JAMMU: In a significant move to aware the common people about the effects of Cardiovascular Diseases (CVD), HOD Cardiology GMCH and SSH Jammu, Dr. Sushil Sharma held a day long camp at Panchayat Ghar Akalpur in the outskirts of Jammu.
Accompanied by a team of young doctors, paramedics and volunteers, Dr. Sushil Sharma examined people of the area for prevalence of cardiac diseases and other health ailments. More than 150 people were screened, evaluated, diagnosed and free medicines were given as per the requirements.
While interacting with the people, Dr Sushil stated that CVD is the leading cause of death world-wide, 3.3 million deaths every year result from harmful use of alcohol, this represent 5.9 per cent of all deaths. Alcohol consumption causes death and disability relatively early in life. In the age group 20 – 39 years approximately 25 per cent of the total deaths are alcohol-attributable. “Regular or high alcohol use can hurt your heart and lead to diseases of the heart muscle, called cardiomyopathy. Drinking alcohol regularly can increase your blood pressure. Binge drinking can cause irregular heart rhythms called arrhythmias,” he added.
Sushil also elaborated that the incidence of heart disease in those who drink moderate amounts of alcohol (no more than two drinks per day for men or one drink per day for women) is lower than in non drinkers. However, with increased intake of alcohol, there are increased health dangers including high blood pressure, obesity and stroke. If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation. He also stressed that the alcohol affects women in unique ways. A woman’s body processes alcohol more slowly than a man’s. One drink for a woman has about twice the effect of one for a man. Plus, women have accelerated, course of alcohol dependence, meaning that they generally advance from their first drink to their first alcohol-related problem and to the need for treatment more quickly than men. Women are more vulnerable than men to alcohol’s effects, even after drinking smaller amounts. Heavy drinking can lead to increased risk of health problems such as liver disease, brain damage, and breast cancer.
Sushil cautioned that although moderate alcohol intake is good for arteries but bad for the heart muscles so we do not advise you to start drinking if you don’t already. There are safer ways to reduce your risk of developing heart disease. To keep your heart healthy, He advised people to take a heart healthy diet, exercise regularly and being aware of risk factors such as smoking, drinking and stress.
Management Committee of the Sewa Bharti Jai Dev Singh, Dwarka Nath Sharma, Rajinder Singh, Raj Kumar Sharma, Ravi Kumar and Shankar Singh (Sarpanch Akalpur) expressed gratitude to Dr Sushil and his team for organising cardiac awareness camp.
Others who were part of this humane effort include Dr Mohi Kalsotra, Dr Chakshu Mahajan and Dr Anitipal Singh. Paramedics and volunteers who were part of the team
include Kamal Kishore, Kashmiri Lal, Raghav Rajput, Harvinder Singh, Aman Gupta, Rajeev Vohra, Rajkumar,
Vikas Sabharwal, Bunty
Digra, Ankush Kohli and Vikas Kumar.