FAST FOOD CULTURE AND CARDIAC RISK

FAST FOOD CULTURE AND CARDIAC RISK 

Cardio-vascular diseases have become the ‘killer No.1' in India, thanks to the fast-food culture and changing life style in the modern globalised scenario A. Thomas Pezzella, world-renowned cardiac surgeon from the Massachusetts Medical School in the United States and founder-director of International Children's Heart Fund has said. “Obesity is a disease resulting from addiction to fast food. The fast-food culture has already invaded China and its invasion in India is fast under way. A concerted effort by the public and private health systems and the medical fraternity is the need of the hour to counter this alarming health risk,” he said.

He said people could access the Internet and get themselves educated on any branch of healthcare, without joining a medical school. The advent of Internet had brought knowledge at the finger-tip of the common people. Kerala, with its improved healthcare system and education on a par with any developed country, could be proud of having skilled human resources, he said. Dr. Cherian said safety of patients and long-term results were his prime considerations and that he personally preferred beating-heart surgery. He said there was no justification in the clamour for a reduced cost of treatment from various quarters at a time when the actual cost of treatment was on the rise with the nurses and paramedical staff demanding a salary increase, besides the expensive technological support hospitals had to depend upon. Dr. Srivastava said as many as 1,20,000 cardiac surgeries were held in India in 2010. As many as 45 million coronary artery disease cases had been diagnosed in India in 2010 alone and the figure was expected to go up to 60 million by 2015.

Dr. Pezzella was of the opinion that India should increase its budget allocation for healthcare and education.

courtesy: The Hindu

                                                                                                             Prof. John Kurakar