Cardiovascular diseases

The only stamp that the San Marino Philatelic Company has dedicated to the prevention of cardiovascular diseases dates back to 1972. Just five years had passed since the first heart transplant in history and it was precisely during the year of the philatelic issue that endocardial biopsy for monitoring acute rejection was introduced in medicine. Since that issue, only one other stamp has attempted to approach the subject, that of 1978 for the “Fight Against Hypertension”. Many years later, Titan philately is once again dealing with the “heart”. Thanks to Dr. Carlo Augusto Dall'Olmo, a doctor specialising in vascular surgery at the Michigan Vascular Center, who suggested the thematic issue to the Titano Philatelic Company. Born in San Marino, it was in the United States that he gained extensive experience and important recognition in the professional and academic fields. Since that distant 1972, fashions and habits have changed, but cardiovascular diseases are still the leading cause of death in industrialised countries. Today more than ever, however, in addition to a surgical capacity to intervene even in the most complicated situations, prevention has become the best strategy for reducing the incidence of cardiovascular disease. Behavioural measures such as introducing physical activity into daily life, a good diet and eliminating the harmful effects of smoking on the one hand, and therapeutic precautions such as reducing high blood pressure, controlling cholesterol levels and diabetes on the other, are unanimously considered to be the first interventions to circumvent the risks of heart attacks, ischaemia and strokes. The World Health Organisation, in a recent report, claimed that global action on chronic disease prevention alone could save the lives of 36 million people by 2015. Fabio Ferrini, author of the sketch, has managed to sum it all up in just a few centimetres. The heart, the protagonist of the cartoon, is the only chromatically prominent element. The apple, the emblem of good health, like the physical activity symbolised by the running and the stethoscope indicating the medical check-up, have been deliberately left in the background almost as if to blend in with the background tone. The shadows that the elements cast indicate their importance. Without them, without careful and diligent prevention, it is precisely our hearts that are at risk of being overshadowed. Teamwork is needed to protect health and well-being. San Marino philately reaffirms this today with a postage stamp, with a beating heart as the first actor on the stage.