‘Listen to your heart to continue its beat’

The Hindu in association with Ramesh Hospitals organises a talk on ‘World Heart Day’

P. Bhaskar Naidu of Ramesh Hospitals delivers a talk on World Heart Day in Vijayawada on Saturday. Postal employees (left) and BSNL employees (right) participate in the programme. Photo: V. Raju

The golden principles --‘Listen to your heart. Know your doctor and hospital. Act Fast’ – will help in preventing heart and brain related problems, opined experts on the World Heart Day.

The Hindu in association with Ramesh Hospitals organised awareness talks on ‘World Heart Day’ at the BSNL Bhavan in Chuttugunta and Head Post Office in One Town here on Saturday at which P. Bhaskar Naidu, a cardiologist at Ramesh Hospitals, told employees that the heart gives warning signals like unpleasant sensation in chest area.

But, many tend to ignore with a view that it was any ordinary inflammation. If a patient was brought to the hospital within 1 hour of pain, the chances of saving the life was very high. “So, listen to your heart. That way, you can act fast and get treatment. The sooner you get the help, the less damage will be done to your heart.” he observed.

It was equally important for everyone to know the hospital and doctor to contact in case of emergency. It was not advisable to search for a doctor or the hospital when a person suffers heart attack. Reaching right place at the right time for right care was required, he said.

Quick check

Quickly answer these questions: Face– does one side of the face droop?; Arms – is one arm weak or numb?; Speech – Is the speech slurred?. You might be in a critical state. So, act fast and save a life as it could a symptom of heart condition, he said.

“Above all, prevention is better than cure,” Dr. Naidu said, “regular exercises and walking, vegetarian diet, abstinence from smoking and alcohol and avoiding junk food are important to avoid heart problems,” he observed.

Hospital management consultant M. C. Das said that the heart disease and stroke, which are world’s leading cause of death claim 17.3 million lives each year, and the numbers are going up. It was expected that by 2030, 23 million people will die from CVDs annually, he said.

At BSNL Bhavan, BSNL Senior General Manager John Chrisostom said that sedentary way of living, stress, modern life styles were some reasons behind the rise in heart problems. At the Head Post Office, Director of Postal Services P.S.V.R. Murthy lauded The Hindu initiative in organising the awareness talk.