Kolkata women becoming more prone to heart attacks, than other metros

Kolkata women becoming more prone to heart attacks, than other metros
Santanu Saraswati
Kolkata, March 8— Are women in Kolkata becoming more susceptible to cardiac ailments than Delhi or Mumbai? That’s what a recent health survey suggested. Once the domain of men, incidences of heart attacks, the survey seems to have found a radical change over the last decade. And the numbers could leave even the top cardiologists of Kolkata unnerved.

The survey conducted by Marico Industries, revealed that two out of five women in Kolkata are prone to heart attacks, a number that is double than in cities like Mumbai, Delhi or Chennai. Conducted across 90 cities across India among 10,000 people, the survey found out that while one in every five women are susceptible to cardiac ailments in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and even Hyderabad, the number is just double in Kolkata.

“There has been a radical change in the profile of Kolkata women if compared with women in 70’s. We have seen our mothers and sisters managing their homes and a very miniscule section of women were engaged with work. But that too, either as a teacher in a government school or a lecturer in a college. But it’s now a hard reality that large sections of our women population are the main bread-earner for the family. This leads to rise in the level of stress, causing cardiac ailments among the women,” said Abhijit Banerjee, former head, Institute of Cardiovascular Science at R G Kar Medical College & Hospital and SSKM Hospital.

In 70’s only women in their post-menopause used to suffer from heart diseases because of change in the level of oestrogen hormones. But in the new millennium, women even in early forties are suffering from hypertensions, and are diagnosed with risks leading to heart ailments. Cardiovascular experts like Banerjee observed that there has been a radical change in the environment in women’s livelihood. “Less physical exercise, rise in the number of women smokers, obesity, change in dietary habits and over dependence on junk foods are factors responsible for this. The World Health Organisation (WHO) predicted that by 2015 there would be an epidemic of heart diseases in Indian sub continent and South East Asian countries. We think Kolkata is already inside this epidemic,” Banerjee said.

Shashank Joshi, consulting endocrinologist at Lilavati Hospital, observed that in current times, due to changing lifestyles and additional responsibilities, rising number of women have been diagnosed with risks leading to heart ailments. There has been a radical shift observed from men to now women having high cholesterol levels, this goes to prove that heart ailments today are no longer a man’s domain as was perceived earlier. It’s time to raise an alarm and control the factors leading to a heart attack, namely obesity, hypertension and diabetes. Controlling these factors is definitely possible by making minor changes in one’s routine especially women and becoming a lot more conscious for a healthy future.

In Bengal, almost equal number of males and females has high cholesterol. Heart ailments were once considered the domain of the males alone, but research proves otherwise – today there are as many females—37 per cent as there are 39.1 per cent men who suffer from high cholesterol levels.

Shubo Dutta, director, interventional cardiology, B M Birla Heart Research Foundation observed that research proves that today 37 per cent of females suffer from high cholesterol levels. “One out of every two women is at risk of a heart ailment after the age of 50. After the age of 50, women are at higher risk of heart ailments than men. In fact, one out of every two women after the age of 50 has been detected with high levels of bad cholesterol. This is because of change in oestrogen hormone level and histectomy,” Dutta said.
This Women’s Day, according to cardiovascular disease experts, there should be a sincere effort to help women identify the factors leading to heart ailments and encourages them to take small steps to a healthy heart and lead a healthy life. EOM
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