IT professionals, please go take a walk!

BANGALORE: "High risk factors like sedentary lifestyle, fast-track life, fast food, and high-stress in work environments are making IT executives more prone to heart diseases. However, with little exercise the risk could be reduced by 50%," stresses the renowned city heart specialist, Dr. Ashok Punjabi. Recent studies have shown that IT executives are particularly susceptible to coronary artery diseases. What is alarming is that not only is there a higher incidence of the disease among Indians, but also that the disease itself is getting increasingly vicious, he says.

"Indians have a natural genetic predisposition towards heart diseases. There is a high incidence of diabetes among Indians, hyper triglyceridaemia and obesity. Sudden change in lifestyle, urbanization, change in dietary habits, society at crossroads and the resultant insecurity, stress at work, and lack of exercise, add to this," asserts Dr. Ashok Punjabi, an ace cardiologist.

Dr. Punjabi who has performed over 5000 angiographies and angioplasty procedures, says that surprisingly, 40 percent of these were young professionals. "And, it's not just the IT executive who's vulnerable to the ailment." The stress levels are equally high in people working in certain other industries which makes them equally prone to heart ailments."

"Doctors should always recommend regular physical exercise to their patients to prevent and treat cardiovascular disease. People who get a lot of regular exercise appear to have half the risk of blood vessel diseases compared to sedentary people," he says. Dr. Punjabi recommends at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise to all, such as a brisk walk, on most or all days of the week.

According to Dr. Punjabi recent research reinforces the perception that regular exercise appeared to reduce the risk of heart disease as much as commonly used drugs, such as beta-blockers and aspirin. As a result, exercise - which is cheaper and causes fewer side effects than medication - seems to convey the same magnitude of cardioprotection. And, combining drugs and exercise appears to reduce the risk even further, he noted.

However, the awareness among Indians has increased, tremendously. This could be because the facilities have increased, diagnosis is early and technology has facilitated all this. Dr. Punjabi gives a checklist for young Indian executives:

If you have a family history of heart disease, then go for a routine check

q Get your lipid profile checked regularly

q Get a stress test done every two years

q Get on to a low-calorie, low-sugar and a low-fat diet

q Quit smoking

q Exercise, exercise, exercise.