Preventive Care is Essential for Healthy Heart

On the event of World Heart Day, the best cardiologist Dr. KK Talwar, Chairman, Department of Cardiology, Max Healthcare, Saket tells Geetmala Sarkar how and what must be done in a day to maintain a healthy heart and age which is replete with uncertainties and at times, not-so-nice surprises. An alumnus of PGI Chandigarh, he has also held eminent positions of faculty & been a Director there. He headed the Department of Cardiology at AIIMS and during his superannuation, Chairman of Medical Council of India, Board of Governor for two years and has been serving patients at Max since the year 2013.

What is an unhealthy heart? How can we prevent it?

A heart can be said to be unhealthy when it is unhealthy at birth. It is called congenital heart disease. The other kinds of problems can be acquired and therefore called acquired heart disease. In our country, as per my experience, we have a significant lead of both congenital and acquired heart disease.
Among acquired heart diseases in India, rheumatic valvular disease is seen more in young people. This is related to lacking hygiene, improper sanitation, living in crowded places have a bearing on this disease. This makes it more prone to a streptococcal sore throat. For this disease, it is colloquially said “it licks the throat but bites the heart”. It could need a surgical procedure and care. The affected age group is the early 20’s.

A current development affecting people between ages is 25 above till later in life is coronary heart disease or high blood pressure. We also call it lifestyle-related disorders. There could be genetic proneness in addition to greater environmental factors that add to it. It is hence called epigenetic. Environmental factors that need to be moderated and controlled are unhealthy diet, inadequate exercise, indulgence in tobacco and alcohol consumption, etc. Nevertheless, a healthy lifestyle, if adopted and continued will certainly keep us at bay. Regular physical exercise like walking is good exercise and should involve about 30-40 minutes daily covering 1 km in about 10-12 minutes, eating fresh and home-cooked food, cutting and finally eliminating habits such as smoking and drinking alcohol are the basics that can ensure a healthy heart.

What are dynamic exercises? is it mandatory to do them at a stretch or can they be done intermittently too?

In terms of physiology, dynamic exercises refer to those involving both contraction and relaxation of the muscle. These cannot be replaced by isometric exercises. Playing games is also a way out where one times a week. Playing games is good too. Cutting down on consuming fried food and having home-cooked food, as well as, not indulging in alcohol consumption and smoking habits will go a long way in preventing heart diseases. Further spiritual habits also help to reduce the stress that is another risk factor for a cardiovascular problem.

Question1. Rate of noncommunicable diseases is increasing at a rapid pace. How are they impacting the regular life of young Indians?

Answer: – Noncommunicable disease (NCD) has assumed an epidemic proportion in the present century. Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) constitute a major subset of NCD. Coronary Artery Disease particularly in the young is of serious concern in our society. Faulty lifestyles like lack of exercise, unhealthy food habits, and tobacco use are the major risk factors. The myocardial infarction (Acute Heart Attack) occurs in 20-25% of our patients below the age of 40 years compared to nearly 5% in the western population. This disease thus affects the most productive age group. This creates huge financial stress on the family both from the disease angle & job insecurity.

Thus it is extremely important to educate our youngsters to adopt healthy lifestyle habits to prevent cardiovascular diseases.

Question2. Sedentary lifestyle & unhealthy eating habits lead to Cardiovascular Diseases over a period. What is your opinion on the above statement?

Answer: – Sedentary habits & an unhealthy diet are the two most important risk factors for Coronary Artery disease particularly in the young population. A must-do is to cut out on junk food and to consume fresh vegetables and fruits. Better education about these habits makes youngsters adopt the right choices and not get driven by peer pressure.

Regular physical exercise, walking/playing are important to assure a healthy body. Playing games is also a way out where one concentrates on the activity at hand and is in a positive and happy mental frame. Further yoga exercises are also good for joint and muscle relaxation & reduce stress.

Question3. What are the success rates of a heart transplant in India in comparison to western counterparts? Has technology helped and reached the rural in a pocket-friendly manner?

Answer: – The success rate of heart transplants is nearly comparable to the centres. We have very few centres doing heart transplants in the country. Since the first transplant on 03/08/1994 at AIIMS Delhi, nearly 400 transplants have been done in the country. In the last 5 years or so the number of centres doing heart transplants has increased and also created awareness of this facility amongst physicians & society. Most of the transplant programs are in the private cardiac hospital in Delhi and very few public sectors, institutes are active in this programme. This does raise the cost of this treatment and makes it beyond the affordability strength of low/medium income society. Thus there is a need to financially support these individuals by the state. We also need to educate & encourage society to donate organs for the success of such a therapeutic programme.

Of course, we also need to educate physicians and cardiologists about the benefit of Heart Transplant which is a life-saving therapy for patients with End-Stage heart failure. It is important that needy patients are advised and referred to centres with facilities for Heart Transplants.

Question4. What is your opinion, should schools, colleges & corporate do to spread awareness about heart care, in the long run, to engage youth in healthy & stress-free life?

Answer: – Education Sector i.e. schools & colleges has a crucial role to create awareness and spread of scientific information as a starting point of public health initiatives to prevent cardiovascular diseases.

Significant health aspects such as healthy nutrition & dietary habits, environmental protection, hygiene, physical activity, avoidance of tobacco, alcohol are not covered systematically in the schools/colleges/universities curriculum. Healthy habits are not cultivated by the students due to a lack of health education.

A healthy nation is built on the playfields of the school & colleges. Therefore an emphasis on physical activity, through the encouragement of sports should be an essential component of school/college training.

Health literacy and education are definitely the way forward. Thus schools/colleges/universities are important stakeholders in the success of preventing cardiovascular disease.

Question5. What are your views on ET Heart Talk! The Heart Conference? How important do you think is the need of organizing such conferences?

Answer: – It is very important to hold such meetings/ conferences to educate society about the incidence and economic burden of cardiovascular diseases. These diseases are related to unhealthy lifestyle habits and thus can be prevented to a significant degree by adopting healthy lifestyle habits.

Such Heart talks and conferences thus play a vital role in discussions & planning strategies for prevention. Apart from healthy lifestyle measures, discussions in other areas like healthy environment, unpolluted air, healthy living condition, safe drinking water, unadulterated food, sports facilities are important and contribute to a good quality healthy life and prevention of Cardiovascular Diseases.

The involvement of the stakeholders v.z. Physicians, Cardiologists, Policy Makers, Educationists, Environmentalist, Nutritionists, Hospital Administrators in such conferences help to brainstorm & plan to adopt the right strategies for the prevention of this epidemic.

I congratulate ET-Edge to take such initiative on World Heart Day in the interest to create a Healthy Society & Healthy Minds.