, through an array of shopping destinations reaching millions of visitors,” said Ibrahim Al-Zu’bi, Head of Sustainability at Majid Al Futtaim Properties.

All shopping malls have allocated areas to host medical professionals who will administer complimentary testing and conduct checkups for women, aiming to raise awareness on cardiovascular health. At each designated location, visitors can check their blood pressure, blood sugar and Body Mass Index (BMI) to determine if they are at risk for heart diseases and if they should need follow-ups with more extensive examinations.

“We salute the Ministry's efforts to raise the level of medical services provided to citizens and residents through the application of international medical protocols in accordance with the best preventive practices; cardiovascular expertise; cardiac electrical activity software; the introduction of the latest medical equipment and new technologies such as the use of robots for cardiac catheterization; and open heart surgery. We would like to thank Majid Al Futtaim for their annual health initiative which is in line with the Ministry of Health's efforts to encourage the adoption of healthy lifestyles across the UAE in order to prevent heart and chronic diseases,” said Dr. Arif Al Nooryani, Executive Director and Consultant Cardiologist at Al Qassimi Hospital in Sharjah.

“The National Health Agenda aims to consolidate preventive measures and reduce lifestyle-related diseases such as those involving the heart and blood. It will also enhance the effectiveness of the health system in reducing the number of deaths involving cardiovascular diseases based on target national indicators. The Ministry is working within the framework of its strategy to promote healthy lifestyles in order to reduce associated diseases. The Ministry has also launched the ‘Etminan’ initiative in addition to the ‘Universal Periodic Review’ and ‘Early Detection of Cancer’ initiatives previously approved by the UAE Cabinet. The campaign included checks for cardiovascular disease and other risk factors. We appreciate                  Majid Al Futtaim’s initiative and its role in raising awareness on ways to prevent cardiovascular diseases, as 80 percent of related cases can be avoided by overcoming causal factors such as smoking, an unhealthy diet, and lack of exercise,” said Dr. Kulthum Al Balushi, Director of Hospitals, Hospitals Sector, Ministry of Health and Prevention.

“It is a global priority to eradicate preventable diseases and our duty, as leading healthcare providers, is to contribute to raising awareness in the community around cardiovascular health in the UAE. Combining excellence and expertise, innovation and a listening approach that puts the patient at the centre of healthcare, City Centre Clinic is fully committed to provide great moments to the healthcare community,” said Omar Al Shunnar, Chief Executive Officer at Majid Al Futtaim – Healthcare.

Majid Al Futtaim has partnered with UAE Ministry of Health and City Centre Clinic in the UAE; King Hamad University Hospital in Bahrain; Oman Medical Specialty Board in Oman; Saint George Hospital University Medical Center in Lebanon and Canadian Cardiac Care in Egypt.  

Last year, more than 8,000 women participated in Majid Al Futtaim’s ‘Feel the Beat’ regional health awareness campaign. Participants are encouraged to visit the following Majid Al Futtaim shopping malls for testing and checkups:

• 1 Sept – 3 Sept City Centre Deira
• 1 Sept – 2 Sept City Centre Muscat
• 8 Sept – 10 Sept City Centre Mirdif
• 15 Sept – 17 Sept City Centre Fujairah
• 18 Sept – Sept 20 City Centre Sharjah
• 22 Sept – 24 Sept City Centre Al Shindagha
• 22 Sept – 23 Sept City Centre Qurum
• 23 Sept – 24 Sept City Centre Bahrain
• 25 Sept – 26 Sept City Centre Maadi
• 26 Sept – 28 Sept City Centre Me’aisem
• 28 Sept – 29 Sept City Centre Alexandria
• 29 Sept City Centre Beirut
• 29 Sept – 1 Oct Mall of the Emirates
• 3 Oct – 5 Oct City Centre Ajman
• 7 Oct – 8 Oct Matajer
• 12 Oct – 14 Oct My City Centre Nasseriya

Majid Al Futtaim Charity Foundation (MAFCF)—which has launched a “S.M.A.R.T” program (Start Making All the Right Turns) focusing on the prevention of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, obesity and diabetes—will be partnering with ‘Feel the Beat’ to offer teenagers plenty of fun and insightful activities.

In partnership with award-winning the Loft Fifth Avenue at Mall of the Emirates, ‘Feel the Beat’’s press launch event offered guests a unique health and beauty experience, to illustrate the joys and benefits of well-being.