Lifestyle change can reduce risks of heart disease
THE HINDU, Friday 14th November, 2003

It is a wake-up call from the specialists who aver that at least 10 percent to 12 percent of the nearly one million people in Mysore risk being afflicted by heart diseases of various kinds.

Though the figures are not absolute, it is inferred from a series of studies carried out across India by doctors who have concluded that at least 10 percent to 12 percent of every 100 persons in India suffer from heart ailments. In Mysore, which has a population of nearly 10 lakhs, it, in the light of the studies, could be said that at least 1.2 lakh persons fall under the risk category.

S.B. Vikram of Vikram Hospital and Heart Centre disclosed this at a function to mark the inauguration of Dr. Narayan Setty Memorial Charitable Foundation here on Thursday.

The studies further prove that an average south Indian is two times prone to heart disease than a north Indian while the urban Indian too is two times prone to heart disease than his rural counterpart.

Similarly, Indians are five times more susceptible to heart attacks than the Japanese and three times more susceptible to heart attacks than an average American. However, this did not mean that all those in the risk category in Mysore need immediate intervention. But if precautionary measures are not taken, including change in lifestyle, then a majority may suffer in the next 20 years and a sizeable section of them will need intervention, according to Dr. Vikram.

He said the studies had not proved as to why an average Indian was at a higher risk than his western counterpart or why a south Indian was two times prone to heart attacks than north Indian. But specialists had attributed this to eating habits and though vegetarianism was lauded, this was offset by consumption of junk food or fast food apart from consumption of food with excessive fat content in it. Again, India had a large number of diabetes patients, and with this the risk of heart disease increased, he said. A sedentary life style, increase in physical comforts influenced by western culture, lack of adequate exercise had contributed to the rise in heart disease cases among Indians but these were modifiable factors. Studies had also proved that heart disease among Indians was also due to certain un-modifiable factors such as genetics, he said.

“One cannot choose ones parents and the risk is acquired if it is in the genes as it cannot be modified. Similarly, males are more prone to the disease then females and this cannot be altered either. Indians are small-built physically compared to other population groups in the world and hence, the arteries are smaller increasing the risk of their clogging which leads to heart attack,” Dr. Vikram said.

However, he pointed out that the other risk factors are modifiable and risks of heart disease could be reduced through changes in lifestyle. This includes cutting out on smoking, having adequate exercise, keeping blood pressure under control, coping with stress, keeping a check on cholesterol and tri-glycerides, among others.

Dr. Vikram stressed the importance of annual medical check-up and said, “We take our vehicles for tuning and servicing once in six months. But we ignore our body and the heart.”

He said people should not ignore symptoms such as angina, which was a pain in the chest that lingered for some time and cautioned against self medication or assuming safely that it was due to indigestion or a gastric problem. But prevention was better than cure and a slight change in lifestyle, eating habits coupled with regular exercise could cut out the heart attack risk, he added.

Cardiology Camp

Vikram Hospital and Heart Centre, in association with Mysore Medical College Alumni Association, conducted Interventional Cardiology Camp in which 40 poor patients underwent Coronary Angiogram. Angioplasty was performed for the needy. Seven patients were implanted with pacemaker free. This was made possible with contributions from Govindaraj Subramani, Interventional Cardiologist, Wisconsin, USA.

St. Jude Pacemaker Company and St. Luke’s Hospital. Milwaukee, US, provided equipment and consumables. Arun Srinivas and Guruprasad, Interventional Cardiologists of Vikram Hospital participated.

Foundation to help poor

Dr. Narayan Setty Memorial Charitable Foundation was launched here on Thursday with an objective of providing financial assistance to poor patients in need of expensive interventional treatment such as bypass surgery and angioplasty.

The foundation has been incorporated by S. Bhaskar, S.N. Rajeshwar and S.B. Vikram in memory of Narayan Setty who carried out charitable work in the field of healthcare. The fund collected by the charitable foundation will be used to subsidize the cost of treatment such as coronary angiogram, angioplasty and bypass surgery for the poor and the needy. A panel of eminent citizens from Mysore will be constituted to assess the amount of subsidy needed to patients on case-to-case basis. Donors wishing to contribute to the foundation may contact the Hospital at Yadavagiri. Patients who cannot afford expensive treatment and require financial assistance from the foundation may enter their names and other relevant details in the registry at the Hospital.