World Heart Day, an occasion for reality check on food habits, lifestyle: Speaker M B Rajesh

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: World Heart Day should be utilised as an occasion to acquire awareness about the food habits and lifestyle to lead a healthy life, Assembly Speaker M B Rajesh said.

He was speaking after inaugurating a function to mark the observance of Word Heart Day at KIMSHEALTH here, and the get-together of persons who had undergone angioplasty and cardiac surgery at the tertiary care hospital.

The rate of cardiac problems in Kerala is higher than the national average. Changes in lifestyle and food habits are mainly responsible for this. Cultivating a responsible eating habit is important. This is all the more vital for a healthy heart, Rajesh said.

Heart problems among the youth and deaths of younger people due to heart diseases is a matter of grave concern. This would mean that the youth should show greater care in keeping their heart healthy by avoiding habits like smoking.

The unique feature of the Heart Day observance at KIMSHEALTH was that it became an occasion for a get-together of people who have successfully undergone angioplasty and cardiac surgery at different points of time.

Hailing from different districts, they shared their experiences before the gathering. Especially noteworthy were the accounts of those who returned to normal life after the treatment and surgery, despite their initial apprehension that they would not be able to lead a normal life due to their heart problems. The cardiac experts of the hospital spoke on the importance of a healthy heart.

KIMSHEALTH chairman and managing director Dr M I Sahadulla, who presided over the function, spoke on the increased application of digital technology in treating heart diseases. The lead role taken by KIMSHEALTH in application of Information Technology has come as a big boon to patients. Digital-based applications such as Patient Mobile App, Tele ICU and Radiology systems using Artificial Intelligence marked major leaps in various stages of patient care from examination of medical reports to fixing appointments with doctors, Dr Sahadulla said.

Dr G Vijayaraghavan, KIMSHEALTH Vice Chairman and Medical Services Director, said that young people should take proper care of their health if they want to enjoy the benefit of the increase in average life expectancy. In the last 10 years, KIMSHEALTH has performed 4445 bypass surgeries, 16478 angiograms and 7016 angioplasties, he said.

KIMSHEALTH executive director E M Najeeb proposed a vote of thanks at the function.

KIMSHEALTH is a leading hospital in treatment of heart diseases in Kerala. The hospital offers cutting-edge treatments such as Fractional Follow Reserve (FFR), Intravascular Ultra sound (IVUS), Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), Intravascular Litho Tripsy, Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR), Percutaneous Device Closure.