KOCHI: Among the leading causes of death, heart disease had topped the chart in Kerala in 1990 and also in 2018. The death rate due to this morbidity has increased over the years. If 7.1% of total deaths reported in 1990 were due to heart disease, in 2018, 14 per cent of the deaths reported is due to heart disease. Yearly 1.75 lakhs of heart attacks are reported in Kerala out of which 38000 dies.
The health facilities of Kerala are supposed to be highest in India and comparable with that of developed countries like United States and Western Europe and one would naturally expect a significantly lower incidence of heart disease and other lifestyle diseases in Kerala, but ironically, its highest in Kerala compared with other states of India.
Many observational studies have shown a high prevalence of risk factors leading to a heart ailment in urban and rural settings. This is largely due to the higher prevalence of major risk factors like high BP (42 per cent), diabetes (30-40 per cent), high cholesterol (45-72 per cent), smoking (42 per cent), obesity (40 per cent), physical inactivity (41 per cent), and unhealthy alcohol consumption (13 per cent) among population of Kerala.
There are many ways to keep your precious heart healthy. Here are a few:
1. Eat healthily: Always keep a check on what you eat and when you eat.
2. Maintain healthy body weight: Obesity increases the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes etc. Measure Body Mass Index and keep it below 25.
3. Aerobic exercise and Yoga: One can do simple aerobic exercises for a minimum of 45 minutes daily for 6 days. Yoga and meditation also ease stress.
4. Be active: Take stairs instead of the lift, mop the floor or try walking back home from work if you are nearby.
5. Say NO to Smoking and Alcohol: Stop all tobacco products. The usual binge drinking can kill you with a heart attack or a hike of blood pressure.
6. Stress management: Talk to your friends, socialise, slow down a bit and take a break.
7. Check your family history: You have to be extremely cautious to control other risk factors if one of your parents got a heart attack before the age of 55 years.
8. A good sleep always better: Sleep of 7-9 hours each night will help your heart stay healthy.
9. Get regular health screening: Go for yearly executive check-ups to know your levels.
10. Be happy always and maintain a positive attitude: Laughing for just 15 minutes daily can boost blood flow by 25% and prevent arteries from hardening. Mingle with people who have a positive attitude towards life and avoid people with negative thinking.
(The author is a founder head & senior consultant, Cardiology, Lourdes Hospital, Kochi. Views expressed are his own.)