The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Apollo Hospitals staff to take pledge to stay heart-healthy

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 06, 2011
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Apollo Hospitals staff to take pledge to stay heart-healthy

Special Correspondent

Founder Chairman says movement will reach out

Heart disease increasingly targeting Indians in their thirties and forties
Research reveals Indians are genetically more prone to heart disease

CHENNAI: Apollo Hospitals' national campaign on awareness of risks associated with Billion Hearts Beating is all set to expand manifold with the entire staff taking the pledge to stay heart-healthy.

On Friday, Apollo Hospital's Founder's Day, over 200,000 members of Apollo Hospitals Group, including employees and their families, will take the pledge to stay heart-healthy.

Prathap Reddy, founder-chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group, says the movement “will soon reach out in ever-widening circles to liberate the country from heart disease.”

Today, heart disease is increasingly targeting Indians in their thirties and forties.

It is estimated that Indians are nearly four times more susceptible to heart attacks than Caucasians.

The reasons for this are not yet clear, but there are many possibilities.

While the problem has its roots in lack of regular physical activity, poor blood cholesterol levels, poor eating habits and stress, there is one more reason — genetic predisposition.

Scientific research reveals that Indians are genetically more prone to heart disease, prompting research to identify this mutant gene and neutralise it.

Dr. Reddy says, “Several reports point to India soon becoming the heart disease capital of the world, if we haven't become already. This is a dubious distinction, an infamy that we can do without. The risk of heart disease can be significantly reduced; even reversed.”

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu