Health woes: ‘Men are more prone to heart diseases than women’

Dr Syed Nasir Ali urges public to adopt habit of pre-screening for cardiovascular diseases

ISLAMABAD: Increase in number of heart patients causes doctors to issue a warning to the public about dangers of being negligent of their health.

Doctors have cited the intake of fast food, cold drinks, smoking, as well as working in smoking environment and doing double jobs as a major reason of cardiac and hypertension diseases. It was also added that men are more prone to heart diseases as compared to women, as women have protected hormones which protect them against cardiac diseases.

Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Assistant Professor of Cardiology, Dr Syed Nasir Ali urged the public to adopt the habit of pre- screening for cardiovascular disease as well taking precautionary measures such as adopting healthy dietary habits and ensuring daily exercise.

He added that pre-screening for cardiovascular disease is the only way to avoid stents, which are small, expandable tubes inserted to treat narrowed arteries in your body.  Though they are used as a treatment for heart attacks and chest pains, stents can not only be extremely expensive but also lead to future complications.  Dr Ali also identified that alternative remedies through drug treatments and chemical therapy could be possible in some cases so stents could be avoided.

However, he negated a statement that doctors install stents unnecessarily to patients for their own financial gains.  "It is not a blind procedure as the patient is provided with records after surgery, which can be counterchecked by other doctors," he clarified.

On rumors about fake stents, he stated that the only people benefitting from such rumors were those who were enticing patients toward drug treatments, so they could stay on medication for a longer period of time.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 24^th, 2018.