Unhealthy lifestyle has been found to aggravate long-standing risk factors causing heart attacks in Kerala, K.P. Markose, the president of the Kerala chapter of Cardiology Society of India, has said.
Health issues
Opening the annual State conference of the society in Kozhikode on Sunday, he said unhealthy eating habits, sedentary lifestyle, obesity, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, lack of exercise and sleep deprivation were some of the lifestyle issues found in Kerala.
Dr. Markose pointed out, quoting the World Health Organisation, that coronary heart diseases were the leading cause of premature death and disability in the country. “India has two million heart attacks a year and majority are young people. Kerala stands ahead of all other Indian states in this disease burden,” he said. Dr. Markose said Kerala was not supposed to be a breeding ground for high mental and physical stress, diabetes, high cholesterol level and blood pressure.
Coronary heart disease is characterised by gradual building up of blocks inside coronary arteries that supply oxygen-rich blood to the heart muscles responsible for pumping of blood.
When the block buildup reduces or totally blocks the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the heart muscles, the muscle cells starve and fail, leading to chest pain and heart attack.
A. George Koshy, professor of cardiology at the Government Medical College, Thiruvananathapuram, said 30,000 people die a year due to cardiac diseases in the State.
Delay in treatment
“A 30-minute delay in primary angioplasty increases the death rate by 8%. At present, only 15% from the State gets the best treatment,” he said. Dr. Koshy said the health system should ensure that people living in remote areas had immediate access to specialty centres equipped with advanced medical technology. There were scientific sessions on various topics.
