Heart of the matter

The news of 40yearold actor and reality TV star Sidharth Shuklarsquos passing away on Thursday came like a bolt out of the blue The Bigg Boss 13 winner who had recently gained attention for his role in Ekta Kapoorrsquos web series Broken but Beautiful 2 died of cardiac arrest the same morning He had been feeling uneasy the night before The postmortem report revealed that he had suffered a heart attack and died in his sleepTelevision actormodel Sidharth Shuklarsquos postmortem reports revealed that he had died in his sleep due to a heart attack on ThursdayBarely two months ago director Raj Kaushal 50 died of a massive heart attack Gujarati actor Amit Mistry 47 suffered a similar fate this year as did 44yearold actor Inder Kumar back in 2017Arti ShroffThe Indian Heart Association data reveals that when heart disease strikes Indians it tends to do so at an earlier agemdashalmost 33 per cent earliermdashthan other demographics Herersquos another starling statistic Almost 50 per cent of all heart attacks in Indian men occur under 50 years of age and 25 per cent under 40 An ongoing study by the researchers at the University of California San Francisco and Northwestern University known as Masala which has been following more than 900 South Asians in Chicago and the Bay Area has found that South Asians tend to develop high blood pressure high triglycerides fats from the food we eat that are carried in the blood abnormal cholesterol and Type 2 diabetes at lower body weights than other groups South Asian men are also prone to high levels of coronary artery calcium a marker of atherosclerosismdashthe buildup of fats cholesterol and other substances in and on your artery wallsmdashthat can be an early harbinger of future heart attacks and strokesThis means we are disadvantaged by raceUday Kumar 44 who suffered a heart attack in 2019 used to smoke 15 cigarettes a day for over a decade and drank almost every evening He quit smoking drinks socially and has identified stress triggers since PicAnurag AhireUday Kumar 44 is the head of chemical trading in India for the Toyota Tsusho India Pvt Ltd In 2019 Kumar suffered from a myocardial infarction after returning from a vacation in Europe During his trip he had trekked and driven around and remembers being rather stressfree He had even done taken an annual health test at work and except for borderline cholesterol and mild high blood pressure his reports seemed normal ldquoTwo days after I returned I was feeling restless I checked my blood pressure which was 200130 mm Hg normal is 12080 mm Hg A friend advised that I should rush to the hospital where I was told I was going into cardiac arrest They then performed an angioplasty and thankfully everything went finerdquoDr Aashish ContractorLater over a conversation with his doctor probable causes emergedmdashhe had been smoking 15 cigarettes a day for over a decade he drank almost every evening and he slept only three hours a night ldquoIt was a combination of it allmdasha very fastpaced liferdquoRecent news reports have highlighted the death of men under 50 due to heart failuremdashdirector Raj Kaushal pictured here with wife Mandira Bedi was 50Ever since Kumar has quit smoking drinks a beer once a month and has stopped caring about anyone who isnrsquot important ldquoI read The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fck by Mark Manson and I decided to not stress ever again Itrsquos just not worth it But if you are 40 please get a medical checkup done every six monthsrdquoPoor lifestyle habitsmdashsmoking drinking eating junk surviving a hectic jobmdashhave led to a growing number of younger men becoming prone to heart disease with many staring at the risk of dying due to a heart attack even before they turn 50Actor Amit MistryResearch has shown that smoking increases heart rate tightens major arteries and can cause an irregular heart rhythm all of which make your heart work harder All of these factors combined lead to diabetes high cholesterol and blood pressure which are three of the main reasons for heart attacks among younger men says Dr Aashish Contractor Director Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital Obesity lack of physical activity stress which unfortunately canrsquot be measured and even air pollution as new research has shown are other contributing factorsMusic composer Narendra Bhide were 47 PicsInstagramldquoKnow your numbersrdquo says Contractor Thatrsquos the only way he says you can protect yourself and your heart Contractor says we need to subscribe to a holistic approach Working out in the gym to beat a sedentary life isnrsquot enough to fight heart disease ldquoFitness may be protection against heart disease but doesnrsquot give you immunityrdquoMohit Mathur and Kalpana PatilDr Sudhir Pillai cardiologist with Hinduja Hospital Mahim is of the same opinion ldquoPeople die on the treadmill I have even known young cardiologists who have died while working outrdquo Pillai explains the connection between rigorous exercise and heart attacks He says that most of us are living with clots in our arteriesmdashmen start forming clots at age 20 as was seen in the postmortem on bodies of soldiers in the Second World War Put the heart under pressure and these clots can burst ldquoWe call it a plaque rupture Any extra stress on the heart will cause these clotsmdashcaused due to sedentary lifestyle eating habits smoking stress etcmdashto burst This can go from a minor situation to a major one in a matter of minutes So exercise while great when done consistently needs to be scaled up slowly and steadily You canrsquot lift 100 kg one day and then move on to 200 kg the next You need to give your heart and body time to adapt Exercise but do not be aggressiverdquoDr Sudhir Pillai cardiologist Hinduja HospitalExercising usually affects people with underlying health problems like diabetes or unfit individuals who havenrsquot worked out previously Some are not even aware that they have any kind of heart disease As Contractor says ldquoWith the kind of information available these days I am shocked that most people continue to ignore symptoms and donrsquot go to a doctor They remain undiagnosed till one day they suffer a heart attackrdquo He also points to another reason for heart disease among younger menmdashgenes This unfortunately isnrsquot in our control But a study on why lifestyle is more important than genetics by the European Society of Cardiology begs to differ Dr Joao A Sousa of Funchal Hospital Portugal author of the study stated that people with a family history of premature heart disease should adopt healthy lifestyles as their poor behaviours may be a greater contributor to heart disease than their genetics ldquoThat means quit smoking exercise regularly eat a healthy diet and get blood pressure and cholesterol levels checkedrdquoPraveen NairMen who arenrsquot emotionally expressive can be doing themselves more harm than good A study conducted in Iran last year found a link between hostility and repressed anger and cardiovascular disease in men It said ldquoThe role of anger and hostility in cardiovascular disorder is that anger and hostility can increase the heart rate and blood pressure and over time can damage the coronary artery wall and accelerate coronary artery dysfunction In addition to potential physiological processes associated with hostility it may impair certain behaviours such as smoking eating a highfat diet and not exercising coronary artery functionrdquoPsychologist and psychotherapist Arti Shroff explains that because there is no healthy outlet men especially in the cultural context of India are holding all their emotions inside ldquoThat could result in chronic stressmdashwhich is one of the main reasons for heart attacks It doesnrsquot happen overnightmdashour body is naturally equipped to handle stress But over time its systems break down thanks to the stress hormone cortisolrdquo she says adding that itrsquos also the urban culture of hyper competitiveness that is adding to stress levels ldquoThere is so much competition in every sphere and everyone glamourises the workaholicmdashitrsquos not helpingrdquoShroff says practising ldquodaily selfcarerdquo is important And this goes beyond taking time out for oneself Building a support system of a few people to share your concerns with is critical ldquoI just had a male client whose family member is battling cancer I asked him to talk about it to a friend and he said he didnrsquot want any sympathy You need to find someone to talk to without fear of judgmentrdquoA 2017 study by The Lancet stated that 1973 million people were living with some sort of mental illness in India 457 million depression while 449 had anxietyIn creative fields where you are sometimes only as good as your last work or your last picture on social media stress levels can be high says Shroff The pressure to remain relevant can often be overwhelmingFitness expert and celebrity coach Praveen Nair says that those in the limelight have it harder Sometimes celebrities choose to use musclebuilding enhancers ldquoThatrsquos not bad but it must be done after you know what condition your body is in and what it can handlerdquo says Nair who prefer that his clients take a blood test before planning a workout schedule for them ldquoIt all looks good on the outside but whatrsquos happening inside is what matters I insist on them doing proper cardio so that the heart gets pumping We need to use our hearts morerdquoMohit Mathur Founder CEO OneFitPlus a connected fitness company says that heart conditions have increased because of the amount of processed foods we have started consuming ldquoProcessed food is now available across shelves and we donrsquot realise how much of that we are eating We should remember that our bodies are built to move around and physical activities are vital to keep both mind and body productively engagedrdquo Processed food are low in fibre vitamins and minerals all of which help prevent heart disease Preservatives and other additives present in ultraprocessed foods might also contribute to weight gain prediabetes and inflammation all of which affect your heartldquoYou are what you eatrdquo says wellness coach at Herbalife Nutrition Kalpana Patil ldquoMen get their fitness knowledge from the Internet Sometimes they gym in excess but donrsquot add to their nutrition Instead they starve themselves They donrsquot eat carbs which offer us energy and that is dangerous When you sweat you lose minerals and vitamins as well Itrsquos not just about packing your body with protein They even avoid fats which are so necessary for good health We all need to find that equilibrium In the end lsquowhat you take from your bodies you must returnrsquordquoMeet the enemiesSmoking Increases heart rate tightens arteries can cause an irregular heart rhythm which makes your heart work harderEating unhealthy Processed foods are low in fibre vitamins and minerals all of which are important in preventing heart diseaseIrregularinsufficient sleep When you sleep your body recuperates During the nonrapid eye movement stage your heart rate slows blood pressure drops and breathing stabilizes All these help reduce stressHigh sugar levels If you have diabetes your chances of getting heart disease double The high sugar levels in your blood can damage blood vessels over time Body tissues use sugar stored in the liver as glycogen as a source of energy Sugar could leak from liver into the blood damaging the blood vessels