Cardiac Arrest Among Celebrities: Sidharth Shukla, Puneeth Rajkumar, KK And Now Raju Srivastava

New Delhi: Comedian Raju Srivastava’s cardiac arrest on Wednesday has rekindled memories of TV actor Sidharth Shukla and Kannada star Puneeth Rajkumar’s death due to cardiac arrest last year and that of well-known Bollywood singer KK, earlier this year.

The uncanny similarities in the deaths of Sidharth and Puneeth raised many questions besides leaving their fans in shock. Both were fitness enthusiasts and used to work out at the gym regularly. One was 40, the other 46.

Singer KK died of cardiac arrest earlier this year while performing on a stage in Kolkata. He was 53.

And now, Raju Srivastava, 58, is fighting for his life after suffering a cardiac arrest during his workout.

A day before, Marathi actor Pradeep Patwardhan, 65, succumbed to heart attack sending shockwaves across the industry and his near ones.

While no one has put a finger on the possible reasons for heart attacks among young celebrities, fitness experts and cardiologists have urged people with hectic lifestyles to minimise stress, eat healthy, stay away from alcohol and smoke, and follow a healthy routine.

“In several cases, we have come across that person, typically young, fit and healthy people having a heart attack or cardiac arrest during or after the workout in a gym, while playing sports or running. One must understand anything you overdue will harm in long run than getting benefits from it. At a times in rare cases, a heart attack in a gym can occur due to a blood clot in the heart due to certain reasons which affect the blood flow. Other comorbidities like cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes etc can also contribute to heart diseases. Exercise in moderation is good shouldn’t be over done Individuals doing Unaccustomed exercise should get checked up for cardiac and other ailments,” Dr Ankur Phatarpekar, Director Cathlab and Interventional Cardiologist, Symbiosis Hospital, Mumbai was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

Talking about the phenomenon where people, who look apparently fit but have a heart attack, despite being young, Dr Viveka Kumar, Principal Director and Chief of Cath Labs, Max Healthcare, had told ZeeNews last year, “What we must understand is there is a difference between being fit and being healthy. Healthy means not just physical fitness, but mental fitness too – stress under control, a decent lifestyle and adequate sleep.”

Here are some tips he shared:

– Not every person who looks fit is healthy. Physical fitness has to be coupled with mental health, adequate sleep.

– Smoking is BAD for the heart. So is tobacco consumption in ANY form.

– Exercising is essential. One should walk more than 10,000 steps in 24 hours.

– Again, over-exercising is BAD. If you are walking more than 30,000 steps a day, continuously, it can be harmful. Exercise regularly, but in moderation.

– If you are walking less than 5,000 steps a day, you are leading a sedentary lifestyle and you are as much in danger of heart diseases as a smoker, even if you don’t smoke! If you smoke on top of that, do the math!!

– Adequate amount of sleep is very important – which is between 7 and 8 hours. Sleeping less than 6 hours and more than 10 hours, regularly, are both bad for health.

– Avoid excessive sugar and salt as they will lead to/aggravate diabetes and high blood pressure, which are directly linked to heart health.

– Yoga and meditation are important as stress is the biggest killer. Financial stress is one of the biggest kinds of stress. When it comes to celebs, even though they are physically fit, often fame and popularity bring in a huge amount of stress.

–  Once you have crossed 40, regular health checkups are a must, even if you are seemingly or actually okay. Early detection and medication, preventive check-ups… all can save lives.