Heart disease prevention and Reversal

The estimated prevalence of Cardiovascular disease (CVD) in India in 2016 was 54.5 million. One in four deaths were due to CVD and in that ischemic heart disease and stroke accounted for almost 80% of it. In India, nearly 5.8 million people (WHO report, 2015) die from NCDs (heart and lung diseases, stroke, cancer and diabetes) every year .In other words, 1 in 4 Indians has a risk of dying from an Non-Communicable disease (NCD) before they reach the age of 70. In a report by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, it was found that there was an increase in the contribution of NCDs from 30% of the ‘disability-adjusted life years’ (DALYs) in 1990 to 55% in 2016 and also an increase in proportion of deaths due to NCDs (among all deaths) from 37% in 1990 to 61% in 2016. This showed a rapid epidemiological transition with a shift in disease burden to NCDs.

Chronic disease burden has increased in India by 53%. The leading cause of mortality among Indians is Heart disease, which has multiple factors including genetics, environmental causes and more importantly our lifestyle choices like diet, physical activity and stress. All of these factors play a huge role in the development of diseases like diabetes, hypertension and obesity. WHO has estimated $6.2 trillion has been spent between 2010 and 2030 on health care expenditure for NCDs. The only way to combat this is to focus on prevention and treatment of the root cause of all these diseases, which are unhealthy lifestyle choices.

When we look at these numbers, it is alarming and we all need to understand that there has to be a paradigm shift in the healthcare model. Medical technology has grown, and is growing at an exponential rate focusing on Artificial Intelligence, 3D printing of organs, robotic surgery, gene modification to cut out the threat of disease etc. It is of course a proud moment for all of us to be in this time. But in spite of so much advancement in medicine and technology, where are we as humans? Right now, our average life expectancy is at its highest and we have the most sophisticated things that are known to mankind. But does that mean we are happier and healthier? Actual studies show otherwise. People are constantly living with chronic disease and disabilities. In other words, “we are dying longer”.

We have focused all our energy on treating the symptoms of the disease. However, we have become complacent in finding and treating the cause of the disease, which is simply staring at our faces. Yes, think about it for a moment; 80% of our disease is caused by our lifestyle choices. It is the simple truth. Heart disease is the number one killer in the entire world, and it was predicted that in 2020 India will have the most heart disease burden in the entire world. Smoking, Hypertension, diabetes, obesity and dyslipidemia are still the major reasons for heart disease. And it affects younger Indians more than their counterparts in the western countries.

At Tula we focus on preventing and treating the patients’ risks for developing heart disease by using lifestyle interventions. So when we look at some of the statistics given, we can clearly understand why Functional/Lifestyle Medicine is the need of the hour. Here, we focus on Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes ( TLC could be taken for “tender loving care” for our wellbeing too), that are a fundamental part of the healthcare system. Importance should be given to 6 domains of lifestyle medicine which are diet, physical activity, stress management,avoiding risky substance use and meaningful relationships. At Tula we have a passionate team to help our patients achieve their health goal by helping them with the above change.

So after knowing the causes of these lifestyle diseases, we need to start focusing on the root cause of the problem, rather than just treating the symptoms with medications. I think it is apt here to use Albert Einstein's famous quote that “We cannot solve our problems with the same level of consciousness that we used when we created them”