Taxi drivers at Johannesburg’s Bara Taxi Rank will gain direct access to cardiovascular screening as SA Heart takes preventative healthcare into communities through Check My Beat.
The South African Heart Association’s Check My Beat campaign is combining health screening, education, technology and music to encourage people to understand their cardiovascular risks before serious health complications develop.
The initiative forms part of World Heart Month and will culminate in a community screening event at Bara Taxi Rank on 15 September, with taxi drivers receiving checks for blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose and other heart-health indicators.
The focus on taxi drivers is intended to make preventative healthcare more accessible to people whose working conditions can make routine health checks difficult to prioritise.
Long working hours, limited opportunities for physical activity, convenient food choices and the pressures of operating in a demanding transport environment can contribute to lifestyle behaviours associated with cardiovascular risk.
“Cardiovascular health requires greater attention, particularly when it comes to prevention and early screening,” said cardiologist and former SA Heart president Dr David Jankelow.
“We know that many of the risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease can be addressed through healthier lifestyle choices and early intervention.”
Jankelow said Check My Beat was designed to bring health education and screening directly into communities, making preventative healthcare more convenient and relevant to the people being reached.
The approach is particularly important in a country where one in three adults is living with high blood pressure. According to the campaign, approximately 225 South Africans die from heart disease each day, while up to 80% of heart disease and strokes occurring before the age of 65 can be prevented through lifestyle changes.
Beyond conventional screening, Check My Beat is using technology and music to create a more personalised health experience.
Taxi drivers will have access to an AI-powered selfie screening experience alongside the physical health checks.
After completing the screening process, participating drivers will receive their own personalised “Heart Health Track” — an AI-generated song incorporating heartbeat rhythms, Maskandi-inspired music and individual messages encouraging healthier choices.
The tracks will be shared with drivers after the event, allowing the health message to continue beyond the screening itself.
“We want to make cardiovascular health something people can engage with in a way that feels relevant to their everyday lives,” said Mandi Fine, SA Heart board member and co-founder of the Check My Beat project.
“The Heart Health Tracks give drivers a personal reminder of the importance of looking after their health, while using technology and music to make the message memorable.”
The campaign brings together SA Heart and Anglo American, Betway Cares Foundation, Cipla, Jozi My Jozi, Nahana Foundation, Syntro-P and the University of the Witwatersrand.
The collaboration allows healthcare expertise, community engagement and technology to be combined around a shared preventative-health objective.
For SA Heart, the screening activation is ultimately about encouraging people to understand their cardiovascular health earlier rather than waiting until symptoms or serious complications emerge.
By taking screening directly to a busy taxi rank, Check My Beat demonstrates how preventative healthcare can be brought closer to communities and integrated into environments people already use every day.
