CORONARY HEART DISEASE

CORONARY HEART DISEASE

TRADITIONAL INDIAN LIFE STYLES CAN PREVENT CORONARY HEART DISEASE, YET

WE SQU ANDER MONEY TRYING TO CURE IT.

In India nearly 24 million people suffer from heart ailments and at

least 20 million have diagnosed hypertension. In USA, with a quarter of

our population, 40 million have diagnosed heart disease and 60 milli on

have hypertension. Yet, ironically the very life style that western

cardiologists today recommend to prevent coronary heart disease is the

one that Indians are increasingly abandoning, writes Padma Ramnath in

‘Business India’ (Aug 30 – Sept 12, 1993).

Dr. P. A. Kale, Professor of Cardiology at the G.S. Medical College, KEM

Hospital, says that coronary heart disease has climbed the ‘charts’ from

14th to 4th.

In India, the incidence of coronary heart disease is found eve n among

those below 40 years. The causes for heart disease are smoking,

hypertension and high levels of cholesterol, triglycerides and blood

sugar stress. In Western countries they are found more among the aging

population.

Dr. B. K. Goyal, Dean of Bombay Hospital, after a 10-year study of

coronary heart disease has noted 16 % incidence among the young – four

times the rate in western countries. Tobacco use and the high stress of

urban life are considered the main cause of this high incidence. Dr.

Goyal recommends that youth should have an awareness of the causes of

heart disease right from s chool level.

Women are equally prone to coronary heart disease, as they too have to

face the stress of life, trying to balance family responsibilities with

their work in the office or factory.

There are some myths about coronary heart disease, one is that normal

ECG rules out coronary heart disease. However cha nges are often

reflected in the ECG only when there is acute or chronic deficiency in

blood supply to the heart. Again in a supine ECG, at least 65% angina

patients will show a normal profile. Only a stress test can rule out

coronary heart disease.

Another my th is that blocks showing up in coronary angiograms

immediately warrant bypass surgery. Nuclear radiologists suggest a

thallium study instead of an angiogram.

Published in the July 2010 edition of Yoga & Total Health Magazine.