It was rainy all day that day. There was fog all around the house. I was drinking a hot cup of coffee and looking at some comments on videos on my phone. Suddenly, a message I saw on Messenger made my heart skip a beat.
The message contained an obituary.
"This friend who comments on every post and video of the doctor has left us forever..."
I only saw that message two or three days later. I replied and asked what happened.
A young man of about thirty years old. He died of a heart attack.
While that message was still going strong, my brother arrived. My brother is also home today. My brother and I are rarely home at the same time.
"Look at this, hello, isn't this amazing? Now, young people, people in their twenties and thirties are dying of heart attacks . What is that?"
" The young people of today don't have collaterals. They're not like our fathers, mothers, and grandparents. There's a noticeable difference in the blood vessels in the hearts of the young people of today. The hearts of many young people I've done postmortems on are like that..." said my brother.
Ah, you couldn't tell us about our brother. He is also a doctor. He is a Forensic Medical Officer. That is, a JMO Doctor. That means when someone dies, for example, when there is a suspicious death, a sudden death like a heart attack, the body is cut open and a postmortem or post-mortem examination is done to determine the cause of death. Also, when there are accidents or crimes, a Forensic Medical Officer is a doctor who gives a legal medical opinion related to it.
What are these collateral arteries?
First, let's see what these collateral arteries are. Our heart is usually supplied with blood by blood vessels called coronary arteries. So these vessels can become blocked for various reasons. What happens when that happens is that our heart does not receive the required amount of blood supply. Then our heart cannot do its job properly. If such blockages occur, these collateral arteries bypass them and supply the necessary blood to our heart. These vessels delay the time of death by at least a day. Now, are you trying to say that this lifesaver is going away from our young generation?
Okay, let's see how these are formed. So when we exercise continuously, the normal amount of blood that our heart receives is not really enough. So these blood vessels try their best to supply the blood that our heart needs. Think of it this way. In addition to a main road, there are many side roads. The blood supply to this heart is the same. In addition to the main vessels, there is a system of vessels that are formed like urine , urine , and side roads. So think of it this way. If there are no blocks on the main road and you can go as fast as you want, the side roads will not form. So what happens when you exercise? The amount of blood coming from your main blood vessel is not enough for the heart. Then what happens is that these side roads start to open little by little. They don't open all at once. They open up after a while. These small side roads that form here are what we call Collateral Arteries. These additional vessels show good development in a person who exercises for a long time. Even if such a person is unable to do so, the blood does not have a way to go because the main road is blocked. Because the side roads are good. But if these side roads are muddy , if they are forested, if they are not yet well formed, you cannot go through that road, right? Similarly, if these Collateral Arteries are not well formed, you will have to face a big problem.
So who prevents these collateral arteries from forming?
In fact, the "lazy" behavior that causes most non-communicable diseases today is also doing this work. That is, we are a society that is enjoying the peak results of the industrial revolution. So we are lazy people who do not want to work hard at anything. The main reason for this lack of physical effort is our addiction to these mobile phones. Nowadays, we have become people who are very dependent on technology. Imagine, you are lazy to walk to your house, which is a long way from town. So you decide to hire a wheel and go home. So you are lazy to go to the wheel park. What do you do, take our phone, open our app, call our taxi with it, pay online with our card, and get off at our doorstep. That is the problem . There is one more thing to say. People have found a new reason for everything now. That's what they say, "All this is because of the medicine they gave for Covid." That's not true. The current bad habits are the cause of all this.
Think about it for a moment, when was the last time you rode a bike? Went for a jog? Climbed a flight of stairs? Do you even go shopping now? Even that is done online; that is, right from your phone.
We are like that. But was the generation of our grandfathers and fathers like that?
They had a job, but they walked from home to the bus stop. They walked to the fields. The work they did was physically demanding. So those guys were more active than us. Even when they were just sitting around, they didn't just sit around on the phone like we do, they did some kind of physically demanding activity.
But now the generation does their work sitting at a desk, in a chair, looking at a screen. The only entertainment is moving up and down with their face pressed to their phone. So this is why the younger generation is more prone to heart attacks and other heart diseases . Also, these diseases come earlier and at a younger age than we think. Yes, yes, that means that if we continue like this, we will pack our bags. In the past, our grandparents used to say, "You can have 3 heart attacks. The 3rd one is the most dangerous." But this way, the first one can be a one-shot.
So what can be done about this?
Don't think of it like, "This is something in these theories, so we don't need these stories." As a doctor, this is something that I, and my friends who do post-mortem examinations, have seen, are seeing, and will continue to see. So you should be afraid of this. But don't be too afraid. Why? There is also good news for you. That is, we can prevent this. But we have to work hard for it.
Let's see what we can do about this.
Don't be lazy, shake your body a little.
Make it a habit to do some physical activity that will make your body a little more active. It doesn't take a lot of time. 30 minutes a day is enough. So you might think, "Now go to the gym." No. In fact, it's a misconception that you need to go to the gym to exercise your body. If you're going to the gym for these 30 minutes, go. Or walk a little faster, ride a bike, do a short jog, and then circle around a nearby house. (We are not responsible for any side effects that may occur from visiting other people's homes.) So, with this little bit, open your heart a little.
Put the phone aside for a while.
The best thing to do when you're bored is to press your phone. So you can stay on it for hours without getting bored. Either play a little game, scroll through social media, watch a video, you can do all these things with this phone now. So imagine a time when you press your phone. While staying in the same position for a long time, there is only a small movement. That's moving your fingers around, breathing, and blinking. If you want more, you can open a window. We don't do anything beyond that. So, really, staying like this for a long time is very dangerous. So you can put this phone aside for a while and do a little round to stretch your body. You can set an app on your phone for this. An app that reminds you every hour. If possible, choose a hobby that doesn't involve a digital screen. Growing flowers is like playing a cricket match.
Increase collateral arteries
This doesn't mean you have to start running marathons right away. Regular exercise is good for building up your cardiovascular system. Doing things like brisk walking , hiking, or swimming for long periods of time can help improve your heart's endurance.
Eat mindfully, not mindlessly.
Now you must be wondering what he meant. Now people eat for 1000 reasons like hunger, need to be full, not being able to eat, happiness, sadness. After eating, they think, "Oh, I'm getting fat, aren't I?" If they actually think about what they are eating before eating, they can reduce these diseases and keep their bodies beautiful. It would be good if they could eat fruits, vegetables, proteins, and grains in abundance. These are important for good blood circulation. Try to stay away from foods with added sugar and salt as much as possible. These are tasty and easy, but they contribute to diseases.
H.M.T.G.U.
Young people reading this article, don't wait until it's too late. Heart disease doesn't just happen to the elderly. It doesn't happen to anyone. It can happen to anyone at any age. And that's what I've seen in my work. The hearts of those who live a sedentary lifestyle suffer a lot. So let's learn from the ideas of our fathers and grandfathers. Their activeness made their hearts happy. So if you also reduce the time you spend sitting at one place, your hearts will also be happy. To put it bluntly, "Don't wait until you're bored, start now."
Finally, when there are so many ways to prevent these heart diseases, it is really hard to bear that these young lives are not taken into account. So, start moving your body a little. Don't let digital screens enslave you. Your heart is there for you whenever you need it. If that heart is healthy, it will take care of you without letting your future be destroyed. So, walk a little, dance, swim, run, climb a mountain and have fun. If you understand that there is a world beyond your phone, you will be drawn into this healthy lifestyle without even realizing it.
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