TALK BY DR ANIL CHATURVEDI

Today’s sedentary and fast paced living conditions have seen a steep surge in lifestyle diseases like cardiac ailments, diabetes and high blood pressure. To spread awareness about these diseases amongst the DAD personnel and to initiate a healthy life style amongst them a lecture on “Preventive Health Care” by Dr Anil Chaturvedi, M D, F I C P, currently working as senior consultant for Preventive and Rehabilitative Cardiology at Escorts Heart Institute
and Research Centre New Delhi.,was organized in the auditorium of the Training Division, Brar Square, Delhi Cantt on 11th December, 2008. Underlining the importance of preventive healthcare the doctor talked about the close relationship between a healthy population and a robust and thriving economy. He explained on how sickness is very expensive not only in terms of direct costs but also because of loss of productivity. Therefore, preventing diseases and promoting health is essential for high rate of economic growth and overall prosperity.

The medical expert outlined the habits that make an individual prone to coronary diseases and therefore advised the audience to avoid these habits like eating irregularly, being overweight / chain smoker/ hard drinker, overworking at odd hours, loosing temper and being tense etc.

During his lecture the doctor revealed the chilling statistics about the extent of heart disease in India viz. almost 7Crore Indians suffer from heart diseases and 50 lakh die because of it annually, that 28 % people who die of heart diseases are less than 65 years old and 50 % people never display any symptoms.

The lecture concluded with an advice to everybody to make a serious effort to initiate life-style changes from an early age, exercise and indulge in physical fitness activities, avoid smoking and adopt a diet conducive to sensible lipid levels to stay away from coronary diseases.