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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Cold wave triggers spike in cardiac arrests

Mumbai : As winter temperatures go for a spin across the country, hospitals are witnessing a significant surge of around 25-30 pc in cardiac emergencies, a top cardiologist said.   According to Interventional Cardiologist Dr. Hemant Khemani of Apex Group of Hospitals, cold air directly affects how the heart functions.   “Low temperatures make blood vessels tighten. When the arteries narrow, blood pressure shoots up and the heart has to work harder to push the blood through the stiffened...

Cold wave triggers spike in cardiac arrests

Mumbai : As winter temperatures go for a spin across the country, hospitals are witnessing a significant surge of around 25-30 pc in cardiac emergencies, a top cardiologist said.   According to Interventional Cardiologist Dr. Hemant Khemani of Apex Group of Hospitals, cold air directly affects how the heart functions.   “Low temperatures make blood vessels tighten. When the arteries narrow, blood pressure shoots up and the heart has to work harder to push the blood through the stiffened vessels,” said Dr. Khemani.   Elaborating on the direct effects of cold air on heart functioning, he said that low temperatures make blood vessels tighten, when arteries narrow, blood pressure shoots up and the heart must work harder to push blood through stiffened vessels.   Winter also thickens the blood, increasing the likelihood of clot formation and these combined effects create a dangerous ‘demand-supply mismatch’ for oxygen, especially in people with existing heart conditions.   This trend has caused concern among cardiologists as it adds to India’s already heavy cardiovascular diseases burden – with nearly one in four deaths linked to heart and blood vessel problems.   Dr. Khemani said that sudden temperature transitions - from warm rooms to chilly outdoors - can put additional strain on the heart and risks. “This abrupt shift loads the cardiovascular system quickly, raising the risk of a sudden (cardiac) event among vulnerable individuals.”   Lifestyle Patterns Added to these are the changes in lifestyle patterns during winter month that further amplify the danger. Most people reduce physical activities, eat richer foods, and often gain weight all of which combine to raise cholesterol levels, disrupt blood-sugar balance and push up blood pressure.   Complicating matters for the heart are the social gatherings during the cold season that tends to bring higher intake of smoking and alcohol, said Dr. Khemani.   Recommending basic preventive measures, Dr. Khemani said the chest, neck and hands must be kept warm to prevent heat loss, maintain a steady body temperature and reduce the chances of sudden blood pressure spikes, a low-salt diet, home-cooked meals, shot indoor walks post-eating, adequate hydration and at least seven hours of sleep.   He warns against ignoring warning signals such as chest discomfort, breathlessness, unexplained fatigue, or sudden sweating, pointing out that “early medical care can significantly limit heart damage and improve survival.”   The rise in winter heart risks is not unique to India and even global health agencies like World Health Federation and World Health Organisation report similar patterns.   The WHF estimates that more than 20 million people die of heart-related causes each year - equal to one life lost every 1.5 seconds, and the WHO has listed heart disease as the world’s leading cause of death for five consecutive years.   Seniors affected more by winter chills  Cold weather can hit the heart at any age, but the risk is noticeably higher for men aged above  45 and in women after 55, with the highest danger curve in people over 60, and elders with co-morbidities and history of heart diseases.   “People with existing cardiac problems face greater trouble in winter as the heart has to work harder. Even those without known heart disease can sometimes experience winter heart attacks, as chilly conditions may expose hidden blockages or trigger problems due to sudden exertion, heavy meals, smoking or dehydration,” Dr. Khemani told  ‘ The Perfect Voice’ .   However, contrary to perceptions, cold-weather heart issues have no connection to the COVID-19 vaccine, nor is there any scientific evidence linking the two, he assured.

Road Rash

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A few days ago, I was travelling from Bangalore to Mumbai. This was hardly my first trip to the South. I am on those roads often - sometimes for work, sometimes for the restless pleasure of the journey itself. Years of such travel have honed my instinct to notice the small details: the slope of a flyover, the placement of a milestone, the shifting patterns of truck convoys. The highway is a diary. It tells you a lot about a country, if you bother to read it.


Not long ago, the stretch from Katraj in Pune to Kolhapur was a joy. The tarmac rolled smoothly under the tyres, the trucks kept their dignified distance, and the scenery had the quiet grace that makes long-distance driving something of a meditation. You could hold a steady speed and steady thoughts.


Today, that same stretch is a catastrophe. From Katraj to somewhere near Hubballi, the road is torn apart. Not for the occasional repair, but in the throes of full-scale reconstruction. Diversions erupt every few hundred metres - a left here, sharp right there, through narrow cuts that would challenge even a rally driver. The untrained driver is not merely inconvenienced but he is positively in danger.


The problem is not just the detours or delays. It is the intent. India’s roads, it seems, are no longer built for people to travel on. They are built for contracts to be signed, for repairs to be perpetual, for profits to be skimmed. A smooth, safe, functional road is a finished project whereas an unfinished road becomes eternally a renewable source of income.


And they accidents occur with grim regularity, the official line is to blame the driver for speeding, fatigue or distraction. Rarely is there mention of sudden two-way stretches with no warning signs, of diversions that funnel vehicles head-on at night with blinding headlights, of curves sharper than they appear. It is a wonder more people do not die.


But many do. India records over 1.6 lakh road deaths each year. In a nation of 145 crore, that is barely a murmur in the news cycle. And yet, there is no outcry, no resignation and no systemic shame. Life is cheap, and the highway system reminds you of it with every jolt to your spine.


At night, the Katraj–Hubballi run turns into something close to a video game. Trucks loom suddenly from unlit corners, motorbikes dart without reflectors, diversions arrive with no reflective paint or hazard lamps. You drive not in confidence but in constant dread, as if survival is less a matter of skill and more a matter of luck.


Our highways have been proudly unfinished since independence. They are monuments not to engineering achievement but to bureaucratic inertia, political favour and contractual appetite. They are not arteries of commerce or threads stitching together a vast nation but inhuman obstacle courses laid out for the citizenry to endure.


So here is to our highways. Proudly unfinished since independence. Built not for travel, but for trials. Not for citizens, but for contracts.


Drive safe. Or better, do not drive at all.


(The writer is CMD of a private company. Views personal.)

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