Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore   

With a prayer for your heart

What India needs is prevention of heart diseases, observes Dr. Periasamy

PHOTO: S. SIVA SARAVANAN

Coimbatore: "You are my saviour. I will not do any harm to you; will not take any food that will hurt you; will not become emotional that will affect you." This is the gist of a small poem that J.K. Periasamy, nationally known interventional cardiologist, has composed. He calls it a prayer for heart.

"The heart beats at least 60 to 80 times a minute and thus more than one lakh times a day. Through the blood vessels measuring 60,000 miles, it pumps at least 7,000 litres of blood a day. This goes on and on for years. Please remember what will happen if it fails to work even for a second."

What India needs is prevention of heart diseases rather than curative therapy, observes Dr. Periasamy. The 57-year-old cardiologist, who has performed more than 10,000 angiograms and 1,000 interventional procedures during the past three decades, feels the current scenario calls for immediate attention. "Gone are those days when this disease was considered one that affected only the old and the rich. Even the poorest are hit now and many are in the age group of even 25-30."

With basically a gene prone to cardiac diseases, Indians should be doubly cautious. Even if one could ward of fatality, he might become a virtual vegetable and a liability to his family. "That is why I want every one to start the day with a prayer for the heart."

He shares with G. Satyamurty his views on the deteriorating scenario, need for awareness and preventing it without much expense.

Junk food, lack of exercise, stress, lack of sleep, aggressiveness, taking a lot of coffee and tea and indulging in smoking are the common causes for heart ailments. Coimbatore region, especially Tirupur, is becoming the hub of heart diseases. Unless the people of this region change their lifestyle, they are in deep trouble. The adage `prevention is better than cure' suits no other disease better than this. Coimbatore, which is basically entrepreneurial, is all the more prone to heart diseases because of this very nature itself.

Earlier, the first attack used to be mild. Now there are cases where the first attack itself is severe. Besides, if there were to be a `diffused attack', it hits the quality of life and even a 30-40 year old will have to lead a life of those more than 60.

"Of course, we have been able to bring down the mortality from 50 per cent to 15 per cent thanks to various technological advances including intensive care, clot bursting, angioplasty and bypass surgery. But, unfortunately, as a number of those treated come back after three months, all the hospitals are filled with chronic patients."

Most of them never follow the medical advice. They continue the same lifestyle and undergo the same stress- domestic, professional, financial and do not exercise at all. They drop out of medical course and ultimately become non-productive chronic patients. As advanced medical care can be reached only by the affluent, he asserts that the only solution for the common man is prevention of its occurrence. As lack of awareness regarding lifestyle is the major issue, he has been conducting out-reach programmes to explain the causes and prevention in rural areas since 2000.

Programme

Inspired by Swami Satchidhananda and motivated by Dr. Dean Ornish, who has proved scientifically that intensive yoga, meditation and vegetarian food could reverse the heart disease, he has also tailor-made a programme titled `Healthy heart' that consists of yoga, meditation, diet and counselling since 2002.

He first picked 20 persons with cardiac problems and counselled them on diet and exercise and asked them to go in for meditation. It brought excellent results. Now small groups are identified and such an exercise is undertaken. "Eighty persons who have been following this for the past five years meet every month and explain how their quality of life has improved. More than 80 per cent said that they were leading near normal life." Enthused by this, Dr. Periasamy has set up a permanent exhibition and a centre for `lifestyle modification'. It will counsel people on diet, exercise, yoga and controlling the risk factors like diabetes and enlighten them on causes and symptoms, treatments available, limitations of modern treatment and preventive aspects, all free of cost.

Besides, a team with a cardiologist, a diabetologist and a personality developer visits villages once a month. As lifestyle change should start early, he plans books, CDs and awareness programmes in schools and colleges.

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