Ten Alarming ‘Heart’ Facts And How You Can Deal With Them

It is World Heart Day on Sept 29, but the way to a healthy heart may not be as smooth as we think. Take a look at the following India-specific data (culled from latest surveys and research findings) and you will know why. The nationwide ‘sick heart’ phenomenon affects the country’s economy as well and the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that over the next seven years, the economic impact of premature deaths due to heart disease, diabetes and metabolic disorders could be a staggering $237 billion.

What’s so dis-heartening in India?

Recent studies show a growing cardio-vascular disease (CVD) epidemic in India. The risk for heart disease is now higher in the country than in the USA and Western Europe.

India is home to 60% of heart patients worldwide, despite having less than 20% of the world’s population.

An estimated 1.2 billion people in India are suffering from heart conditions.

Heart disease strikes Indians at an early age, almost 33% earlier than other demographics, often without prior warning.

Around 25% of deaths in India in the age group of 25-69 are caused by cardio-vascular diseases.

Forget the myth of old and wealthy men getting heart attacks. For Indian men, 50% of all heart attacks occur under the age of 50 and 25% of all heart attacks occur under 40 years of age.

Heart conditions affect more women than men in India.

Globally, WHO pegs the number of cardiovascular deaths among women at 8.6 million, including 34% women from India.

Nearly two-thirds of CVD deaths in women occur among those who have no history of chest pain.

Almost 71% of women in India sense early warnings of heart attacks with sudden weakness but misunderstand it as flu.

To top it all, the VEDNA (Visualising the Extent of Heart Disease in Indian Women) study, recently conducted by HEAL Foundation, has mapped the CVD trends in Indian women and revealed more alarming facts. The survey has found 10-15% rise in cardiac diseases in the 20-40 age group while 54% of the 600 cardiologists interviewed, observe 16-20% overall growth in cardiovascular diseases among women over the past five years. It seems women’s regular hormone shields are down due to a negative lifestyle, stress and work-life imbalance. Worse still, 83% of the doctors surveyed believe that Indian women are not aware of CVD; 76% observe that women die of heart conditions as they come to the hospital too late and 66% say that CVD deaths among women happen due to late diagnosis.

ALARMED? Don’t be, you can be in control
Medics firmly believe that heart conditions are highly preventable. All you require is proper awareness, followed by regular check-ups and a healthy lifestyle. Here are the 5 essentials you need to work upon.

Watch your diet: High cholesterol level and extra fat can expose you to great risks – so it’s time to get your eating habits right. Cut out on fat, salt and sugar-rich food, and give alcohol a wide berth. Avoid all kinds of saturated and trans-fats which can raise your bad cholesterol and lower the good one. Also, switch to healthy oils (olive oil, rice bran oil, etc., instead of the traditional mustard oil), and get as much of omega-3 fatty acids as you can. A diet of seafood and fish will help you there. Include more greens, fruits and nut in your diet to pep up your body. Excessive or binge drinking can also lead to obesity, high blood pressure and poor cardiovascular health. Interestingly, you will find a large number of people advocating coffee, beer and wine (in moderate dose) for a healthy heart. But it is never clear how much is too much and you should keep your intake to a minimum.

Quit smoking: Easier said than done, but an absolute must if you want to stay healthy. Smoking can increase CVD risks by 2-4 times. Passive smoking also kills 600,000 people every year and 87% of those deaths are due to CVDs.

Sleep to keep yourself fit: Eight hours should be standard, but your body often indicates whether it has adequate rest or not. Getting proper rest and getting back the focus have gained such importance that some MNCs have come up with snooze rooms/meditation rooms where you can take a break. Sleep disorders can lead to appetite loss, and may further affect your bodyweight, metabolism and blood pressure – leading to CVDs.

Get hold of stress-busters: It’s difficult to escape stress altogether, whether you are at home or workplace. So try to find out that special kind of stress-buster that works for you. Talk to friends and family; get counselling; start doing yoga/meditation; go for a nature walk when you have time or take a clean break during weekends. Keeping away from work phones and work mail also helps. Best of all, start a hobby that you love. It can be as simple as walking your cat or as engaging as building an elaborate roof garden. Just find some time to do what you love (outside your work) and your stress will melt away, along with CVD risks.

Exercise, in small doses: If a tight schedule is leaving you little time for the healthy sweats, do it another way. Of course, signing up for a fitness programme is the best, but you can also fit in your fitness bytes without much ado. Walk, whenever you can (I prefer a brisk 30 min walk in the evening); take the staircase, instead of the lift; walk to the coffee machine/canteen/cafeteria as many times as you can; and go, meet your colleague at her desk, instead of calling her or chatting. Even small moves like these will help you lose weight, improve blood circulation, lower BP and release beneficial hormones.

See your doctor: Whether you are 16 or 60, routine cardiovascular check-ups should not be skipped. Don’t wait for traditional syndromes like chest pain – silent heart attacks actually kill more people worldwide. In fact, an ailing heart can give out signals that can very well resemble the chronic fatigue syndrome or even a bad flu. So visit your doctor regularly and insist on a cardiovascular check-up, along with other tests. It is never too early to start.

Your heart will go on…
Here is one real-life incident for our readers who could be planning long-time treatment and feeling somewhat doubtful about the debility it might bring. We were on a forest trek in Himachal last year where our group met a threesome (dad, mom and their 10-year-old daughter). We spent some thrilling time together, exploring the greens and the valleys near an adventure camp. Our progress was slow at times as I suffer from a slip disc, but we managed to complete the trek. Back at the camp, the couple got busy making an appointment with their family doctor. I was worried and offered to get the camp doctor, thinking the kid was ill. But my new friends assured me all was well. It’s only a routine check-up for ‘dad’ (an engineer in his late thirties), who had a by-pass surgery last year. “But we haven’t given up trekking which we love. We simply do things at our own pace,” the couple said. They have made a point – a lesson in courage and caution that most of us would not forget in a hurry.