“I felt like a shrinking balloon. Imagine filling a balloon with a hole. No matter how hard you blow into it, it doesn’t swell up but collapses and becomes limp. That was the sucked-out feeling I had as I could not breathe,” says 34-year-old Gurugram-based restaurant owner Varun Sharma, recalling the morning of his heart attack on April 1. He was rushed to Medanta Hospital where a stent — a mesh-like tube inserted to keep arteries open and restore normal flow — was put in his heart. According to Dr Tarun Kumar, senior director, cardiology, Medanta-Moolchand Heart Centre, he had a major heart attack and was admitted after developing chest pain, restlessness, sweating and breathlessness. “An ECG showed he had an acute anterior wall myocardial infarction. He was managed with primary angioplasty. He was overweight, not obese, but stress and lifestyle were his triggers,” he says. Post the procedure, when Varun looked around in the ICU, he found himself among a group of elderly heart patients. “I was the youngest there and this hit me. I realised things had gone wrong and I needed to fix my life,” he says. The beginning of a blockage Varun was a smoker, though he stopped it in 2017. He suffered from anxiety bouts and had high blood pressure. His diet was irregular and he slept at 3 am, a lifestyle that made him overweight. As a restaurant owner, his working hours start in the evening and go on till midnight. Sleeping late, this meant he had breakfast at 12 noon, lunch at 4 pm and dinner at 11pm. Infected with Covid in the first phase in 2020 and hearing about deaths around him, he suffered severe bouts of anxiety and depression. “I would speak about my Doomsday fears with my friends, who told me not to overthink and consult a counsellor. I never did though a sense of foreboding built inside me,” says Varun. In 2023, he developed high blood pressure, the upper systolic number hovering around 150-160 mmHg. He consulted a doctor who prescribed him control drugs. But indisciplined as he was, he would not take it regularly and at different times. “When medication is taken consistently, it ensures a steady concentration of the drug in the bloodstream. This way you can avoid fluctuations. If you are irregular, the drug’s effectiveness may diminish, increasing the risk of uncontrolled hypertension,” says Dr Kumar. Missing doses can even lead to rebound hypertension, where blood pressure rises significantly, according to him. This can put extra strain on the heart and arteries, increasing the likelihood of heart attacks or strokes. Earlier this year, in February to be precise, he had issues with breathing and his rhythm would break. “I would gasp for air while tying shoelaces or climbing stairs to the first floor. Once I felt breathless and exhausted at the gym too but the gym instructor told me it could be gas. I ignored my discomfort though I could not sleep very well that night,” he adds. Still, Varun got all his blood tests done, including liver and kidney function but missed out on Echo, the one test that could have alerted him about an impending emergency. The 360-degree road to recovery Now Varun has homemade meals on time, no matter how busy he is at the restaurant. And he has delegated work so that he can exit his restaurant early and sleep on time. “For the last six months, I have not eaten any food from outside, given up smoking and alcohol. Even if there is an emergency or a social situation where I am required to eat outside, I keep to plant meals, choosing between idli, dosa and uttapam,” he says. For his physical fitness, Varun takes a 45-minute walk and follows it up with 15 minutes of sitting quietly and doing nothing. He is also learning to meditate. And he sleeps by 11 pm. He now takes his medicines on time which includes an Ecosprin. Regular check-ups hold the key Emphasising the importance of regular health check-ups, early detection and consistent lifestyle choices to prevent cardiovascular disease, Dr Kumar says, “Regular check-ups are the best trackers. If you experience symptoms such as tightness or pain in the chest, neck, back or arms, fatigue, light-headedness, abnormal heartbeat and anxiety, get yourself tested. Women are more likely to have atypical symptoms than men,” he adds. The heart, he says, is the best machine ever made, working relentlessly 24x7. Yet very simple things are required to keep it moving smoothly without any glitches . “A low-fat diet, regular exercise and 30 minutes of walking for five days. Maintain ideal body weight, avoid sedentary lifestyle, smoking, alcohol and stress, keep blood sugar and blood pressure in normal limits,” he advises. As for Varun, he has realised that discipline is the best medicine there is. “There is nothing superhuman about taking things in your stride. Sometimes you have to be human,” he says.
