The death of 42-year-old Sonali Phogat, BJP leader and social media sensation, following a massive heart attack in Goa, has left everyone shocked. Sonali joins a long list of celebrities who passed away following a heart attack at a young age. From Sidharth Shukla (40), Puneeth Rajkumar (46), singer KK (53) and now Sonali, several younger celebs succumbed to heart attacks. Comedian Raju Srivastava, 58, also suffered a heart attack while exercising at a gym recently and remains critical in a hospital.
Talking about younger people suffering from heart attacks, Dr Chandrashekhar, Associate Director, Interventional Cardiology, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Shalimar Bagh, says, “Something grossly abnormal is happening in recent times, and this ‘new’ is something new major. At a young age, people who have been active and showed no past record of heart ailment are succumbing to heart attacks.”
The doctor explains that there can be sudden cardiac arrests, when the heart pumps stop without prior warning, thus cutting off oxygen to the whole body. In such cases, people can die in minutes, without getting the chance to seek medical assistance. Then people can sustain massive heart attacks leading to sudden cardiac arrest.
Dr Chandrashekhar lists out seven key points to ensure a healthy heart:
1. Stop smoking: This is a common denominator in most people who suffer from heart attacks at a younger age. Also, stop the use of smokeless tobacco. Non-smokers must avoid passive smoking. It’s important to note that even if have been a smoker, stopping smoking significantly lowers the risk of a heart attack. So stop as quickly as possible.
2. Exercise regularly: This will help not just in reducing body weight, but lowers the chances of developing conditions that enhance the risk of heart attacks like high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol. Ensure you exercise at least 150 minutes a week, or 75 minutes of vigorous work out in a week. However, if you can’t, don’t lose heart. Engage in activities like gardening, housekeeping, and taking stairs – small, small activities will go a long way in ensuring a healthy heart.
3. A balanced diet: Eat fruits and vegetables. If you are non-vegetarian, have lean meat like fish and chicken. Cut down on red meat, processed carbs, and alcohol.
4. Healthy body weight: Try to keep your BMI less than 25. (BMI = kg/m2; kg is a person’s weight in kilograms and m2 is their height in metres squared)
5. Quality sleep: Make sure that you enjoy 7-8 hours of quality sleep. A person who sleeps well has lower chances of developing hypertension, diabetes, and depression.
6. Manage stress: Do meditation, and learn relaxation techniques.
7. Regular health screening: This is last but not the least! Start regular BP checks as early as 18. If you don’t have BP, between 18 and 39, you can screen once a year and thereafter, regularly. Cholesterol screening should begin prior to 40. If there’s no family history of diabetes, start screening in your 40s; but start earlier if there’s family history.