Is the city stressing out your heart?
Overview:
A recent survey about cardiac ailments revealed that over 80% of the urban population is prone to heart diseases due to stress caused by hectic lifestyle. Nearly 70% of the doctors who participated in the survey contended that any age group could be vulnerable to heart diseases. People living in urban areas like Mumbai and its suburbs must keep a keen tab on the cardiac care facilities available in their vicinity.
The hectic city life!
Studying the impact of urban life on health has become an important concern for medical scholars across the globe. Urban life is inevitably characterized by bizarre features like polluted air, stand-still traffic, crowded streets and work
pressures. Medical practitioners classify these features as stressors of urban people. A study reveals that risk factors for heart disease have become more prevalent among people in Indian cities like Mumbai than they are in the western countries. And with a population of more than 1.1 billion, India's health is a major global concern.
What’s causing the stress?
A ‘stressor’ in medical terms is a factor that causes stress. For an instance, if you are growing increasingly intolerant towards honking horns in traffic, your doctor would mark it as one of your stressors. You may have many such stressors in your day-to-day life which you might not notice at all. But they would certainly affect your cardiac fitness. If you ever feel like you have stressors that make you uneasy, you should be concerned about stress.
How cardiac consultation helps-
If stress is taking a toll on your heart, your physician would refer you for cardiac consultation. A careful investigation of the condition of your heart done by a cardiologist is known as cardiac consultation. During the consultation a cardiologist will make a detailed record of the medical history of you and your family. They may also perform some basic physical examinations. The questioning and examination helps your cardiologist get a clear picture of your current health. They may also ask about your diet, exercise habits, and other lifestyle factors.
Want to take the cardiac stress test?
A cardiac stress test is an advanced step in cardiac consultation. During the test you will have to walk on a treadmill while being hooked-up to the EKG machine.The cardiologists keeps checking the heart rate and breathing as you exercise. As you experience difficulties like chest pains, weakness, or fatigue, the cardiologist notes down his observations. The test primarily helps him to determine if your heart receives enough oxygen, and proper blood flow when it needs it the most. The cardiac stress test can be of a great help to people experiencing symptoms like chest pain and the ones related to malfunctioning of coronary artery.
Keeping the fitness of your heart on the right track in a busy life-style is difficult. But assistance of the right people will help you in the right way. Making it a custom to have periodical consultation with your doctor helps you prevent ailments from putting constraints in your daily plans.
This article about stress and heart diseases is presented by Dr Chonkar’s Chaitanya Heart and Brain Center, Mumbai. Dr Chonkar’s Chaitanya Heart and Brain Center is equipped with advanced technology for cardiac consultation and cardiac stress test.
Keywords: Cardiac, Heart diseases, Cardiologist, Mumbai, Dr Chonkar, Chaitanya, stress, stressors, consultation