Heart attack at the age of heartbreak

Here is the most unfortunate times, where cardiac arrest is not just an old-age problem, even youngsters experience the onslaught of this monster. Why?  Here are a few reasons  
Heart attack at the age of heartbreak

HYDERABAD : Let’s start with, what is a cardiac arrest?
It’s a sudden cessation of cardiac pump activity thus bring the blood circulation to a halt in the body and hence oxygenation of all body organs including the brain, which if not restarted in five to ten minutes leads to irreparable damage to the body especially the brain causing brain death and eventually death of the person.

Why does cardiac arrest happen?
There are numerous reasons but I will discuss the most common cause of cardiac arrest here, - heart attack.Myocardial infarction also commonly known as heart attack is due to sudden cessation of blood supply to the heart muscle, which leads to heart muscle damage and slowing of pumping of the heart or even stoppage of the pumping of the heart.

The heart muscle is supplied by the left and right coronary artery. Since our heart is always working 24 hrs a day it requires continuous supply of blood to the heart muscle, so it has a never ending supply of oxygen and fatty acids to generate energy to continue its pump function.

Presence of a cholesterol build up and sudden formation of a blood clot in the lumen of one of the coronary artery can cause obstruction to the flow of blood to the heart muscle and heart pump failure ( akin to the petrol tube blockage of a vehicle, where in the engine splutters and comes to a grinding halt), if the flow is not restored to the coronaries immediately , by either  clot dissolving medicine or more efficiently by the infamous challa (stent) and balloon which is in news lately the heart is doomed to  stop.

  Causes..  

Age, smoking, high cholesterol (LDL) levels, diabetes, hypertension and genetic have proved beyond doubt to promote heart attack. There are many more important factors in our day to day life which everyone have  in our daily lifestyles..It’s not always what is seen is right, looks can be deceptive, life does not come easy and we all know this.

Stress
First, the stress to get where you want and then the stress to maintain the position, or stress by the family with whom you  live… if you are successful in career there is someone in the house who wants you to come back home early. Many a successful career oriented person are so guilty cause they are not doing justice to their personal life.. So to be less of stress we need to learn to let go…

Showbiz
The stress to look good and young forever also is such an unhealthy recipe for disaster. The long working hours, the keto diets, the cosmetic procedures the body has to undergo, the muscle building drugs and the  quick weight loosing regimes, invite a great deal of risk for cardiac diseases.I have seen my patients having cardiac arrest during festival times, marriage seasons or other stress related times.

Either there are back to back parties of high fat food, with lack of sleep bundled along with travels during nights to save time. The author is an interventional cardiologist who attends to about 20 to 30 cardiac attack patients every week, majority of his patients in the age group of 40 to  55 years. Practicing in southern Gujarat 

How to reduce this and buffer oneself from this inevitable event the cardiac arrest?
Exercise regularly, at least 20 mins of brisk walking or equivalent for 3 times a week..
Eat natural and in limits of 33%... Don’t binge on one particular food, like say biryani. This high fatty food should be about 30 % of what goes in, the rest should be salads, and fluid. Be conscious of what you eat and spend the amount of calories what has been consumed in the next 2 to 3 days. Go in for a long walk or a trek if you feel you have treated yourself with some fatty rich food. Fats are not that bad as always shown, but learn to use the energy which comes along with it...Avoid smoking, or tobacco consumption in any form, trust me it does not help the body in any way, but adds to the already present misery.

After the age of 35 have a general health check up to detect hidden diseases like hypertension and diabetes at 1 or 2 years regular intervalsLearn to live happy and contended if you want to live longer. It’s better to retire as manager or deputy or assistant director and live till 80 to 90 years rather than becoming the vice president or president of the organization and dying at the age of 50 to 60 while still in office. After all you have one life not to earn money but rather to live to its fullest.

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