JUNE , 2023 | THE HEALTH

DIFFERENT STROKES

BY ADI SATRIA

FEW days ago , I received news that a 52-year-old friend passed away after a few days in a specialist hospital after suffering a heart attack . I met him a few weeks ago in Subang Jaya at the nasi kandar restaurant and he was certainly looking hale and hearty .

He came with his boss who is also my old friend . He was a dedicated driver and took care of the boss ’ s small farm in Kedah . It was certainly a great shock to all of us . And a couple of months ago another late 50s friend also had a heart attack , mainly due to his smoking , although the signs of regular chest pains were conveniently ignored .

A study in 2019 showed that heart attacks among people under 40 have increased over the last 10 years . Conditions such as obesity , being overweight and high blood pressure lead to heart diseases among our youth .

The study found that the leading causes include smoking and lack of physical activity . That puts pressure on the cardiovascular system as the heart is one of the vital organs for the body to function efficiently . Most people don ’ t know or care about the importance of maintaining a healthy heart .

You are what you eat ; hence , a healthy , well-balanced diet is critical in maintaining a healthy body and mind . Yes , we heard this before but many don ’ t have a clue what it means .

As stress is the other main cause , many see smoking , drinking alcohol , carbonated sugary drinks and comfort food , especially fast foods as the so-called ‘ formula ’ to de-stress . And this really is what causes all the Non-Communicable Diseases ( NCD ) in society .

THE RIGHT FOOD INTAKE IS ESSENTIAL

Today ’ s alarming reality is that one out of five heart attack patients is younger than 40 ! I was at a government clinic a couple of months ago accompanying a 65-year-old friend who had high blood pressure and I met this 23-year-old youth seeking treatment for the same ailment .

He was a heavy smoker but despite that still was not quitting though his pack of cigarettes have been reduced to one in two days ! What is the point ?

Our nation is proud of its massive variety of culinary spread . Our pastime today is to send pictures of food and food joints nationwide over tic toc and social media . The problem is that most of these foods are high in calories , unsaturated fats , sugar

A study in 2019 showed that heart attacks among people under 40 have increased over the last 10 years . Conditions such as obesity , being overweight and high blood pressure lead to heart diseases among our youth . ”

and of course salt which contribute to high cholesterol levels leading to high NCDs .

Do you know Japan has the lowest coronary heart disease mortality among developed countries ? Stroke mortality has declined substantially over the last few decades .

Among the reasons is the low intake of saturated fatty acids , high intakes of polyunsaturated fatty acids , plant foods such as soybeans and nonsugar-sweetened beverages such as green tea which may have contributed to low cancer and ischemic heart disease mortality .

Their diet is traditionally high in soy and fish as evidenced in the sushi restaurants in Malaysia . Japan also has one of the world ’ s highest rates of long life expectancy .

Another factor is that the Japanese serve small portions of food in small plates . Along with chopsticks , the whole eating process is much slower and aids in digestion .

According to a report released by the National Library of Medicine , the substantial decline in mortality from stroke and ischemic heart disease ( IHD ) in Japan between 1960s and 2000s is due to a reduction in blood pressure and smoking , despite the increase in cholesterol and diabetes

ADI SATRIA , veteran of marketing communications , is alarmed by the death rate among younger friends due to heart failure , strokes and diabetic-related ailments and calls upon the authorities to take serious note on prevention management programmes on a greater scale . And now there is evidence that the pandemic vaccination programmes are one of the new causes of this trend . among the population .

A key factor is public awareness programmes and personalised treatment activities to enhance sodium or salt intake reduction , balanced diets , smoking prevention and cessation , and hypertension detection and treatment such as those provided by community-based stroke prevention programmes .

HEALTH PROGRAMMES ARE IMPORTANT

This means that we in Malaysia have to seriously look into the education of the people from the school level to parenting and community-based health programmes . We should start learning from the Japanese success story instead of simply relying on drugs to treat the symptoms and not the cause .

According to the report , the community-based prevention program was a combination of population and individual approaches for the prevention and control of hypertension . This was done via a mass media campaign such as billboards , broadcast and print media . With social media platforms now , it is the best opportunity for health education ( instead of the toxic racereligion political narratives trending now ).

Their hypertension control was performed by free systemic blood pressure screening , referral to local physicians and lifestyle improvements with the support of local governments and health volunteers . Local physicians make every effort to give personalised treatment for hypertensive patients by advising on lifestyle modification and prescription of antihypertensive treatment .

Here in Malaysia , we seldom see health programmes in our local communities and malls . For example , there is an over-emphasis on religious programmes not just weekly but almost every other night .

They are attended by small groups of senior citizens just listening and not discussing religious issues with the speaker . This platform is a golden opportunity to organise regular health programmes .

Just ask ourselves whether what I am saying is a fact or not . Compared to the ‘ budget ’ to conduct these events , imagine the health cost to treat this ever-increasing tragedy to our nation .

I hope that our new Health Minister will place a lot more emphasis on healthcare prevention programmes that will boost the spirit of our Malaysia MADANI nation .

We should accept that decades of commercialisation , marketing and advertising in the multitude of media platforms are leading our young to more unhealthy lifestyles . In the last 10 years , new drinks such as bubble tea with high sugar content have been so popular with kids and young people that we they have all become a sweet tooth generation . And why not , even the nasi kandar curries and mee rebus have to be sweet instead of spicy .

When I go to my favourite Penang ‘ mee rebus ’ stall I have to say Penang ori style so he can cut the sugar and up the chillies . Signs of the times and the future , health-wise , unless we start the prevention programme now . – The Health