Just recovering from a Cardio Vascular Affliction and have just turned 51 ~ so I speak straight from a fresh leased Heart !
At the very beginning let me thank God and My Wife and Children in particular ~ they are my Lifelines ~ they simply took over to nurturing me back to health with a strength and devotion that was simply awesome ~ they are my Inspiration ~ and of course the hundreds of Family and Friends and Associates and Clients and Staff and Blog Readers who sincerely prayed for me
Today is Sunday and it’s The World Heart Day~ Many Sunday Dailies have printed some brilliant articles on the Heart and how to Prevent Cardio Vascular Disease and how to spot you could be vulnerable to one…and what is the right food to a healthy heart…..Read today’s Edition of Times of India and it’s Special Supplement…providing you a few links too below
Ten Commandments for a healthy heart
Lifestyle adjustments keep heart diseases at bay
Our Sedentary Lifestyles,eating out often and quite often junk food,sleeping late at night and not getting adequate sleep ~ all lead to to Obesity,Diabetes and High Risk of Cardiovascular Disease
Just follow with Discipline these Four Points on this Checklist to have a healthy Heart and reduce risk of any Heart related Disease
- A Healthy Diet ~ Walnuts,Orange,Green Vegetables,Black Beans,Skimmed Milk,Extra Virgin Oil….check with a good dietician for a balanced diet ~ Red Wine too taken moderately is good for the heart
- Daily Exercise ~ Walking is the simplest prescribed ~ begin with 10 minutes and go upto 30 minutes a day atleast ~ you don’t have to go for a strenous or vigorous gym work out
- No Smoking ~ Smoking has been a major reason for inviting Health Problems ~ even Passive Smoking is a Killer
- Annual Comprehensive Health Check Up ~ Absolutely Imperative even if you feel healthy ~ I neglected this for years and am paying the price for this
I am passionate about my line of Work in Researching and advising and training on Indian Equities and commenting on the Economy and the Implications of Policies and Statistics~ Like Mad Scientists ,when I’m in Momentum I do not even look at the Watch or Clock and research and blog often till wee hours of the Morning ~ I’m also a Foodie ~ A Vegetarian ~ I don’t Smoke except an occasional Cigar once in six months ~ Am Fond of Beer and Whisky and indulge in them moderately ~Oh ! and I’m crazy about Chocolates & Pastries ! ~ you may find it difficult to believe that I was very active in all Sports in my School,College and early Career Years and even Captained Many Sports teams ~ Cricket and Football were my favourites
Then in the early 1990s I began devoting all my Time and Energies and Passion to building up my Career and Business ~ never took long Holidays ~ just infrequent weekend breaks ~ worked all night in the office on many occasions ~ enjoyed various veg cuisines while out entertaining Clients ~ always asked for more butter on my toast and extra cheese on my Pizza and ghee in my dal and rice ! ~ love Italian ~ Pizzas with extra Cheese and Olives and Pastas and Risotto and Ravioli and Lasagna ~ Love Chinese ~ Love Continental ~ Adore a Gujarati Thali ~ Love Punjabi ~ Love South Indian ~ Love Junk Food …..what Food Cuisine do I not Love !
So it was inevitable the abdominal Obesity began showing and I crossed over 100 kilos ~ I must confess I was 110 kilos at one time last year ! ~ I neglected Health Checks which would have revealed I was Diabetic !….my parents too were so it was a genetic risk….. Today I am down to 88 kilos in just two months from 103 kilos because of my cardiac ordeal….see below….My Energy and Appetite has returned but I’m controlling my Diet and need to reduce to below 80 kilos over a few months ~ My Blood Pressure remains at 100/80 and at times even 90/60….before this ordeal I was on daily Medication for over ten years for High Blood Pressure….My Sugar Level now remains controlled between 110 and 150 ~ I have invested in the Electronic Blood Pressure Monitor and even the Sugar Testing Apparatus so I can quickly check at home itself
This August and September have been an ordeal for my Family and Friends as I suffered a Heart Attack on August 2 and did not know it ! ~ The warning signals were there in the months preceding but I simply neglected these ~ I had an acute Dental problem in July end and I learnt later even this could trigger a Heart Issue ! ~ thankfully on August 2 evening I agreed with my wife to rush to my GP who directed me to Cumballa Hill Hospital for an ECG and I was immediately admitted to ICU by the consulting cardiologist attached there~My Sugar level was 260+ and later the three months average tests reveals it was always high and confirmed Diabetes….. remained in ICU for six days and did Echo Cardio and all the preliminary tests before an Angiography on August 6,2013 ~ Clots were discovered as were three heavy blockages and a leading well known Cardiologist who did the Angiography said my Heart was not in a good condition as I was probably admitted later than I should have been ~ No Procedure was done on the day ~ A few days later was later transferred to a private room for five more days and returned home on August 12,2013 ~ friends and family celebrated my birthday in Hospital on August 9,2013 !
Hundreds visited me and Concerns were conveyed from all around India and Overseas by Friends and Family and Associates and Clients and even those I have never met in person but who read my blog ~ Special Prayers were chanted ~ even in Singapore,New Zealand,UAE,Australia,Canada and USA ~ I yet remain overwhelmed and indebted to so many for their support,concern and prayers
What keeps me mentally strong and positive right throughout is God and my Wife and two children ~ They were simply an amazing revelation of the highest order ~ I kept humming a Jain Chant my Mother had indoctrined in me when I was a child ” Sajatma Swarup Param Guru” ~ In the ICU a kind friend enthused me to call on my angel at night to guide me a dimension of the gods high above to lead me to the healing chamber where my heart would be healed ~ Faith is Real ! and it has Heavenly and Divine Powers ! Believe me !
At Home my Son ensured that my guardian angels,the birds and squirrels were fed daily as always ~ My Wife was with me 24/7 at the Hospital ~ My Daughter took over handling all the mobile phone calls that came in inquiring about my health and put up a humble soulful prayer on facebook with a smiling photo of her on my shoulders when she was just a year and a half old ~ she even managed the visitors ~My Son managed all the Hospital procedures and even arranged and went for consultations with India’s top Cardiologists and Cardiac Surgeons ~ My relatives and friends kept calling and visiting and praying for me earnestly and offered support in many ways~ What had happened was a Bolt from the Blue for all of us ~ They all wanted me to Live ! ~ and so did I ! ~ Yes it was that serious !
All through August there were a host of consultations with top Cardiologists and even Top Cardiac Surgeons and several opinions and referrals to cardiologists coming in from well wishers ~ For ten Days at Home I received twice daily special declotting sub cutaneous injections ~ I was scheduled for a Cardiac MRI at a leading private clinic but did not go through with it as it was a 35 minute procedure and I was feeling breathless and claustrophobic in the Machine ~ Later I did the alternative Stress Thalium test at Jaslok Hospital on August 28,2013 and the conclusion was that I needed revascularisation ~ which meant an Angioplasty or a ByPass Surgery ~My Energy Levels were Low,My Appetite was Low,My Breathing at times was laboured ~ we had to decide on a course of action quick
On September 1,2013 we celebrated Son’s 24 th Birthday and the next day on September 2,2013,my wife and I lovingly celebrated our 25 years of married bliss…my soon to be 18 daughter was spreading her time between cuddling me and studying for her exams and planning her project for the TIFR Brain Camp where her school team of three that included her won the Trophy for the best Research Presentation on the Effect of Glucose on Cognitive Abilities
Finally we decided to rely on a Cardiologist in USA,a cousin of a close family friend of my elder sister,who from the very outset after seeing all the reports and the Angiography had strongly recommended and repeatedly too to immediately go ahead with an Angioplasty and not do a bypass ~ we even went with one of the two top interventional cardiologists he recommended ~ The Angioplasty with one stent was successfully done just after noon on Saturday,September 7,2013 at Breach Candy Hospital ~it was a half hour procedure ~ I was back home the next day,Sunday when the Feast of Mother Mary ended and celebrated Ganesh Chaturti with our Lord Ganesha at home on Monday as well as Jain Samvatsari after Paryushan the earlier week
An Amazing fact is this ~ till date I have never met the Cardiologist who guided us brilliantly and frequently from USA ~ He says we are now Family ! and is visiting India in November when I hope to thank him personally for his kindness ~ More amazingly I had never met even the the Cardiologist who did my Angioplasty till I was lying there in the Cath Lab all prepared for it by the lab technicians and the lab door opened and I had a blurred vision (my specs were not on) of a man who said “Don’t Worry ,I’m here now !” ~ You see,on Thursday,September 5,2013,just two days before the Angioplasty,my wife and son and father in law had gone to meet him to show him for the first time all my case papers and reports and the Angiography CD ~ he patiently and kindly explained what was required and fixed up the Angioplasty with one stent at the Hospital for Saturday,September 7,2013
However because of a severe bout of breathlessness I was readmitted for a day’s observation on early morning Tuesday,September 17,2013 again at the Hospital ~ A few days before this,on Saturday,September 14,2013 I had even paid a regular check up visit to my cardiologist at his Saifee Hospital Consulting Room where he changed one medicine to another as he said in 14% of the patients the earlier medicine caused breathlessness~ At the Hospital they found my saturation levels were fine and so I did not need Oxygen ~ all parameters were fine and so my Cardiologist wisely decided that a second opinion from a leading Chest Physician should be obtained ~ Chest X-ray and 2D Echo Cardio were done as were some special Blood Tests for Heart Enzymes ~ all clear ! ~ The Physician stated my Lungs and Chest were all clear and that such Hyperventilation was common for those who went through what I did and not to worry at all about it and just relax ~ he even said my heart was pumping well enough that I could run a half Marathon ! ~ I think he was just reassuring to relax me !
I am back home and resting and recovering ( evidence is that I’ve started again having loving arguments with my wife !)with prescribed medication and diet control ~ Less Salt,Less or No Sugar,No Potato,No Bananas or Chickoos,Little Rice,No Fried Food,No Creamed Milk or Butter,Only Brown Bread,No Cooked Food that’s dripping in Oil ! ~ had to complain to my doc to direct my wife and son to allow me liberty of some sweet at times as my sugar is in control !
……have started working from home for a few hours and should soon be able to resume office once I get the go ahead from my doc ~my staff is handling it brilliantly in my absence ~ have started to go out for an hour or two for a drive or to the club for a change of scene
Four Hospitals have seen me in the last two months ! ~ Cumballa Hill,Jaslok,Breach Candy and Saifee !
I am feeling truly Blessed ~ There is so much Goodness in this World ~ we must see and do Good to Create more Good !
I must confess I have a lot of amends to make and promises to keep once I recover fully ~ and I will ~ I know I have the loving support and warmth and closeness of a great Family and Great Friends and some Amazing People in My Network
I speak from my Heart and implore all of you to really take care of your Health by reducing your stress levels,eating right,exercising daily,sleeping at least seven to eight hours every night and hugging your loved ones every day telling them you love them very much!
Your Heart’s your Life ! Respect it !
May we all have a Good Heart literally and figuratively !
I’m on my way to Roaring back as promised ! and my Wife and I have rediscovered our Love for Playing ‘Bukharo’ after 35 to 40 years ! ~ it’s a Game of Cards like ‘Rummy’ and quite addictive ! ~ we play it for an hour or two every day ! Children join in too at times ~ Simple Pleasures that we had forgotten !
Cheers !