Keep a check on waistline,prevent heart diseases

According to WHO,by 2015,an approximate 20 million Indians will die due to heart attack and by 2020 India will have the largest number of patients in the world with cardiovascular disease. Other figures reveal the alarming trend that heart disease is at rise among young Indians. Confirming this,Dr A B Chandorkar,cardiologist and director of Nandadeep Multispecialty Hospital,told The Indian Express that there was an increase in the number of youngsters with problems related to metabolic syndrome. An increasing waist size indicates central obesity and to add to it,lack of exercise,late nights,excess alcohol and smoking can be fatal,he says.

A pan-India survey by a healthcare firm showed that a majority of people above 30 years have alarmingly high cholesterol levels. The survey conducted by Metropolis covered major cities like Mumbai,Pune,Ahmedabad,Indore,Surat,Delhi,Chennai,Bangalore,Coimbatore,Thissur and Kolkata and screened 35,566 people.

Dr A K Bhatia,senior consultant radiologist at Jehangir Hospital says while there are advances in treatment,it is essential to prevent cardiac attacks and the main reason for the problem is poor stress management,very little exercise,sedentary lifestyle,consumption of fat rich food,smoking,high cholesterol level,overweight,family history of heart disease and high blood pressure. On World Heart Day,Aditya Birla Hospital will provide free counselling on the importance of healthy eating and physical activity for a healthy heart.

Heart diseases due to rheumatic fever
At Sassoon Hospital,the most common problem tackled by the Cardio Vascular and Thoracic Surgery (CVTS) department is that of valvular heart disease caused due to rheumatic fever. This is mainly found in poor patients,says head of the CVTS department Dr Arvind Inamdar. The out patient department sees 200 patients with heart ailments every month . Nearly 30-35 heart surgeries are performed every month,says Inamdar.