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Heart of the matter

Dr. Roy John, cardiologist with a Boston-based NGO, which donates pacemakers, on matters of the heart

ALL FOR THE HEART Dr. Roy John with wife Premi Roy

Dr. Roy John just had a busman's holiday in South India, Kochi and Chennai to be specific. He, along with Dr. David Martin and Kathleen Malewiki, the cathlab nurse manager of Lahey Clinic in Massachusetts, where all three work, were virtually adding life to the weak-hearted.

They are the heart and soul of Project Pacer International, a Boston-based NGO that donates life-saving pacemakers and similar equipment or treatments that set malfunctioning hearts right.

This was their first trip to South India. They make yearly trips to South America and India where they offer their services. "To work at a hospital, our only condition is it must be well equipped and they must offer free post operative care. So, usually, it is through personal contacts that we do this. But any hospital with such facilities can approach Project Pacer (projectpacer.org)," says Dr. Roy.

Recently, they were at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Kochi, where 20 persons got a fresh lease of life, the youngest aged 11. At Chennai, they were at the Frontier Lifeline's International Centre for Cardio Thoracic and Vascular Diseases.

The devices are expensive, their price ranging from Rs. 60,000 to Rs. 1,50,000. The cost of the operation can be Rs. 4,50,000 or even go up to Rs. 9,00,000, which is out of reach for the common man, leave alone the underprivileged.

Dr. Roy is undoubtedly a top-level cardiologist, (he is Director of the Cardiac Electrophysiology Laboratory at Lahey Medical Center in Burlington, Massachusetts) and is one of the three Indians in Project Pacer, (he is its secretary) the others being Project Pacer's co-founder, Dr. V. K. Sani and Dr. Salil Midha. Originally from Kattanam, near Kayamkulam, Kerala, he had his education in Kuwait, Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram, after which he got his MRCP (and a PhD in cell biology) in the U.K.

Dr. Roy keeps in touch with India in more ways too. A. R. Rahman is a favourite. "There is probably not a single track he has composed that I have not listened to or own," says the doctor.

He answers some questions that worry people.

Is coconut oil as big a villain as it is made out to be? Are all oils bad for the heart? What is the right quantity that should be consumed to stay healthy?

Coconut oil is high in saturated fats that are known to increase the bad cholesterol and triglycerides levels in the blood. Not all oils are bad. In fact, olive oil and canola oil have less saturated fats and hence, are less harmful. Anything in moderation is fine. It's really a matter of simple math — if one does not undertake the physical exertion to burn the calories consumed, it will get stored as fat: The higher the circulating fats, the greater the chances of coronary artery problems.

There are conflicting reports about alcohol in small quantities being both good and bad for the heart.

The benefits of alcohol in preventing coronary disease are based on epidemiological data. Most studies have shown a benefit from moderate alcohol consumption. Red wine may have an edge over other forms of alcohol because of the additional benefit of the flavonoids in it. Having said that, we never advise anyone to start drinking for the first time after the diagnosis of coronary artery disease because approximately, 10 per cent of the population will have a genetic propensity for alcohol addiction with its attendant problems.

In your travels to Third World countries, what are the wrong kinds of eating habits you have seen that have triggered heart problems? I think people are becoming more sedentary without a significant change in their eating habits. I see most people consuming at least three full meals with a couple of snacks in between — the calorie intake is therefore substantial. In addition, there appears to be a craving for refined sugars (in the form of sweets and sugar itself). These dietary habits contribute to a form of disease called dysmetabolic syndrome that is prevalent in the south Asian population. This syndrome consists of an early form of diabetes, abdominal obesity, high levels of fat called triglycerides and low levels of a good form of cholesterol called HDL cholesterol.

How many lives have Project Pacer saved since its inception?

Difficult to determine the actual number but in general, these devices improve quality of life and prevent deaths. On an average, we implant 50 to 60 devices between Bolivia and India annually.

PREMA MANMADHAN

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