Experts stress early check ups, prevention, physical activity to cut heart disease risk

Experts have called for greater focus on prevention and early detection of heart disease urging people to undergo timely health checkups stay physically active and address risk factors such as diabetes high blood pressure obesity and tobacco useSpeaking to PTI renowned heart surgeon Dr Shriram Nene said heart disease remains a major health concern in India and globally and people need to act on risk factors such as family history diabetes high blood pressure physical inactivity and obesityHonestly heart disease is endemic in India and around the world We need to shift the discussion from acute care to prevention early recognition and early treatment If that can be done the world you live in will be better Dr Nene saidCardiac surgeon and Medanta chairman and managing director Dr Naresh Trehan said greater attention needs to be paid to heart health particularly as younger people are increasingly being affected by heart attacks and cardiac arrestsOn World Heart Day we should pay attention to our own health specifically our heart health We know that India has a very high incidence of heart attacks and a large number of people die from them Dr Trehan saidHe stressed the importance of knowing ones family history and identifying risk factors earlyIf there is a family history of heart disease and diabetes you should get a checkup before the age of 25 Dr Trehan said adding that even those without a family history should undergo a comprehensive health checkup before 30Advances such as genome sequencing along with family history biochemical parameters and lifestyle assessment can help determine an individuals risk profile he saidPublic health expert Prof Monika Arora Vice PresidentResearch and Health Promotion Division at the Public Health Foundation of India PHFI attributed the rise in cardiovascular diseases to changing lifestyles and dietary patternsThe increase in cardiovascular diseases we are seeing in India is a result of our changing lifestyles and the nutrition transition that our country has experienced where we have moved from traditional diets to Western diets Monika saidMonika also highlighted the cardiovascular risks associated with tobacco use including smoking smokeless tobacco and newer forms of nicotine addiction such as vapesDr Amit Gupta Executive Global Metabolic Health Alliance said controlling metabolic risk factors such as blood pressure diabetes obesity cholesterol and fatty liver is important for preventing heart diseaseToday I would like to focus on metabolic health It includes factors such as blood pressure cholesterol fatty liver and body weight which together determine our metabolic health If we also have diabetes the metabolic risk increases Dr Gupta saidHe also flagged childhood obesity as a growing concern and advised maintaining a healthy weight from an early ageFor elderly people Dr Gupta recommended regular monitoring of blood sugar blood pressure and weight adherence to prescribed medicines and appropriate medical adviceWorld Heart Day was observed globally on September 29 to raise awareness about cardiovascular diseases and the importance of prevention and early interventionThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever