[dailydriver]

Today's Kannada Prabha has this feature about the susceptibility of middle aged gents to heart diseases.



Main points

1. Men living in large cities are 30% more likely to experience cardiac problems than their suburban and rural counterparts.
2. Pollution, traffic and stress (all interrelated) and lack of physical activity accelerate the possibility of cardiac issues in city dwellers.
3. Post Covid, Narayana Hospital has seen 25-30% increase in admission of patients less than 55 years of age. 70% of the said patients are in the age bracket of 25-55.
4. Jayadeva Hospital sees an annual average of 60,000 inpatients and 6,00,000 outpatients. 30% of them are aged less than 40.
5. The hospital has, in the past quarter, seen a doubling of number of people approaching it for general heart checkup. 56% of them are aged 30-39.

Precautions

1. Undergo periodic health checkup.
2. Be physically active.
3. Avoid junk food.
4. Destress.
5. Have control over body weight, fat and diabetes.

[Guna]

Originally Posted by dailydriver

Main points

1. Undergo periodic health checkup.
2. Be physically active.
3. Avoid junk food.
4. Destress.
5. Have control over body weight, fat and diabetes.

Surprised to see that there is no mention of how harmful 'sugar' intake is. I have read and heard (from doctors) that excessive sugar levels in the blood is what causes inflammations in arteries which leads to the cholesterol deposition and eventual blockages.

[PreludeSH]

I think given the seriousness of issues a CT angio or something similar should be done at 40 or 50. Once dose of radiation is not that harmful relatively speaking. You get it done if its needed for some other issue without hesitation. Hope some kind of methodology would lead to such tests with genetic, lifestyle and other factors considered.

Tread mill tests have limitations and I know people that have had massive attacks even after being fit on all tests, not obese and being physically very active and fit.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by PreludeSH

I think given the seriousness of issues a CT angio or something similar should be done at 40 or 50. Once dose of radiation is not that harmful relatively speaking. ...

Relative to what? I may be out of date, technology might have improved. but last I hear of was one CT scan was equal to 200 x-rays.

Thinking as I write, I guess it depends on how much of your body is scanned. A CAT scan is numerous X-ray slices. But yes, it is many times the radiation of an X-ray.

Actually, I think they see a lot with ultrasound and stuff now?

My qualification on all of this: I once lived next-door to a senior radiologist. I think I spoke to him about anything medical maybe once. So no qualification at all .

Tangentially, I had a chest scan when I had covid this July. I recalled reading that it was unnecessary, and one X-ray would do, but I wasn't feeling fit enough to argue!

[am1m]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Tangentially, I had a chest scan when I had covid this July. I recalled reading that it was unnecessary, and one X-ray would do, but I wasn't feeling fit enough to argue!

There's a reason an MD seat for Radiology is usually the most expensive in any medical college. Some doctors in the family, so grew up interacting with a lot of doctors and all of them agree that the number of unnecessary scans is growing. Family members who are doctors always advise against unnecessary scans, EXCEPT when other indicators require confirmation of something serious, or greater clarity through a scan. But that should be based on a trusted doctor's recommendation.

The media too plays it's part by half-baked and sensationalist reporting. It's hard to come to the conclusion of a definite trend based on celebrity deaths- those often involve different lifestyle factors that only the immediate family will know about and only a medical professional can really evaluate.

There's a reason these tests are to be done based on doctor recommendations. But of course, if patients are willing to sign up and pay for more expensive and invasive tests and procedures, however unnecessary, no hospital or lab is going to turn them away!

[ranjitnair77]

The Ken highlighted a very important point on World Heart Day. This is what Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty, cardiac surgeon and founder of hospital chain Narayana Health had to say:

I have a very, very important message to all the Indians past the age of forty on the occasion of World Heart Day. If you are past the age of forty, please, at least once in 10 years, get a CT angio or CT scan of your heart. That will detect even minor coronary artery disease and prevent heart attack in the future.

Very often these days, we see young actors, athletes, singers with six packs and big muscles—fit people—suddenly dropping down dead with a heart attack. It was never a sudden heart attack. Their heart attack could have been anticipated 10 years earlier, if only they had done a CT angio. That could have picked up even 5% blockage at the early stage. And if that patient changed their lifestyle, they wouldn't have landed in this mess.

So, the message is loud and clear. Every Indian past the age of forty must have a CT angio at least once in 10 years.


Seems like a no-brainer to me. The fact that it might feel unnecessary later is a minor tradeoff to the obvious benefit of getting a scan done

https://medicaldialogues.in/mdtv/top...eart-day-99870

[attinder]

Originally Posted by ranjitnair77

So, the message is loud and clear. Every Indian past the age of forty must have a CT angio at least once in 10 years.

I was experiencing left upper back / shoulder pain. Due to family history of heart issues, the cardiologist had me angio and some other tests done ( was 42 at the time). Thankfully all was normal.

Took about half a day and 20k for everything.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by am1m

... ... ...
There's a reason these tests are to be done based on doctor recommendations. But of course, if patients are willing to sign up and pay for more expensive and invasive tests and procedures, however unnecessary, no hospital or lab is going to turn them away!

These things are bought over the counter in packages now. No chance they are not going to be used to excess.

Off-topic but the fever-clinic doc told me that she had sent me for chest scan due to the chest symptoms I reported. My only issue with that was maybe a straight x-ray would have been fine. But I'm not a doc. My scan, by the way, was clear: no covid lung damage.

My wife always says that medical tests that show normal are wasted money. I consider them money well spent!

I am 70. I have never had a CAT scan of my heart, but I have had other imaging methods. I am not certain which: it is a couple of years since the last time, which might have been ultra-sound. The heart guy considered it sufficient.

[deehunk]

One of my known people living in our apartment complex passed away on Tuesday due to cardiac arrest, he was 59 years. I had met him just before he went out with his family to watch a movie, who thought it was his last day? As I heard about the incident, he complained of discomfort inside the theater, was rushed to the hospital but arrived dead.

[alpha1]

Originally Posted by ranjitnair77

The Ken highlighted a very important point on World Heart Day. This is what Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty, cardiac surgeon and founder of hospital chain Narayana Health had to say:

I have a very, very important message to all the Indians past the age of forty on the occasion of World Heart Day. If you are past the age of forty, please, at least once in 10 years, get a CT angio or CT scan of your heart. That will detect even minor coronary artery disease and prevent heart attack in the future.

Very often these days, we see young actors, athletes, singers with six packs and big muscles—fit people—suddenly dropping down dead with a heart attack. It was never a sudden heart attack. Their heart attack could have been anticipated 10 years earlier, if only they had done a CT angio. That could have picked up even 5% blockage at the early stage. And if that patient changed their lifestyle, they wouldn't have landed in this mess.

So, the message is loud and clear. Every Indian past the age of forty must have a CT angio at least once in 10 years.


Seems like a no-brainer to me. The fact that it might feel unnecessary later is a minor tradeoff to the obvious benefit of getting a scan done

https://medicaldialogues.in/mdtv/top...eart-day-99870

Correction: they are not fit. Not by any standards.
They take anabolic steroids (leads to a plethora of health issues not just heart) to get into that shape and even more to stay in that shape.

Now coming to the marathon runner type: they usually gulp insane amount of energy drinks which are LOADED with sugars:
Empty stomach -> ingestion of huge amount of sugar -> blood sugar spikes.
When done frequently -> very bad for entire body

Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty should be talking about this aspect more than advising a battery of tests.

[deehunk]

Devi Shetty's comment that heart attacks can be predicted ten years in advance is very childish for his stature, there are 'n' number of ways for a person to die and concentrating only on cardio related deaths is a weird approach. The onus should be first on healthy living habits and a happy social life.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by alpha1

Correction: they are not fit. Not by any standards.
They take...

Boss, thank you for articulating this.

It is unfortunate that the media reports these celebrity deaths in this manner without knowing the medical history of the person. And in the case of celebrities, very often who are treated like gods by thousands of fans, it is not possible to disclose/discuss all the lifestyle factors (Case in point- the 'great' Lance Armstrong, who would have suspected?) that may have actually contributed to the heart attack. Something like a smoking habit, which a lot of Indian celebrities are forced to hide in public, may have been the major cause, yet very few people will know about outside the person's immediate circle. And no doctor will want to attract the wrath of the celebrity's fans by saying that.

So it becomes a major scare- "xyz was so healthy, went to the gym, yet see what happened". Then the conclusion is either, "we need to be paranoid and get every test possible", or "what's the use of being healthy, might as well as not do anything in the form of diet or exercise, we're going to die anyway"!

(Not saying all these celebrity deaths were because of other factors, or that we shouldn't bother at all - as middle-aged Indian males we're still statistically a high-risk group because of our genes, diet, and sedentary lifestyles. But when it comes to our personal health, talk to a medical professional before drawing conclusions based on media reports.)

[DigitalOne]

One more tragedy which seems similar to what happened to Puneeth Rajkumar.

[am1m]

Pretty stunned to read that Wasim Akram admits to having struggled with a cocaine addiction, in his latest autobiography. According to the news articles (I haven't read the book), he got over it. But makes me wonder if we should be taking our health cues from newspaper reports about celebrity deaths (or lives). They have a totally different lifestyle, a lot of it that goes unreported. And without the complete picture, drawing conclusions about 'healthy people dying' solely based on half-baked media articles seems pointless.

[DCEite]

India is becoming (or has it already become?) the world's T2D (Type 2 Diabetes) and CAD (Coronary Artery Disease) epicenter.

Apart from usual factors like Pollution, Stress, unrealistic aspirations, peer pressure to keep accumulating material worth by any means and resultant stress paying off debt, I feel the number one causative factor for both T2D and CAD is our traditional Indian diet which is very high in carbs + seed oils + sugar, coupled with physical inactivity (In relative terms).

We really need to pause and think, are the amount of carbs we consume in the form of grains, refined grains, breads, etc. is really needed by our body for proper functioning ? Do we justify that much carbs with the amount of physical activity levels we have today ? Today studies have been suggesting impact of excessive carbs consumption on insulin resistance and bodily inflammation. And inflammation is the root cause of both T2D and CAD.

We need to re-think if traditional Indian diet (which mostly took shape it is today during industrial and green revolution), is not actually a "healthy" diet, but rather a grainitarian diet with excessive use of industry produced refined seed oils and chemically refined sugar and excessive carbs with very little quality proteins and fats.