Listen! my sweet heart, listen

Cardiac ailments are on the increase among the younger generation, warns this doctor

By Roshan Peiris

It is frightening to learn that today 80 per cent of deaths due to cardio-vascular disease occur in developing countries. This accounts for about 25 per cent of all deaths in developing countries. Young people, sometimes in the age group of thirty, too, get cardio-vascular disease.

Dr. N. J. Wallooppillai, is a Consultant Cardiologist with an impressive number of titles such as FRCP, FRCPE (E for Edinburgh) and FACC (Fellow of the American College of Cardiologists).

Talking to The Sunday Times he said that this trend in the increase in cardiology disease often leading to strokes had been building up to a veritable climax in the last twenty years.

Dr. Wallooppillai, who has many years of active service over here said,

"One of the main causes for the increase of heart disease is the change of life-style. Today, we in developing countries have a penchant for adopting Western life-styles either out of necessity or because of imitation." Today the joint family system is not there. With a joint family system people had both moral and physical support if there were problems hounding them. The family helped in discussing and solving problems which took away much of the stress and tension from life.

In the, city he said, each was for himself or herself. It is stress and strain which has gradually built up that causes high blood pressure and diabetes which leads to heart disease such as Ischemia. Ischemia occurs when one of the coronary arteries is blocked by cholesterol deposits. This is largely due to urbanisation and hectic competition for jobs and position. Next the doctor mentioned smoking as a cause.

Smoking, he said, affects the heart by directly causing the coronary arteries to narrow.

"Today even teenagers smoke. There is an increase in smoking largely perhaps due to stress. It's very unfortunate that cigarette producers target the younger generation," he said.

Next the doctor mentioned the change in people's diets with the change in life-style. Today the wholesome diet of vegetables, fruits, rice and the like are sidelined because in the cities both husband and wife go to work and often they don't find the time to cook.

Hence fast foods, processed meat, meat with fat sausages and the like are eaten.

The doctor clarified that coconut as such has no cholesterol but it has a lot of saturated fat as in butter, cheese and eggs. It is best to avoid coconut oil and stick to Soya oil, olive oil, corn oil and gingelly oil which don't have saturated fat. "Fat deposits narrow arteries and cause blockages which lead to heart disease and even strokes." Strokes are now prevalent in developing countries among a younger group sometimes as young as forty. Earlier, strokes did not cripple people until they reached the late fifties and sixties age group.

"Another factor is the lack of physical exercise," the doctor pointed out. " In the city one spends one hour going to work and one hour to return from work even sometimes in a car, leaving people too exhausted at the end of the day to indulge in even mild exercise," he said.

Talking about measures to be taken to avoid heart diseases he said, "Adopt a life-style which gives you time for both sufficient relaxation and exercise. Also one must have a diet rich in fish and fruits rather than meat. It is very rewarding said Dr. Wallooppillai if health education is promoted in schools and Universities where talks can be given on diet, cholesterol, the dangers of smoking and lastly the need to avoid tensions and a stressful life. This is usually due to competition even in the classrooms which causes stress from a young age.

Summing up Dr. Wallooppillai said, "We have not still seen the full exposure of cardiovascular disease.

"Today in the West, they have stabilised the exposure to heart disease. They have seriously tackled the problem.

"Earlier heart disease was prevalent more among an older age group, usually in the latter fifties and sixties but today in developing countries such as ours, India, Pakistan and African countries, the age group affected by heart disease is alarmingly young."

A stitch in time

Your Health

While cancer in all its forms still remains a deadly disease, there are fortunately a few forms of cancer whose incidence has been significantly reduced over the past thirty years.

One of these is Cancer of the cervix - the cervix being the "neck" of the womb where cancer commonly strikes women .

We now know that there are recognisable changes in the cells of the cervix which are usually present for a few years before cancer develops. In virtually all cases, once such changes in the cells are detected, they can be treated simply and successfully so that they do not progress to cancer.

The screening test is termed the Papanicolou Test, after the doctor who devised it. Nowadays, with our penchant for shortening long names, the procedure is simply called the Pap test. It involves collecting a sample of cells from the cervix - which are then transferred to a microscope slide, sent to a pathology lab and analysed by trained technicians who look for any cells that appear abnormal.

Now most of us are frightened when doctors say they want to take a sample, because this usually requires a painful injection or operation - but the sampling needed for a Pap test is different. All that the doctor has to do is to use a plastic spatula (something like a small popsicle stick) to scrape a few cells off the opening of the womb. It is a five minute job that can be done in the consulting room with minimum discomfort.

Analysis of the sample takes less than a day, so that the result is usually available the following day.

Now no test can be 100% accurate; the Pap test only gives an indication of whether or not abnormal cells are present. If the smear of cells on the slide looks suspicious, further tests will be needed before an accurate diagnosis can be made. Even if it is confirmed that pre-cancerous change does exist in the neck of the womb, this is no major disaster - a minor operation can be done to get rid of the potentially cancerous cells and so prevent cancer developing.

The advantage of doing a Pap test is that if NO abnormal cells are seen, then the woman can rest assured that she is not brewing a cancer of her womb.

The current medical view is that (with certain exceptions) all women of child-bearing age should have a regular Pap test done once in two years.

It is a subject worth discussing with your own doctor because getting that Pap test done just might save your life.

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