CVDs major public health problem in India: Dr Sushil

HoD Cardiology Dr Sushil Sharma examining patients at Greater Kailash, Jammu on Sunday.

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, May 7: With fast pace of urbanization with each passing day and its detrimental effect on cardiac health, Head Department of Cardiology GMCH Jammu Dr. Sushil Sharma held a day long camp at Shiv Mandir Charak Bhawan, Greater Kailash Jammu with the aim to screen high risk cardiac patients and to disseminate the information regarding primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases and healthy lifestyle practices, today.
While interacting with the people, Dr Sushil stated that Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs) are a major public health problem in India as in the rest of the world, with increasingly morbidity and mortality. The main risk factors (RF) of CVDs or NCDs, are related to the sociological environment, particularly with our lifestyle or our everyday behavior and are thus called behavioral RFs; they are thus deeply influenced by the culture and customs of the environment.
“It is this link between the sociological environment and the RFs of CVDs or NCDs, which could determine the disparities between the rural environment, guardian of traditional culture and the urban environment, strongly influenced by Western culture. CVDs are promoted by a number of factors called “risk factors” (RFs).The main CVRFs are: poor diet, lack of physical activity, smoking, and harmful use of alcohol. These RFs, related to lifestyle, are called behavioral RFs. They can be the cause of physiological disturbances such as high blood pressure, hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia and obesity; they are called intermediate risk factors,” he added.
He further told that despite its diversity, CVDs have turned into a major cause of death across the length and breadth of India. The advancement of this epidemic is largely due to socio economic factors like usage of tobacco, alcoholism, very minimal intake of fruits and vegetables. Globally, the majority of the deaths due to CVDs occur in low-income and middle-income countries.
Dr Sushil said that CVDs are one of the major current public health problems in India and globally. They are among the main causes of morbidity and mortality in India, but data on their geographical and sociological distribution, especially in rural and urban areas, are still incomplete. The first existing epidemiological surveys seem to indicate that they are more firmly established in urban areas than in rural areas, probably linked to the difference in lifestyles between these two areas. We need to take the option of launching vast epidemiological and clinical research programs aimed at making basic epidemiological data available, taking into account the sociological specificities of Indian society.
Others who were part of this Camp include Dr Nasir Ali Choudhary, Dr Anitipal Singh, Dr Dhaneshwer Kapoor and Dr Parvinder Kour, Paramedics and volunteers include Rajkumar, Paramveer Singh, Maninder Singh, Lovely Malpotra, Rajinder Singh, Jatin Bhasin, Gourav Sharma, Vikas kumar, Ranjeet Singh, Jamshed Ali, Manoj Sharma and Sandeep Sharma.