G Kuppuswamy Naidu Memorial (GKNM) Hospital hosted a walkathon this morning to commemorate World Heart Day, which is observed on September 29.

Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation mayor P Rajkumar flagged off the walkathon. Over 300 people, some with placards and heart-shaped balloons, participated in the walkathon that started from the Cosmopolitan Club. Dr Ragupathy Veluswamy, CEO of GKNM Hospital, also participated.

“Heart disorders and diseases claim 17.3 million lives each year cross the world. World Heart Day was founded in 2000 to spread awareness among people,” said a GKNM spokesperson.

Specialists from the hospital’s cardiology department are scheduled to hold an interactive session at Bharathiya Vidhya Bhavan School in R S Puram with the public to clarify doubts about heart disease at 6:30 pm on September 29.