Traditional eating habits prevent heart diseases

In patients suffering from ischemic heart disease the flow of blood to the heart is obstructed and thus the heart is deprived of oxygen. This leads to death if not attended to immediately.

By Syed Akbar

Aping the West in food habits and lifestyle is proving
to be dear to people in Andhra Pradesh with heart diseases linked to food habits
emerging as the leading cause of death.
According to a recent survey published by the Central Bureau of Health
Intelligence, ischemic heart disease characterised by reduced blood supply to
the heart has been killing 13.21 per cent of people in Andhra Pradesh. It is
the cause of death in 12.2 per cent of women and 14.08 per cent of men.
Incidentally ischemic heart disease tops the 10 important causes of death in
people of the State.
Doctors link the disease to smoking, diabetes, hypertension, obesity,
excessive use of hydrogenated fats (vanaspathi) and foods containing high
cholesterol levels. So far, ischemic heart disease has been the major
cause of death in the US and Europe.
That it has emerged as the top killer in Andhra
Pradesh is a cause for concern, says senior cardiologist Dr PC Rath.
In patients suffering from ischemic heart disease the flow of blood to the
heart is obstructed and thus the heart is deprived of oxygen. This leads to
death if not attended to immediately. According to Dr Rath, a little
change in lifestyle and food habits will help in controlling cardiovascular diseases.
Cerebrovascular disease (bleeding in brain or cutting supply of blood or
oxygen to the brain) is the second leading cause of death in Andhra Pradesh,
though it is the third leading cause of death in the West. Cancer or
malignancy, which is the second leading cause of death in the West, is
incidentally the 10th cause of death in Andhra Pradesh.
While lower respiratory (lung) infections is the third over all leading
killer in the State, diarrhoeal diseases occupy the third position in case of women and
tuberculosis in case of men. Self-inflected injury is the seventh leading
killer both among men and women while asthma and stomach cancer is the eighth
major cause of death among men and women respectively, according to the
CBHI report.
Road accidents occupy the 10th slot in case of men and dementia (group of
disorders relating to brain) is the 10th cause of deaths among women.
Cirrhosis of the liver is the cause of 2.19 per cent of deaths among men but
incidentally it is absent among women. Cirrhosis is linked to alcohol.
Women tend to be more prone to unintentional injuries than men. Statistics
show that 4.09 per cent of deaths in women and 3.81 per cent of deaths in
men are attributed to unintentional injuries.