Skip to main content

Ignoring the early signs??

Siddharth Shukla, KK, Raju Srivastav, A family member of mine - all were in their fifties. They were of different built, their lifestyles were different, their diet habits were different yet one thing in common - they died of Heart Attack or Cardiac Arrest.

In the last few months, we saw a sudden increase in the deaths by Cardiac Arrest/Heart Attack, especially people who are below 50 years of age. Social Media is flooded with posts about Heart Attack after workout, deaths on the dance floor, deaths while simply walking on the road. Cause? Cardiac Arrest or Heart Attack.

What is Cardiac Arrest and how is it different from Heart Attack?

As per #MedicalGuardian, "A Heart Attack occurs when one of the coronary arteries—the arteries which deliver oxygenated blood to the heart muscle—becomes blocked and the portion of the heart muscle it supplies is damaged. This usually occurs when a cholesterol plaque breaks open and platelets rush to the site of the damaged artery and form a clot that compromises blood flow. This can result in severe chest pain, heart failure (fluid backup in the lungs) or an electrical disturbance that can result in loss of consciousness or cardiac arrest. 

Cardiac Arrest is a broad term that essentially means that the heart stops pumping as the result of an electrical disturbance or arrhythmia. As we have seen above, this can be caused by a heart attack (this is actually the most common cause); however, it can result from a number of other issues that have nothing to do with the coronary arteries. For example, patients with Dilated Cardiomyopathy (a condition where the heart becomes unusually large and weak for any number of reasons) are at risk for cardiac arrest and often receive implantable defibrillators (ICDs) to monitor their heartbeats and deliver a shock if a dangerous heart rhythm is detected."

A study (published in LiveMint), which provides the first-of-its-kind nationally representative estimates of cardiovascular mortality in India, shows that heart ailments caused more than 2.1 million deaths in India in 2015 at all ages. That is 21 Lakh Human beings.

Siddharth was a model; hence he regularly went to the gym, took good food, enough of protein (probably) yet got the heart attack. KK looked fit, very energetic and yet got cardiac arrest. Raju Srivastav and the family member I was quoting above both looked very composed yet got artery blockages and died.

In the age of information, you can research articles, read journals, attend expert sessions and consult doctors at the click of a button - so you know what symptoms you currently have and what course corrections do you need to do so You do not get into the state of no return.

Just answer honestly, when was the last full body check-up (specially lipid profile) that costs mere ₹599 or ₹999 did you go through? If you already have irregular blood pressure or diabetes or low levels of hemoglobin - what course corrections have you done so far? Medicines that doctors give may give you immediate relief but what happens when you skip a day or two? Does your blood pressure fluctuate? Do you feel weak in case you skip the iron tablets? Does your energy level fade away if you skip your medicines for diabetes?

Read - Reasearch - Learn that You must do some real changes on your food habits, lifestyle and thought process to remain fit. Organs, unlike our outer body parts, do not look beautiful, they need to be kept healthy. I can help learn a thing or two, if you at all interested.

You should not take symptoms lightly. Irregular blood pressure levels are indications that if you do not do enough, you are moving toward an early demise. 

Therefore, be proactive and not reactive. 

Eat Healthy, Be Healthy, Live Better.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Life of a Call Center Employee

Alarm at 2:30 AM woke me up. Went to brush my teeth and grabbed a cup of tea. 10 minutes later, the cab driver gave a miss call. By 3:00 AM I was on my way to the office. The Australian shift (Or the Graveyard shift) pissed me off a lot. Used to get dressed and then sleep so I could wake up and board the cab that early in the morning. Most " Call Center Employees " would have gone through the trauma called Graveyard shift at least once in their career. This is a tale of one of them - "I". Most of you probably know how good we are (people from Bihar/Jharkhand/UP) in spoken English. Not because we never learnt but because we never practiced in the real life. For us, English was an optional subject and clearing it in the exam was not even mandatory. From that kind of environment to an International BPO - as we call it - was a tough journey. Couldn't clear the first attempt of voice and accent training in 2007 as the Mother Tongue Influence caught me there. I am s...

Places to see In NewYork City

NewYork, NY – the financial capital of North America. Someone rightly said “New York is so amazing that they named it twice ;-)”. What all you can experience will depend on how many days you spend in the city. NY is a bouquet of different flowers that caters every visitor in its own way. From beaches to museums, from buildings to Monuments – You get everything you wish to see. Must See Places:   Ground Zero:  Who doesn’t remember 9/11 – the day that shocked the whole of humanity. No matter where you stay during your visit to the city, Ground Zero should be the first one in your list of  Places to visit.   Freedom Tower:  A stunning view of one of the tallest buildings in the world would not let you leave the place.  WorldOne  or the  Freedom Tower  is said to be the tallest building in the country. The restaurant on the 101st floor gives an amazing view of the NewYork skyline. You must visit the restaurant if you want to experienc...

One Sip At A Time...

After multiple unsuccessful attempts, I gave up. Woke up from my bed and went straight to the kitchen. Made a "Kadak" cup of tea and while enjoying it One Sip At a Time, I thought of writing this blog. In the winters of 2007, I was in Kolkata. As fresh IT graduates - completely unaware of the global meltdown which was heading our way - a friend of mine and I were trying our luck with IT firms. Being from the middle class, we didn't have much to spend. So we decided to share a small hotel/lodge in Bada Bazar area of the city. The city is usually warmer than the rest of India. The temperature rarely drops below 18-15 degrees. Hence we used to get up quite early so we can get ready and go for "Job Hunting" in the Salt Lake City - the IT park of Kolkata. Right beside our lodge there was the huge wholesale market - probably the biggest in India (Or Eastern India to be more precise). Right at the corner there was a Chai Walah (Tea Seller) who had employed over 20 peo...