WORLD HEART DAY-2012 10 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

WORLD HEART DAY:

 10 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

                                               

Dr. Madhu Sreedharan
Director,NIMS Heart Foundation

1-What is the reason for celebrating the world heart day ?

World heart day is a way of reminding ourselves of the importance of heart disease and its implications to the society. It is an attempt by the medical community to spread awareness about this modern epidemic and to try and curb its spread amongst us. It is an initiative by the World Heart Federation and is held on 29th of September annually.

2-What is the burden of heart disease?

More people die from Heart attacks & strokes than from any other disease all over the world. By 2030, 2.4 crore people are expected to die annually from Cardiovascular disease which amounts to the whole population of Australia. The largest increase in the number of deaths is predicted by the WHO to occur in the South – East Asian region – that is us !

3-What is the theme of this year’s 'world heart day' ?

The theme for this year is `One world, One Home, One Heart`. The focus is on heart disease in Women & Children. Contrary to popular belief, women are not immune from Heart Attacks. Heart disease is the number one killer among women – causing 1 in every 3 deaths among women! Children with their new life style of junk food and lack of exercise / computer games are exposed to higher risk of heart attacks from a young age.

4-What is the aim of this awareness program?

The number of people dying from heart disease is roughly 5 times that of people dying from Malaria, TB & AIDS put together! Heart attacks & stroke account for 50% of all deaths due to Non-communicable diseases presently. The target is to reduce this to 25% by 2025.

5-Can Heart Attacks be prevented?

Up to 80% of heart attacks can be prevented by simple changes in our life style. The 4 main things to do are (1) Say No to tobacco (2) Exercise for 30 – 45 minutes every day (3) Healthy Eating (4) Know your numbers – Blood Pressure, Blood Sugar, Cholesterol, Weight / BMI. Complete cessation of smoking is the single most important thing to do.

6-How can we know whether there are blocks in our heart arteries?

Chest discomfort on exertion (Angina) is the most important sign of having blocks in the heart arteries. However, in up to 50% of patients, Acute heart attack or Sudden death is the first manifestation of having heart disease. So early detection is important. This can be done by a various tests like Tread Mill Test, Nuclear Study, Special CT scans (CT Angiogram) or Coronary Angiogram as advised by your doctor. Of these, Coronary Angiogram is the gold standard currently.

7-What is Heart Attack?

Heart attack is due to sudden blocks developing in the heart arteries. The risk of this increases with Age, Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, High Cholesterol and if your family members have had heart attacks. This results in heart muscle not getting adequate blood supply resulting in irreversible damage to the heart muscles. This is called `Heart Attack`.

8-Why is Heart Attack dangerous?

Heart is the most important organ of the body and it pumps blood relentlessly to the various parts. When heart attack occurs, this muscle gets damaged and the damage is irreversible. If there is a large heart attack, and more than 40% of the heart muscle is damaged, the risk of dying in hospital is up to 60%. Further there may be changes in the heart rhythm (ventricular fibrillation) and this can result in Sudden death. Thus this is a life threatening disease.

9-What is the treatment of Heart Attack?

Treatment of Heart Attack is to remove the block in the heart arteries as early as possible. Each minute is important and `Time is Muscle` as whatever damage occurs is irreversible. Any discomfort which occurs suddenly has to be taken seriously and should not be disregarded as `gas`. The aim should be to get to a hospital at the earliest and take an ECG. Removing blocks are by 2 means – (1) blood thinning injection / thrombolysis (2) Primary Angioplasty.

10-Which is better – Thrombolysis or Angioplasty?

Thrombolysis is effective in removing the block in only 50-60% of patients and is associated with the risk of bleeding. The benefit becomes less as time elapses - with it being ineffective after 6 hrs. Angioplasty in the setting of Heart Attack is probably the most rewarding of all medical procedures in experienced hands. This is the best treatment available in the world today for heart attack – the cost involved being the only limitation.

Prof. John Kurakar