Health is like money; we never have a true idea of its value till we lose it!!

Last week, I was on an outing with my family, when I received the shocking news from my neighbor that Mr. Tiwari’s son (staying in our apartment), Vinay, who was hardly 35- year-old, died of a cardiac arrest. He was a young, dynamic, middle-aged man, with a handsome salary, and a bread winner for his family.

It is alarming, to witness booming cardiac arrest cases in the younger population in India. As per the Indian Heart Association, almost 50 % of all heart attacks in the Indian men occur under the age of 50 years and 25 % occur in the men under 40. Women are prone to cardiovascular diseases to a lesser extent than the men due to their estrogen shield.

Statistics as per the National Safety Council (NSC) states:

I was taken aback with the shocking numbers of the youngsters being victims of cardiac arrest and heart attack who have succumbed to death recently . These days, the younger people are coming with different cardiac issues than before. Earlier the age group in which the people experienced heart attack was over 55 years. However, recently, the statistics have changed to observe an upsurge in the age 30 – 45 years of age group.

What is it that is taking the lives of the youngsters nowadays?!

Sedentary lifestyle, high consumption of the junk food, alcohol consumption, increased physical and mental stress, smoking, excess exercise in the gym, irregular eating habits, decreased sleep, no exercise.

The huge mental stress that is bombarding the youngsters is about the rigorous competition amongst the peers, colleagues and friends occasionally. Be it salary, promotion, home or even the electronic gadgets like mobiles; they need to upgrade themselves to stay in tune with the society; to match their status with the society. Multiple other factors like the peer pressure, targets, task deadlines, organizational dominations are other underlying factors.

The ”lifestyle” change is the main culprit for all the modern disorders. Lifestyle means the living patterns and the habits, attitudes, tastes, moral standards and the economic levels in people.
Lifestyle diseases such as obesity, hypertension, cardiac arrest, heart attack, diabetes, stroke, high cholesterol, cancer, depression and infertility are on the rise nowadays.

If we compare our parent’s generation with the modern world; they were more physically and mentally active. The women physically performed all the household work themselves, while the men commuted walking to their workplace. Even the children walked upto their schools often, and enjoyed the outdoor games thoroughly. Hence, the need for a separate exercise in a gym or fitness centre was not required. The older generation had more resistance power; both mental and physical, than today’s youth.

The food that was cooked was simple and rich homemade food. The vegetables grown were organic; grown and nurtured in the farms naturally, whereas nowadays, there is a variety of food – hybrid (artificially grown), oily or junk available in the market. The youngsters, nowadays, thrive more on the fast food like wada pav, burgers, frankies or pizzas.
Day by day, stress is ravaging the entire working youth and overall employees like a parasite!!! Workplace stress is normal, however, excessive stress can interfere with your productivity and impact your physical and emotional health; and your ability to deal with it can mean the difference between success or failure. Your emotions are contagious, and stress has an impact on the quality of your interactions with others. The better you are at managing your own stress, the more you’ll positively affect those around you, and the less other people’s stress will negatively affect you.

Stress: is defined (perceived) as a substantial imbalance between
demands and response capability where failure to meet demand has
important consequences.

Stress is a person’s physical and emotional response to change.

Stress can be either physical or mental.

Psychosomatic Stress: The mental stressors leading to physical stress (ailment exhibited by the body on the physical level). E.g. The boss has been very rigid and stern while giving targets, this leads to mental tension, anxiety and apprehension in the employee. This in turn leads to acidity, insomnia (loss of sleep) etc.

Somatopsychic Stress: The physical stressors leading to mental stress symptoms. E.g. Poor ergonomics, i.e. improper work station design leads to severe repeated muscular strain and inflammation. This in turn leads to irritability, frustration and anger. May also cause lack of effective work output.

Stress affects all planes of the body:

The cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are disorders that result from the damage to the heart and the blood vessels. Diseases like high blood pressure, heart attack and arteriosclerosis (fat deposition in the blood vessels) are cardiovascular diseases on the uprise.

Heart attack is caused by the blockage of either of the coronary artery that supplies blood supply and oxygen to the cardiac muscle. There are various reasons for the blockages in the artery; the commonest being atherosclerosis – fat (cholesterol) deposition in the inner wall of arteries.

Another devastating cardiac disorder is cardiac arrest – is observed on the rise in the Indian population since the last 10 years, especially more in the age group between 30 to 45 years. In cardiac arrest, a person abruptly collapses on the floor while walking, talking or working and is unconscious. It is caused when the heart’s electrical system malfunctions. The heart stops beating properly. The heart’s pumping function is “arrested,” or stopped. Various causes such as coronary artery disease (CAD) – causing restriction of blood flow to the heart, cardiomyopathies – an enlarged or thick heart muscle, lifestyle and hereditary factors like obesity, stress, alcohol and drug abuse, hypertension and high cholesterol can cause cardiac arrest.

A famous proverb says “Prevention is better than cure”. Hence, focusing on prevention of these lifestyle disorders, we can highlight on healthy homemade food, less fatty, cut down on salts – chips, pickles and papad; maintain your weight, exercise daily, avoid smoking and alcohol, keep watch on your cholesterol and BP, and nonetheless; de-stress yourself by going for an outing with friends and family, laugh and make others laugh, be positive and think positive, persuade your hobbies, play a sport, share your problems and stay happy and contented.

Pu.La. Despande, the renowned writer and humorist, once said, “For your bread and butter you need to take education and secure a professional degree, but to live healthily, one must learn and persuade your hobby, or play a sport, to stay fit, young and healthy. This will teach you how to live happily and with content. “

“Coping up with stress is a key towards healthy mental and physical being. A positive attitude, making ways towards happiness, pursuing hobbies, yoga and meditation can certainly help to relieve stress and in turn these lifestyle disorders to a remarkable extent.”

Written by: Dr. Mona Gandhi
Director, Eduforce (complete hub in EHS training, audit and consultancy)
Dr*****@******ce.in