Fortis Escorts Heart Institute (FEHI) has organised a mega camp at Venkateshwar International School, Dwarka, a first on ground initiative to educate youth to lead a healthy lifestyle and dietary and regular exercise pattern. The camp is an effort to spread awareness of the rising cause of cardiac diseases in the youth,

FEHI has been deeply involved in the delivery of heart care in the country for 25 years. During this time, doctors are pointing at an increasing pattern of the disease affecting the youth, especially in the recent few years. FEHI studies have helped to identify what ails the young Indian heart to take prevention and the cure of cardiac diseases to a more comprehensive and advanced level.

The team of doctors interacted with the youth at the Mega Camp include Dr. Ashok Seth, chairman, Dr. T S Kler, executive director, cardiac sciences; Dr. Atul Mathur, director interventional cardiology, Dr. Praveer Agarwal, director interventional cardiology; Dr. Z S Meharwal, director of cardiac surgery, Dr. Yugal Mishra, director department of cardiac surgery and Dr. Aparna Jaswal, principal consultant in the department of cardiac pacing and electrophysiology.

Doctors covered various aspects of cardiac diseases and focused on how India is the global capital for diabetes and hypertension. With the highest population affected with these disorders recorded and how these two disorders are bases for any disease particularly the heart, the team of doctors from FEHI stresses upon the factors that are or can be a risk to the most important organ in the body. They also educated them on prevention of the risks and minimalizing them through a sustained regime of well managed lifestyle; healthy dietary foods and disciplined physical exercises/ fitness.

Dr Ashok Seth, chairman, FEHI, Delhi, said, “Cardiovascular disease is the biggest killer in India and Asia. It is increasingly affecting younger people over the last 10-15 years. The spike in cardiac diseases in the youth is due to sedentary and stressful lifestyles that accompany high pressure jobs. Unhealthy diets and addictions like smoking and tobacco chewing are added factors. With changing social norms, women today enjoy an equal footing in the society and are working longer hours, shouldering greater stress and dual responsibility of home and career. All these aspects exacerbate the early onset of the disease.”

“With over 3 million deaths due to cardiovascular diseases every year, India will likely be the 'heart disease capital of the world', in a few years. It is estimated that by 2020, cardiovascular disease will be the cause of over 40 per cent deaths and nearly 50% deaths will be from India. Coronary artery disease has risen 10 times in the young men aged less than 40 years in the last 20 years and the average age of heart attack is also getting lower with nearly 50 per cent of the Indian population in youth less than 30 years in the next 15 – 20 years could create an epidemic of heart disease unless we start taking precautions in our childhood and early adulthood. Each one of us therefore carries the responsibility of alleviating this potential burden by propagating the need for a healthy lifestyle,” Dr. Seth added.

Dr. Somesh Mittal, facility director, FEHI said, “In a span of 8 years, there has been a 100 per cent increase in below 45 years age group admitted at FEHI for Coronary Artery Diseases (CAD) from 2004 to 2011. Of this, the majority increase has been in the age group less than 25 years. People in the age group 25-44 years demonstrated a stable trend for CAD. With our team of doctors who are unparalleled in their level of skills and achievement, conducting public education programmes, workshops and counseling sessions for creating awareness at a mass level will go a long way."