HEALTH

BODY & MIND
A stich in time saves the heart
Tripti Nath

Every year, Delhi-based Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre treats more than 15 children with congenital heart defects from Bangladesh, Middle East, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

The reasons are not far to seek. Dr K.S. lyer, Senior Consultant and Head, Department of Paediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery, says that India has better facilities for treatment of congenital heart defect. Besides, the cost of treatment is low compared to Europe and US. “In the absence of cardiac centres, people from neighbouring countries have to pay 10 to 50 times more for treatment of congenital heart defects in US and Europe.

So, they prefer to come to India. EHIRC package for closing a hole in the heart is Rs 1.6 lakh. An Indian who decides to go to Europe or US for the same treatment has to pay 25,000 to 40,000 dollars. A medical bill of 25,000 dollars works out to Rs 12.5 lakh in the Indian currency,” says Dr Iyer.

Early this week, a two-and-a-half-year-old Noor Fartima from Pakistan underwent a successful heart surgery at Narayana Hridayalya in Bangalore to plug holes in her heart.

The success of her operation was celebrated all the more as it had special significance in restoring normal people-to-people contact between India and Pakistan. Noor came to India with her parents aboard the first Lahore-Delhi bus following the resumption of its service.

EHIRC evaluates 150 patients with congenital heart defects in its out patient department every week. It treats nearly 700 patients with congenital heart defects every year.

Dr Iyer says that if parents know that their child has a congenital heart defect, they should immediately take the child to a cardiac centre for a check-up by a specialist paediatric cardiologist. “Unfortunately, we get a lot of cases where parents have taken the child to paediatricians and not consulted a peadiatric cardiologist. One-third of children born with such defect die in the first year.”

Sometimes, patients above 40 years of age also come to us for closure of hole in the heart. A very small per centage of persons with this congenital heart defect live till the age of 40.

Dr Iyer says that the incidence of congenital heart defects is more or less the same throughout the world. According to estimates, eight cases of congenital heart defects are diagnosed in every 1000 live births. “In 95 per cent cases, it is a matter of chance though such defects are sometimes associated with chromosomal disorders as Down’s Syndrome.

One of the common conditions of hole in the heart is Ventricular Septal Defect. The more complex defects are Transposition of Great Arteries and Pulmonary Artresia where the artery connecting the heart to the lung is missing.

“Non-surgical treatment options exist for certain conditions.

Although a vast majority of patients remain cured for life after surgical and non-surgical intervention, follow up is recommended for anticipatory management,” he says.

A congenital heart defect can be detected by a diagnostic methodology, which includes a clinical examination followed by chest X-ray. The most common method of diagnosis is Echocardiography.

Discussion on Jaundice

“The age-old belief that anything or everything yellow is harmful for jaundice patients is just a myth. In fact, yellow is not at all a taboo for jaundice patients,” said Dr Rakesh Tandon, Senior Consultant and Head, Department of Gastroenterology, Pushpawati Singhania Research Institute for Liver, Renal and Digestive Diseases (PSRI) while participating in a panel discussion on ‘Facts, Myths and Misconceptions on Jaunduice’ and ‘Current Trend in the Management of Urinary Stone Diseases’.

Dr Tandon said that a jaundice patient can wear yellow clothes, eat food and have yellow coloured drinks. The yellow colour will in no way affect the patient or his/her illness. He said that dietary restrictions are imposed on jaundice patients unnecessarily. “This is another misconception. On the contrary, dietary restrictions delay the recovery of the patient. There is no need to ask the patient to avoid fats unless he has been vomiting.”

He explained that Jaundice is a manifestation of liver disease or obstruction of bile flow. The most common cause of Jaundice is acute Viral Hepatitis. Blockage of the bile duct due to stone or cancer are some of the other causes of Jaundice.

Dr Tandon said that there are five types of Viral Hepatitis. Hepatitis A and E are transmitted through contaminated food or water and can be prevented by taking simple hygienic measures. Hepatitis B and C are transmitted through contaminated injection needles or screened blood.

According to an estimate, Hepatitis E causes almost 40 per cent of acute Hepatitis in adults in India followed by Hepatitis A (20 per cent). Dr Rajesh Taneja, Senior Consultant, Urology in PSRI said that a balanced diet can prevent Urinary Stone Diseases. He said that food rich in Oxalates as spinach, tomatoes, lettuce and other leafy vegetables should be avoided. “If neglected, the stine disease causes pain, onstructs the flow of urine from kidney and later kidney failure,” he said.

Talk on Hepatitis

Delhi Medical Association (DMA) is holding a panel discussion on Water-borne disease-Viral Hepatitis in Children.

Doctors invited to present their views at the discussion at DMA House on Sunday evening are Dr S.C. Arya, Head of Department of Paediatrics at Ganga Ram Hospital, Dr Anupam Sibal, Medical Advisor, Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, Dr Ashok Kohli, Senior Consultant, Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital besides Dr A.J. Chitkara, Dr Shyama Kukreja and Dr Ramesh Bansal, all private practitioners.

Dr Chitkara has also been former Executive member of Immunisation committee of Indian Academy of Pediatricians.

SPORTS

Harsh records hard-fought win in Manav Sthali TT
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, July 19
Harsh Kapoor of Manav Sthali School prevailed over Hardit Sethi of Convent of Rani Jhansi in a hard-fought match in four games at 11-3, 14-12, 6-11, 11-8 in the 31st Chandravati Bhatnagar Manav Sthali Open Table Tennis Tournament at the Talkatora indoor stadium on Saturday.

Rounik Bhatia of Mount St. Mary’s School beat Rishabh Gupta of Manav Sthali School 11-3, 11-9, 11-6 in the cadet boys first round.

In the sub-junior boys section, Parth Bhatia beat Karan Mahajan of 5-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-7 while Jai Whorra defeated Akash Arun, also in five games, at 7-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-3,11-5. Dr V K Bhatnagar, chairman of Manav Sthali organisation, inaugurated the tournament.

Results (all first round matches): Blossoms (under-5 years): Rushil Negi of Convent of Rani Jhansi beat Karan Seth of St. Vivekanand 9-11, 11-8, 11-7; Kavya Yadav b Prapati Parichar 13-10, 11-5; Manan Anand b Aanchal Malhotra 11-6, 11-5; Kartik Khanna b Nakul Juneja 11-7, 9-11, 11-4; Muskaan Bhatia b Simar Singh Dawar 13-11, 11-8; Khushbu b Manav Thapar 8-11, 11-7, 13-11.

Midget (under-7 years): Tanisha Malik b Chahat Gupta 11-4, 6-11, 11-5; Shaurya Nagpal b Shivang Gupta 11-2, 11-3; Shadiq Khan b Palak 11-7, 11-6, 11-3; Nikhil Kukreja b Pavan Tavikha 11-7, 11-10; Pulkit Kurseja b Sumahi Malhotra 11-9, 8-11, 11-8; Randeep Singh b Jasdeep Singh 11-5, 7-11, 11-8; Karan Ahuja b Bhavya Sabharwal 11-7, 11-7, 11-5.

Sub-junior boys: Jai Wheera b Akash Arora 7-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-3, 11-5; Parth Bhatia b Karan Mahajan 5-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-7; Manik Chaudhary b Akshit Madan 9-11, 11-3, 12-14, 11-5, 11-9; Pulkit Aggarwal b Rahul Sachdeva 11-7, 14 12, 2-11, 11-7; Mohit Jindal b Naman Tuteja 13-10, 5-11, 11-8, 11-6; Sagar Chopra b Shivin Seth 11-5, 11-4, 11-6; Harpal Singh b Manav Manocha 11-8, 12-10, 10-12, 13-11, 11-2; Jagvir Singh b Kshitiz 11-6, 7-11, 11-9, 5-11, 12-10; Akash Grover b Shamir Bajaj 11-8, 7-11, 11-8, 11-6; Ranshu Gupta b Rishab Kapoor 11-2, 11-6, 11-5; Sushant Madan b Sidhant Setia 11-9, 11-8, 11-7; Nishant Sharma b Keshav Saini 11-4, 11-4, 11-4; Arun Khosla b Harik Thakkar 11-9, 13-11, 11-9; Sahil Gupta b Rohan 13-11, 13-11, 13-11; Rishab Aggarwal b Ankur Jain 11-3, 11-1, 11-2).

Cadet boys: Harsh Kapoor b Hardik Sethi 11-3, 14-12, 6-11, 11-8; Nikhil Mittal b Vikhyat Bhambri 11-4, 11-1, 11-3; Jaskaran Singh b Yakeen Aggarwal 11-9, 11-5, 9-11, 11-4; Abhi Ranchal b Abhishek Mehra 6-11, 11-5, 11-5, 9-11, 11-5; Mohit Kapoor b Prayank Madan 11-7, 11-4, 11-7; Aashish Kalka b Aman Khanna 11-3, 11-6, 11-5; Shiv Shankar b Rahul Taneja 11-6, 11-7, 11-5; Raghav Sachdeva b Ashish Sehrawat 11-6, 11-5, 12-10; Atul Mahajan b Ripudaman Singh 11-9, 13-11, 12-10; Prateek b Krishna Khandelwal 11-6,11-9, 11-5.

Kids: Shrayansh Aggarwal b Parmeet 8-11, 10-12, 11-8, 11-7, 14-12; Daksh Grover b Harhit Joon 11-3,11-6, 9-11, 11-4; Ayush Gupta b Ishaan 8-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-9; Sidhant Arora b Aseem Bedi 11-3, 11-8, 11-8; Basant Rautela b Saurabh Gulati 11-6, 11-5, 11-4; Raghav Sadhdeva b Aditya Soni 11-8, 13-11, 11-2; Harshul Arora b Anmol Kumar 6-11, 13-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-5; Akshit Dhall b Sanhit Narang 11-2, 11-4, 11-4; Shubhav Garg b Akash Bharija 11-8, 11-1, 11-9; Shubham Gupta b Karan Wadhwa 11-9, 11-7, 12-10.

Keen contest likely for DDCA Sports Committee posts
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, July 19
With the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) elections having been postponed, the members of this premier cricket association have now turned their attention on the Sports Committee election, which is expected to be a keen affair. There are ten posts to be filled in the Sports Committee for which many top names have thrown their hats into the ring.

One group, seeking “change” as its election plank, has announced its panel, which includes Ajit Chaudhary of Madras Club, Ashok Katyal of Goswami Club, former Test player Gursharan Singh of Gush Club, Naresh Sharma of Young Cricketers, former Delhi player Sandeep Joshi, Satish Malhotra of Daryaganj Gymkhana, Surya Prakash Sharma of Gemini Sports, Vijay Bahadur Mishra of State Bank of India, Vinod Sharma of Super Star Club and Vinod Tihara of Lal Bahadur Shastri Club. If elected, this panel promises to “work selflessly for the development of Delhi cricket”.

The main demand of this panel is the restructuring of the DDCA league, for “proper recognition, more competitive and qualitative matches, monthly display of league points and averages, improved standard of umpiring, timely information of matches and allocation of umpires, proper focus on performances in the league during selections, creation of a DDCA web-site, proper net facilities at DDCA, transparency of rules and regulations, and its timely circulation, proper meeting room for the club secretaries at DDCA, and turning out for five league matches must for the selection of the players, unless the player concerned was doing international duty.”

This panel has also promised “transparency in selection of various teams”, and has dangled the carrot that club secretaries will be “entrusted the jobs of managers, coaches and selectors in tune with their aptitude and capabilities”.

It is an acknowledged fact that the league umpires do not get a fair deal, and therefore, this panel has promised to “hike” the salary of the umpires, regular weekly payment, training of club players as umpires, conducting seminars for upgrading the umpiring standard, and kit for the umpires.

Often such promises are flouted with impunity once people who promise the moon get elected to their desired posts. But the above-named panel, mostly comprising cricketers and cricket organisers, has dangled some encouraging proposals like scholarships for talented players, sponsorship of kit and regular stipend, and man of the match award during league matches, to seek support.

But how far these promises would be carried out is a matter of debate as once the elections are over, the normal tendency is to swim with the tide, instead of displaying any bravado like swimming against the tide to be on the wrong side of the powers that be, which may be “injurious to health”, figuratively speaking.

Jaskirat lifts N India golf crown
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, July 19
Jaskirat Singh Dullet of Black Elephant Golf Club, Patiala weathered rainy days to maintain his superb form and emerge victorious in Class A (15-17 years age group) of the Northern India Junior and Sub-Junior Golf Championship at the Army Golf Course. Jaskirat had a dream score of seven birdies in a total of 281.

Akshay Butta of Royal Calcutta Golf Club finished second with a score of 299. Aditya Singh of Delhi Golf Club and Himmat Singh Rai of Army Golf Club were tied for the third position with a score of 306 each, but Aditya pipped Himmat on count back nine.

In Class B (13-14 years), Ajeetesh Sandu of Chandigarh Golf Club cantered away with the title by posting a score of 308 while his Chandigarh Golf Club colleague, Fatehbir S Dhaliwal, finished second with a score of 319. Raghav Wahi of BSF Golf Club, Jammu, took the third position with a score of 326.

Rahul Bakshi of Chandigarh Golf Club won the title in Class C with a score of 326. Madhav Soi of Delhi Golf Club emerged as the first runner-up when he posted a score of 346 while Kanishk Madan (358), also from the Delhi Golf Club, annexed the second runner-up position.

In Class D, Mohd Asif of Army Golf Club, Meerut emerged the winner with a score of 269 while K. Raghav Bhandari of Chandigarh finished second with a score of 278. Kshitiji Mehta of Army Golf Club emerged third when he tallied 289.

Intense action was witnessed at the Army Golf Course during the four-day championship, and even persistent rains on day three and four could not douse the enthusiasm of the young golfers.

Lt. Gen S S Mehta, who is the patron of the Army Golf Course, gave away the prizes.

Delhi Cantt score narrow win in DSA League
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, July 19
Delhi Cantonment edged past Ahbab Club through a first half goal scored by S Dass in a Group III preliminary league match of the Delhi Soccer Association-SAIL A Division Football League Championship at the Nehru Stadium on Saturday.

In another Group III match, Royal Club drubbed Young Boys 2-0, with the goals coming once in each half. Anand put Royal in the lead in the 16th minute while Ashish Chaudhary slotted home the second goal five minutes into the second half. Young Boys could have retired with honours even, but their strikers Surinder Kumar and Vijay Kumar missed virtual sitters from close range.

Paschim Heroes trounced South India 3-0 at the Ambedkar Stadium. Kamaljeet Singh put Paschim Heroes in the lead with a second-minute goal while Shyam Sunder scored the second goal nine minutes after resumption. Dinesh completed the tally six minutes later.

Paschim Heroes have collected four points from two matches while South India have not yet opened their points account in the Super Six B Division.

Rohini Club were held to a goalless draw by Goodwill. Rohini have four points from two matches while Goodwill have earned two points form as many matches.

Sunday’s fixtures: Ashoka Club vs Glorious (3.45 p m); Cosmos vs Uttranchal Heroes (5 p m)—Ambedkar Stadium.

Indian Air Force vs Veterans (3.45 p m); Garhwal Heroes vs Youngsters (5 pm)—Nehru Stadium.