Wanted: healthy politicians

Politicians are supposed to be role models in society. They make policies for the rest of us. Then how come so many of them do such a bad jo...

Politicians are supposed to be role models in society. They make policies for the rest of us. Then how come so many of them do such a bad job of looking after their own health and end up getting a heart disease? A disease that is hundred per cent preventable? What signals does this sent out to the general public?

Heart attacks are not known to occur in wild animals. But they do occur in animals when their lifestyle are artificially altered. For instance, a lion in the zoo can get a heart attack. It8217;s only when you disobey the laws of nature for over a decade that you end up getting the disease.

Many politicians die while in office and most often because of heart attacks. If they die while still in the office, they deprive society of their experience and expertise, apart from the fact that it is the tax-payer who ends up paying their medical bills! Shankar Dayal Sharma, Narsimha Rao, Rajesh Pilot, Arjun Singh, Natwar Singh, Krishan Kant, Giani Zail Singh, all great politicians, were or are heart patients. So, it seems, we have a big job on our hands convincing our political decision-makers about the importance of preventive medicine. If our politicians are not convinced of the seriousness of the situation, even as they see their peers collapsing around them, how will the state be enlightened on these issues?

Every day, we read in the newspapers about the financial status of various contestants. But what about their health status? The Election Commission should also make it compulsory for them to declare their health status. A fit and healthy politician should be physically, mentally, socially, and spiritually sound; have a blood pressure lower than 120/80 mmHg; fasting blood sugar lower than 126 mg per cent; total cholesterol lower than 200, LDL cholesterol lower than 100, HDL cholesterol more than 40 and triglycerides lower than 150 mg per cent; abdominal circumference lower than 36 inches in men and 34 inches in women. They need to be vaccinated against the Hepatitis B and the typhoid viruses. They should be non-smokers, non-tobacco chewers, non-drinkers or social drinkers imbibing not more than two bottles of beer or 300 ml of wine or 100 ml of whisky per week 8212; half of this if they are women. They also need to be regular walkers 8212; 30-60 minutes all seven days a week.

The government is spending a great deal of money fighting chronic diseases. But by committing scarce resources to tertiary care, buying high-tech dialysis machines, performing expensive invasive cardiac surgery, purchasing CT-scans and MRI machines, we are attempting to help a few while neglecting the many. But decisions like this have to be taken by the people in charge 8212; the politicians. And if they are to do this, they need to be healthy!

The writer is a cardiologist and president of the Delhi branch of the Indian Medical Association