Stress, food, sedentry life reasons for cardiac ailments: Dr Lalit Kapoor

Mail News Service

Jamshedpur, Feb 3: Famous cardiologist Dr Lalit Kapoor, during an interaction with doctors, medical students and house staff at the MGM Hospital today, broadly outlined the symptoms and treatment of cardialogical afflictions and the medical attention required for providing panacea.

Dr Kapoor who is presently the HOD, Cardiology at RN Tagore Hospital in Kolkata, attributed sedentery lifestyle, irregular folding habits and stress as the primary causes of this possibly avoidable ailment that has shown a steep incline in the last three decades.

He said that organs especially lungs, heart, kidney, liver , cornea and pancreas can be transplanted through organ donations from BRAIN DEAD individuals. While explaining the medical manouvers before declaring a patient as Brain Dead, he stressed such exercises should be conducted within an interval of six hours before finally declaring such patients Brain Dead.

Dr Lalit Kapoor further averred that a Brain Dead person’s organs ceased to function naturally and such patients were kept ‘physically alive’ through ventilation and other medical measures where the organs continued to function by artificial stimulators. The organs of such persons could be used to save other lives.

But he did not draw a very rosy picture while presenting the figures of those who needed organ transplant and the number of donors available. ” In India. approximately 1,60,000 people met with fatal road accidents in which there were 90 thousand that were Brain Dead. But only 900 organs were donated. The cause may be ignorance of the donation rules or unwillingness on the part of kin or relatives to donate organs of their departed loved ones.”

At the same time, he did spell out facts on the optimistic front too. Dr Kapoor said that in Southern and Eastern India, realization on the importance of organ donation and ‘ living on in another human being’ was gaining momentum. In Kolkata besides RN Tagore Hospital, there were Kolkata Medical College and Hospital, SSKM Hospital, Fortis to name a few that have organ transplant licences to extract and implant organs.

Patients require organs have to be registered in Kolkata and donors or Brain Dead patients too have to be in the metropolis.

 Regarding people who desire to donate their organs after death can register with many outfits engages in this social cause. But after demise, a donor’s relatives’ or kins’ consent is a must for extraction by an authorized or licensed medical unit. But state goverents are waking up to realities now and soon donors-extract-implant procedures will become easier and sustainable.

Dr Lalit Kapoor said that disregard to even the minutest physical uneasiness should not be overlooked. He said, “One should immediately see a doctor in case of even the slightest uneasiness in the chest, difficulty in breathing or fatigue. These are the signs of heart problems or they may be not. But it is always better to get a checkup done. In case it is a heart attack, the GOLDEN HOUR rule is applicable. Medical attention will help save life if treated within this one hour span. Even stents will not help if there is a long delay.”

On the issue of costs, Dr Kapoor pointed out, “Look, the cost of infrastructure including medicines, doctor’s fees are all taken into account whole charging a patient for treatment and convalesence. We believe on providing maximum quality on minimum cost. But you should note that on USA the heart transplant cost comes to around 85 thousand dollars which is more than 25 percent cost in India.”

He underlined that during the independence period people worked more and had simple and healthy diet although the average lifespan was around 42 years and now it is 67 years. People then used to die of diorrhea. tuberculosis and even heart ailments for medical treatment and availability of medicines were limited. Now things are different with wide ranging medical services and variety of medicines whose costs are one of the cheapest in the world.

Dr Kapoor who is the holder of MS, DNB, Much (SGPGIMS, Lucknow), FICS, FIACS degrees and is the Senior Consultant Cardiac Surgeon at RN Tagore Institute of Cardiac Sciences, Kolkata attributed diabetes, blood pressure as allies to developing cardiac problems.

“Maintain a schedule, do physical activities, eat right, avoid tobacco and keep away from mental stress. You will live a healthy life,” he advised in parting