This years World Heart day Theme is a very apt one: Cardiovascular Health for Everyone. We are going through tough phase in the world because of covid pandemic & heart disease specially premature, young heart attack cases now rampant in our country. Heart Disease is one such pandemic which does not have any vaccine till date and seems unlikely we will have any solution in near future. It upsets me to the core when I see young people coming with Heart Attacks and this taking a toll not only on them but also on there family members and there future. [As per some studies] an estimated 50 lac people died from heart disease in India last year.Approx. 45% of the population above 60 yrs are suffering from high blood pressure.
Increasing prevalence of heart related disorders can be attributed to increasing population, ageing demographics, genetic predisposition, and behavioral risk factors. These include factors such as lack of physical activity, sedentary lifestyle, unhealthy eating habits, chronic stress, use of tobacco and excessive consumption of alcohol. The long-term effects of such risk factors may present themselves primarily in for form of raised blood pressure, raised blood glucose and lipids, and overweight and obesity. Some of the common complications that may result from these risk factors are strokes and cardiac arrests.
There are some very simple steps that one can take to improve there overall Health:-
- Daily 10k Steps
- Use Stairs Instead of Lifts and Escalators
- Stop Smoking
- Avoid Alcohol
- Keep Diabetes in Control
- Maintain Blood Pressure levels 120/80 being the normal
- Take medications as suggested by doctor without fail
- Have regular check up- People above 40 should get tests done every 6 months
- Eat Healthy Food with less Salt and Oil use
- Sleep for 6-8 Hours
- Be active all day and use 25-5 rule of 5 -10 min walking after sitting for 25 min
The heart is the only organ you can hear and feel. It is the first and last sign of life. Let’s make heart health our priority every single day.