Change lifestyle to fight heart disease: NGO

He said since its inception last year, SHRAF has treated over 1000 patients and some who were advised a bypass surgery found they could bypass it. SAAOL stands for science and the art of living. “This phrase was adopted from the Rajasthani word saaol, meaning perfection” explained Dr Chhajer. Under this programme, he said, small groups of patients along with their spouses are taken on a 3-day treatment camp to a hill resort. The regimen here involves rounds of yoga training and a complete change in diet. The diet has to be oil-free and a dietician coaches on how to cook an oil-free meal. Food stuff is classified under three categories – green, yellow and red. “Green vegetables, fruits, pulses, rice, etc come under green and should be eaten more, yellow includes cereals and should be consumed in a restricted quantity, while red means oil-based items like nuts and meat, which should be avoided altogether,” he added.

“With surgical procedures like angioplasty and bypass, chances of re-blockage of the artery is within 6 months for the former and within 5 years for the latter,” Chhajer said.

Research has shown that over Rs 400 crore is spent each year on 16,000 surgeries performed in India. The number of cases has risen manifold in the past few decades.