Kerala   

Cardiac ailment: figures are frightening

K.K. Haridas

Pathanamthitta: Coronary artery disease has attained an epidemic proportion in India, especially Kerala, over the past one decade, says K.K. Haridas, cardiologist and president of the Kerala chapter of the Cardiological Society of India.

He says physical inactivity, change in dietary pattern and the growing fast food culture, contribute to this alarming health problem. Genetic disposition has also been identified as a prime cause for early onset of cardiac problems among Indians. Arthur Ashe, one of the most prominent tennis players of his time and the first African-American to be ranked I in the world had suffered a heart attack in 1980, which forced him to retire at the age 37. He had also developed high cholesterol which was traced into his mother’s lineage - Indian of Jamaican origin. Ashe died of HIV infection which he had contracted from a blood transfusion during an open heart surgery, later.

“You might have a genetic predisposition for heart disease. But, you can easily avoid it by altering lifestyle and cultivating good habits,” he said.

Dr. Haridas said those in the age group of 35 to 45 years account for a majority of diagnosed cases of cardiac ailments in India. This drop in age of heart disease among Indians is mainly due to faulty food intake, sedentary lifestyle and stress, besides the early onset of diabetes, he adds.

A World Health Organisation report suggests that 60 per cent of world’s cardiac patients will be Indians by 2010 and the number of cardiac patients in India will go up to 100 million from its present figure of nearly 30 million. Environmental factors like low birth weight and malnutrition also possibly make Indians more prone to increased risk of diabetes and heart attack in adulthood, he said.

Dr. Haridas says CAD has now become the most predictable, preventable and the most treatable of all chronic diseases. “Minimise stress level, simplify your lifestyle, cut down your calories, exercise regularly and go back to your conventional eating habits. All these can prevent CAD affliction to a great extent. Remember, sitting in front of television for long too is a risk factor for diabetes,” he adds.

According to him, emphasis should be given to reduce smoking and other types of tobacco abuse. Educating the public about the benefits of reduced salt intake in control of blood pressure and cholesterol should be given a priority. “What is badly needed is an effective campaign with adequate Government support to prevent and control CAD and diabetes,” he adds.

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