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Scene not so rosy for Indian hearts
All is not well with the Indian’s heart — be it of a male or a female. An estimated over 55 million people in the country are suffering from cardiovascular diseases and nearly 17 million are succumbing to it annually. With no immediate health intervention, India becoming the heart disease capital of the world is not being ruled out.
“Common risk factors include sedentary lifestyle, unhealthy eating habits, consumption of tobacco products together with increased levels of mental and physical stress, rapid urbanisation and industralisation,” said Dr HK Chopra, president of Indian Heart Protection Summit and chairman of ASSOCHAM Health Committee.
Every year across the globe, over 1.75 crore people die due to heart disease. As per a recent WHO global report, it has been projected that by 2025, there would be about 156 crore people with this disease of which about 75 per cent will be in developing countries.
Alarmingly, rural areas too are witnessing this unhealthy trend. “Even in the rural areas, we see that there has been a tremendous increase in the incidence of heart disease, rising from 1.6% in1960 to 7.4% in 2010. In urban areas, this incidence ranges from 2.2% to 13.2%," says the National Medical Forum (NMF) and Cardiology Associates (CA).
On the World's Heart Day on Thursday, the NMF and CA launched a special chest pain helpline (011-23282328) in Delhi. Any person with an onset of chest pain can immediately call upon to seek guidance for an early diagnosis and initiation of treatment.
What is more worrying is that the heart disease incidence is on the rise among youth. "Around 25% of heart attacks in India are occurring below 40 years. The risk factors including smoking, sugar, high blood pressure and high cholesterol seem to have a higher impact on Indians than our counterparts in the rest of the world," the WHO has maintained.
In fact, a recent study has warned that inactive and lazy children because of their sedentary lifestyle and less physical activities are more likely to suffer from chronic heart diseases during their later stage of life. The study led by Costan C. Magnussen of the Menzies Research Institute in Tasmania, Australia shows that changing unhealthy habits of children early will help them prevent heart diseases as they age.
Health experts suggest that after the age of 30, one should go for a regular check up in the form of fasting blood sugar, lipid profile besides others. It is important that one follows a healthy lifestyle in form of healthy food, regular exercise for at least 30 minutes, keeping diabetes and blood pressure in control and give up smoking.
This is to ensure overall healthy life as even a problem with your kidney can speed up your journey towards heart ailments, says Dr Keshav Das Sadhwani, Consultant Nephrologist in Noida-based Kailash Hospital. "Kidney disease invites heart disease due to problems of fluid overload, anaemia, increased cholesterol and various metabolic and hormonal imbalances including calcium and phosphorus."
“Common risk factors include sedentary lifestyle, unhealthy eating habits, consumption of tobacco products together with increased levels of mental and physical stress, rapid urbanisation and industralisation,” said Dr HK Chopra, president of Indian Heart Protection Summit and chairman of ASSOCHAM Health Committee.
Every year across the globe, over 1.75 crore people die due to heart disease. As per a recent WHO global report, it has been projected that by 2025, there would be about 156 crore people with this disease of which about 75 per cent will be in developing countries.
Alarmingly, rural areas too are witnessing this unhealthy trend. “Even in the rural areas, we see that there has been a tremendous increase in the incidence of heart disease, rising from 1.6% in1960 to 7.4% in 2010. In urban areas, this incidence ranges from 2.2% to 13.2%," says the National Medical Forum (NMF) and Cardiology Associates (CA).
On the World's Heart Day on Thursday, the NMF and CA launched a special chest pain helpline (011-23282328) in Delhi. Any person with an onset of chest pain can immediately call upon to seek guidance for an early diagnosis and initiation of treatment.
What is more worrying is that the heart disease incidence is on the rise among youth. "Around 25% of heart attacks in India are occurring below 40 years. The risk factors including smoking, sugar, high blood pressure and high cholesterol seem to have a higher impact on Indians than our counterparts in the rest of the world," the WHO has maintained.
In fact, a recent study has warned that inactive and lazy children because of their sedentary lifestyle and less physical activities are more likely to suffer from chronic heart diseases during their later stage of life. The study led by Costan C. Magnussen of the Menzies Research Institute in Tasmania, Australia shows that changing unhealthy habits of children early will help them prevent heart diseases as they age.
Health experts suggest that after the age of 30, one should go for a regular check up in the form of fasting blood sugar, lipid profile besides others. It is important that one follows a healthy lifestyle in form of healthy food, regular exercise for at least 30 minutes, keeping diabetes and blood pressure in control and give up smoking.
This is to ensure overall healthy life as even a problem with your kidney can speed up your journey towards heart ailments, says Dr Keshav Das Sadhwani, Consultant Nephrologist in Noida-based Kailash Hospital. "Kidney disease invites heart disease due to problems of fluid overload, anaemia, increased cholesterol and various metabolic and hormonal imbalances including calcium and phosphorus."
