Heart attack can be prevented
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, May 31
Indians, who are six times more prone to coronary artery diseases (CADs) than their western counterparts, can now reduce the incidence and severity of athero-sclerotic heart disease by taking some precautions.

According to Dr Murtaza Chishti, a local cardiologist, Indian subcontinent has the highest incidence of coronary artery disease in the world. This is due to two factors. One is that Indians are genetically more prone to CADs than anybody else. Not much can be done about this. The second reason is that the level of awareness about the known risk factors is declining.

Dr Chishti says, “The older the person, the more likely he is to have the CAD. The disease, before the age of 55 in men and 65 in women, is considered premature. Blood relatives of such patients should also undergo cardiac check-up.”

In the West, the disease is less common among women than men. Unfortunately, his does not apply to Indian women, who are as likely as men to have it. Women who eat less, do more physical work than others and are exposed to less stress than men, might escape the consequences of the disease.

Age and gender cannot be controlled, but the risk factors like diabetes, hypertension, obesity, high cholestrol, smoking, sedentary life style and unhealthy food habits can be controlled.

Diabetes, which is most common in Punjab, is the most potent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Its control should be left to a competent physician. Diabetic persons should follow strict dietary restrictions and reduce their carbohydrate consumption.

Hypertension — the silent killer — should not be neglected. High blood pressure can be easily and accurately controlled by safe medication that has little or no side effects.

A person should keep his or her body weight under control because obesity is closely linked to diabetes and hypertension. Fried food should be avoided and mono and poly-unsaturated oils should be used in cooking.

Exercise keeps a person fit and relieves him or her of mental stress. It keeps the body weight down, controls diabetes and high blood pressure and increases good cholesterol. Controlling cholesterol can significantly lower the risk of heart disease and stroke.

If proper precautions are taken, instance of heart attacks among Indians can be reduced.

‘3.5 cr suffering from depression’
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, May 31
Depression, it seems has taken its toll in the city. Most psychiatrists in the city have started receiving a large number of such patients everyday with the female patients outnumbering males. This is more so because females experience more hormonal changes than the males and the life of a women is more stressful and eventful than that of males, opines a leading psychiatrist.

The teenagers are under severe stress due to difficult syllabi, increasing competition and undue pressure and expectations laid down by parents and teachers. All these factors are making them buckle under the ever-mounting stress, says Dr Rajeev Gupta, a city psychiatrist.

“Depression, the common problem in the city, is often missed by family and even by doctors. If not diagnosed in time, it leads to immense misery, sufferings and sorrow. Overall market recession, stress among females and generation gap were the major factors contributing to depression”, he adds.

Dr Gupta said he receives more than 20 such patients in a day. Most of the patients were young women. He said,”Depression commonly occurs during pregnancy, after delivery and abortions. Repeated female foeticide following sex determination is becoming another important cause of chronic depression among females”. The other reason of depression among women in the city was that they were more educated than their better-halves. The husbands of majority of these women were not even graduates and it is difficult for them to adjust with such husbands and their families.

Most of the housewives in the city remain free and had no work to do as all their domestic work was done by bahadurs. Due to less physical activities and lack of parks and entertainment sources, women get attacks of depression.

Dr R.L.Narang, chief of the Psychiatry Department of Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, says that about 40 crore people of the total world’s population suffered from depression. Over 3.5 crore of the total Indian population was suffering from depression. Dr Narang said depression took the form of behaviour problems, decreased interest in studies and other activities, irritability, loss of weight and poor appetite among the city teenagers. The teenagers suffered from excessive burden of studies.

“The teenagers if not given proper treatment and love can become drug addicts”, said Dr Gursharan Singh, president of the district unit of Indian Medical Association. He said 40 per-cent of the patients visiting his OPD were depressed and most of them were youngsters.