Heart Care: Unhealthy Food & Inactive Lifestyle Dangerous For All Groups, Warn Apollo Doctors

Bhubaneswar: Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) have a major impact on the body. It is a group of disorders linked with heart and blood vessels that also include coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, rheumatic heart disease and other conditions.

According to World Health Organisation (WHO), it is estimated that 4 out of 5 CVDs deaths occur due to heart attacks and strokes. One-third of deaths take place prematurely for people who are under the age of 70.

To avoid heart diseases, it is important to stay fit, maintain a nutritious diet and stay from alcohol, cigarette and junk food, said Dr Alok Srivastava, Chief Operating Officer-cum-Director Medical Services of Apollo Hospitals, Bhubaneswar.

In modern times, even young adults are victims of heart diseases. Plaque can start building up in the arteries of children and adolescence and can later clog them. Factors like obesity, diabetes mellitus type-2 and several others can be found in young and middle-aged people, said Dr. Srivastava.

Unhealthy food and inactive lifestyle are dangerous for all age groups, said Dr Srivastava  and added that if young people don’t work on their lifestyle and eating habits, they may be affected by the risk of cardiovascular disease in the future.

In the time of COVID-19, CVD patients are faced with a double-edged threat. Not only are they more at risk of developing severe forms of the virus, but they may also be afraid to seek ongoing care for their
hearts. The healthcare crisis we’ve all been living through has highlighted an urgent need to find different and innovative ways to connect people to heart health, particularly in lower resource areas and communities.

“Harnessing the power of digital health to improve awareness, prevention and management of CVD globally is our goal for World Heart Day 2021. Tele-health has a huge role to play as we continue to ‘Use heart to beat CVD. Use heart to connect’ is about using your knowledge; compassion and influence to make sure you, your loved ones and the communities you’re part of have the best chance to live heart healthy lives, the doctor added.

Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited has introduced 40% discount on Apollo heart check and Apollo Advanced Heart Check on the occasion of World Heart Day. The offer has been extended till October 30.

According to a survey report released by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), has claimed that  Odisha has a 27.19% prevalence of key Non-communicable Diseases
(NCDs) which is higher than the national average of 11.63%.

According to the report, the state has a higher prevalence of  hypertension, diabetes and respiratory diseases as compared to the National Average Prevalence Rate of these diseases. Even heart related ailments are being noticed due to sedentary lifestyle, taking junk food, smoking and alcohol.

Delving on the risk factors associated with NCDs, the report observed that people in the state have relatively higher exposure to air pollution as compared to the national average.

The report underlined that Odisha has a higher level of non-vegetarian food consumption with a higher level of aquatic and moderate level of red meat consumption.

As per the study findings, 91.6% of the respondents from Odisha consume non-vegetarian food as compared to the national average of 65.6%. The study also found that milk and fruits consumption is lower while junk food consumption is marginally higher in Odisha than the national average. These factors have implications on the occurrence of NCDs like hypertension, digestive disorders, heart ailments and diabetes. The survey further pointed out that 58% of people in Odisha never undertake health check-ups as compared to the national average of 47%. This results in a higher prevalence of NCDs in the state.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a sharper focus on health care. Patterns emerging from COVID management across the country indicate that people with comorbidities of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have a higher mortality rate than those who do not.

This has grave implications for the country not only because of mortality and years of healthy lives lost but also because of country’s health infrastructure. NCDs are preventable and with changes in lifestyle, dietary habits, and increase in physical activities among others its prevalence can be reduced/checked, informed Dr PK. Sahoo, Director, Interventional Cardiology of Apollo Hospitals, Bhubaneswar.

“We are living in unprecedented times. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown a spotlight on the healthcare profession, national healthcare systems and our individual responsibilities – for our own health and for the vulnerable in society. We don’t know what course the pandemic will take in the future but we do know that taking care of our hearts right now is more important than ever. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the number one cause of death on the planet. It has many causes: from smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity, to air pollution, and rare and neglected conditions like cardiac amyloidosis,” said Dr Sahoo.

Cardio Services

The Cardiology and CTVS departments in Apollo-Bhubaneswar is an unparalleled leader in Cardiology and Cardiothoracic surgery and focuses on providing high quality cardiovascular care to patients.

The institute has pioneered a breakthrough procedure – TAVR  (Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement), a minimally invasive  procedure for patients with symptomatic, severe aortic valve stenosis and having moderate to high surgical risks.

The centre conducts ROTA Atherctomy, Peripheral Vascular Intervention, Valvuloplasty, ICD-Implantation, 3D Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) with MSO, HD IVUS and FFR.

The cardiac sciences department here is the only hospital in the state using stent optimising techniques for better long term outcome by use of OCT, IVUS &FFR. The advanced infrastructure shores up to the multifarious nature of cardiac care provided.