‘NICVD gets 10pc more patients in Ramazan due to bad eating habits’

Karachi

Instead of learning to better control themselves, people tend to overeat more in Ramazan and there is an increase of about 10 percent in the number of patients who come to the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) during the holy month.

“People overeat and gain weight by consuming a large amount of fried items during Ramzan,” remarked leading cardiologists on Wednesday. “For the past few years we have seen the number of patients at the NICVD to increase by at least 10 percent. Only with a little awareness and a few precautionary measures during Ramzan, people can stay healthy and avoid heart-related complications,” according to Executive Director NICVD Dr Nadeem Qamar.

Speaking at a press briefing with another renowned cardiologist Prof Dr Nadeem Rivzi, Dr Qamar found it strange that some people ate so much during Ramzan that they actually gained weight rather than lose some, and ended up in hospitals with heart ailments.

He advised everyone to drink plenty of water during Sehri and avoid eating fried or high-calorie foods when breaking their fasts. He also called for reducing the consumption of salt and eating more fruits and vegetables.

“Fasting during summer causes the blood to thicken and increases the chances of clot formation in blood vessels that could cause stroke or heart attack. Dehydration is also very common during Ramzan and this causes an electrolyte imbalance that could also result in heart disease,” he said. “But this can easily be prevented by abstaining or controlling the amount of pakoras, samosas and jalaibis consumed when breaking the fast and instead eating fresh fruits, fresh juices, whole wheat bread and vegetables during both Sahar and Iftaar.

Dr Qamar also recommended eating two to three times after Iftaar rather than filling up an empty stomach all at once.

He advised people with chronic heart ailments to consult their doctors before deciding to fast in Ramzan. Moreover, he said, people who have diabetes and hypertension and take medicines regularly should also consult their doctors before fasting. “Doses of diabetes and hypertension medicines must also be re-adjusted during Ramzan. In case of a heart attack, immediately give the patient an aspirin and place a blood thinner under the patient’s tongue while he or she is being shifted to the hospital,” said Dr Qamar.

In Pakistan, he said, the incidence of premature coronary heart disease was very high as compared to other countries due to genetic reasons. Smoking has also increased the incidence of heart disease in the young population aged between 30 and 50 years. “Unfortunately, we have no concrete data of heart patients but we believe that every second person after the age of 50 in Pakistan suffers from some type of heart ailment,” he said.

According to Dr Qamar, NICVD witnesses a 33 percent increase in patients in the year 2015 as compared to the previous year. This year, he said, a surge of between 43 to 45 percent was expected in the number of heart patients.

Responding to queries, Dr Qamar said the NICVD had purchased 14 new ventilators and the institute had also begun conducting free surgeries of children.

Answering a question about the open-heart surgery of Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif in England, Dr Qamar said bypass procedure at the NICVD cost Rs60, and every year the institute conducted on an average 4,000 similar procedures.

“Here at NICVD, we have the best team of surgeons who can perform the open-heart bypass surgery just as competently as a team of doctors in developed countries,” he added.