Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 5: ‘Change is the law of nature’ is a universally held aphorism and holds true for all states of matter but when it comes to various physiological and basic functions of our body it is hard to accept that the different systems that serve our body and mind experience variations during the aging process, said Dr. Sushil Sharma, HoD Cardiology GMC, Jammu while interacting with the inmates of Old Age Home at Ambphalla on the sidelines of a health cum awareness camp organised for the inmates.
“Aging associated diseases are commonly seen in older patients. These diseases include osteoarthritis, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, arthritis, cataracts, osteoporosis, type 2 diabetes, hypertension and Alzheimer. The incidence of all of these disease increases exponentially with age. About 60% of the older population suffers from obesity which leads to type 2 diabetes and some suffer from metabolic syndrome which increases risk factor for developing cardiovascular diseases,” he added.
Highlighting the intricacies involved, Dr. Sushil said atherosclerosis process commences, according to some researchers, with birth and accelerates with advancing age, leading to changes that are sometimes obvious but frequently go unnoticed for a long time.
“Changes that occur in aging can be different and intricate to identify, and looking simply at one parameter might result in not seeing the whole picture. Atherosclerosis is categorized as an aging disease and is brought about by vascular remodelling, the accumulation of plaque, and the loss of arterial elasticity. Over time, these processes can stiffen the vasculature. For these reasons, older age is listed as a major risk factor for atherosclerosis. Specifically, the risk of atherosclerosis increases for men above 45 years of age and women above 55 years of age,” he added.
He further maintained that elderly people should take some precautionary measure such as eat healthy, get some sleep, take care of mental health, notice change in vision, stay physically active and don’t neglect symptoms, such as shortness of breath, progressive fatigue, heartbeats that are too fast, too slow, or irregular, pain or discomfort in the left chest, or dizziness because all of these symptoms may not be a consequence of age alone but could signify a recently acquired heart condition.
“No doubt aging itself is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, we still recommend avoidance of smoking, promotion of physical activity, control of blood pressure, careful hypoglycaemic therapy in diabetics, prevention of obesity, and all other measures that promote cardiac health,” Dr Sharma said.
Others, who were part of this campaign, include Dr Arvind Kohli (Cardiac Surgeon), Dr Dhaneshwar Kapoor and Dr Syed Raheela. Paramedics and volunteers include Raghav Rajput, Kamal Sharma, Mohd Altaf ,Om Prakash, Pushpa Devi, Gourav Heera, Akshay Kumar, Vikas Kumar, Sandeep Kohli, Gourav Sharma, Anmol Singh, Aman Gupta and Raj Kumar.
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