Erroneous life style coupled with stressful work conditions and compromised diet has caused an increase in heart related diseases among youth, said Head Cardiology at Max super speciality hospital Dr Preeti Sharma while addressing newsmen here on Wednesday. She was elaborating upon the Advances in the Field of Cardiac Care- New Technologies and Procedures for heart patients.
Dr Sharma said that fatty substances made up of cholesterol, calcium and other materials called plaque get accumulated in the arteries. Heart attack or stroke occurs when arties are blocked by this material. “Due to calcium build up in the artery wall plaque can become extremely rigid and hard; to treat such patients we use a new technology called Rotablator. This is a small drill coated in diamond dust. The rotablator drills through calcified plaque, breaking up the plaque into tiny pieces, which are picked up by bloodstream. This technique is not widely available in Uttarakhand. At Max Hospital we have done a successful procedure on elderly patient with the help of Rotablator,” said Dr Sharma.
The Consultant- Cardiology at Max Hospital, Dehradun Dr Punish Sadana said that the hospital has always strived to bring world class medical technologies to the city. “The doctors at the hospital have started using Dedicated Bifurcation Stents to treat patients suffering from Bifurcation stenosis (a disease involving the main artery and its side branch bifurcation),” he said. Dr Sadana informed that an estimated 17 million people die of cardio-vascular diseases every year and a recent study conducted in 12 cities across India found that over 70 percent of the urban Indian population is at the risk of being diagnosed with cardiovascular disease. The main reasons for this are erroneous lifestyle habits like smoking, alcohol dependence and excessive fast food consumption.
The cardiologists said that on World Heart Day (September 29 ), a pledge to adopt healthy lifestyle habits like regular exercising, consuming a nutrients enriched diet and keeping cholesterol in control, should be taken by all.