Category health

India, 13^th February 2023 – The healthcare sector in India is leaping forward with digital innovations at an accelerated pace. Government of India’s initiatives like the National Digital Health Mission, integration of artificial intelligence, data governance, and 5G services fuelling a rapid paradigm shift in the healthcare industry which is already on the threshold of a new era of digital transformation. The covid-19 pandemic primed the evolution of healthcare business models by channelizing novel digital concepts and strategies. Indian Immunologicals Limited (IIL) the Hyderabad-based subsidiary of National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) has been in the forefront of business process innovation. Propelling the digital ecosystem, IIL, through its division Human Biologicals Institute, launched its first set of virtual medical representatives, a pioneering alternative to facilitate physician’s interface in form of eMOz i.e. A virtual realm where e-reps can connect with doctors and foster digital relationships.

Traditional sales models in the pharma industry have been primarily indexed on engagement between sales representatives and physicians which has led to volume-based formulae, more sales representatives equal more visits to doctors, assuming incremental business. However, long have the industry embraced the challenge that the average time spent by physicians with a sales rep has seen a drastic downturn owing to various intersecting factors. The COVID-19 pandemic caused further restrictions that significantly curtailed reps’ access to physicians.

eMOZ is a cutting-edge and promising tool for information sharing. eMOz has inbuilt capabilities to provide constant updates on the specific needs of the physicians, thus fostering meaningful, tangible, and enduring gains. eMOz will enable complete stakeholder management on a virtual platform by providing detailed access to products and services. This will reduce several entry barriers while enhancing the cost efficiency.  eMOz will eventually be acquiring AI avatars of sales representatives to interact and assist physicians in one of its kind experiences. eMOz will provide credible solutions digitally for better patient care by offering greater convenience to physicians and save their precious time.

Speaking on the launch of eMOz, Dr. K. Anand Kumar, Managing Director of IIL said “This generation of healthcare professionals are quite open for digital channels of communication, and we envision to provide an engaging digital experience to our customers while focussing foremost on covering untapped markets”.

On the ground level, unveiling eMOz has witnessed significant interest from doctors. Dr Santosh Kumar Mishra, Senior Obstetric & Gynaecologist from Sanjita Maternity Care & Hospital, Bhubaneswar (Odisha) who interacted through eMOz and placed an order as well, said “There has been a huge emergence of various digital channels in our life post-pandemic, experiencing something like eMOz from Indian Immunologicals Limited is unique & interesting. It is more convenient than some of the usual drop-in interactions”

“While in-person rep visits still hold value, eMOz avatars will accentuate digital value perception among all stakeholders”, Vice President, Human Health business, Mr. Shakul Srivastava said.

Sneha Kamat, Dietician, SRV Hospitals – Goregaon

Exam time is here. Students study for longer than normal throughout the examination season. A balanced diet is vital for improved attention. The food you consume influences the way your body works in more ways than one. It is also critical to keep healthy throughout the test season in order to perform effectively. A balanced and nutritious diet can help you maintain good health.

Several studies have found that food consumption has a direct influence on the mental ability of young kids. For example, iron deficiency can impair dopamine transmission, reducing pupils’ intellect in their early stages. There are several minerals and vitamins that have been shown to improve kids’ cognitive capacity and mental focus, including vitamin E, thiamine, vitamin B, zinc, and iodine.

Adding amino acids and carbs to these micronutrients can also assist kids to improve their awareness, reasoning, and comprehension abilities. According to research, dietary intake might boost students’ cognitive and intellectual performance when studying for examinations.

Students must include at least half a plate of vegetables, a quarter plate of carbs, and a reasonable quantity of protein in their meals. Students must eat well in order to be attentive and interested. Here are a few examples:

1. Carbohydrates: Whole grains including whole-grain bread, brown rice, quinoa, and wheat are high in glucose. Sweet potatoes, pumpkin, and gourd are examples of starchy vegetables that students can incorporate into their daily carb consumption.
2. Vegetables: Each vegetable has its own set of advantages. As a result, pupils’ diets must contain all types of vegetables (with a preference for non-starchy vegetables and an avoidance of potatoes).
3. Proteins: Because of their ‘long-chain Omega-3s,’ seafood and oil-rich fish are helpful to brain health and focus. According to specialists, “Omega-3 fats account for around 8% of the brain,” thus kids should consume Omega-3-rich meals at least twice a week. Lean foods (low-fat meats) such as fish, chicken, tuna, turkey, and lean red meat must be included in students’ meals.
   Curd helps to keep your intestines healthy.
4. To avoid stomach disorders, it is critical to maintaining gut healthy while tests are approaching. Curd is a probiotic that promotes good bacteria in the stomach while also stimulating the flow of serotonin, a pleasant hormone that results in regulated stress. The dietician advises students not to skip the ‘Dahi-Shakkar’ before examinations.

Students who spend all of their time studying may get bored. It also drains and worries them. As a result, enough sleep and a well-balanced diet are essential to guarantee that pupils can retain the material they have been learning. It will help them learn and assimilate the new knowledge they have read. Before going to bed, students should take some time to unwind. Late at night, students should avoid caffeine-containing drinks. Students should go for a walk, swim, exercise, or simply walk to the shop.

Bangalore, 11th February 2023 Aster RV Hospital recently conducted a rare and minimally invasive heart procedure on a 71-year-old patient, Shobha (name changed) suffering from rheumatic heart disease, giving her a new lease on life. Earlier, this procedure was conducted only once in Karnataka, making this the second of its kind in the state. Having already undergone two open-heart surgeries to treat her condition, a third open-heart surgery would be high risk and lead to a longer recovery time for the patient.

“Shobha was suffering from repeated spells of breathlessness, especially upon exertion, which is a common sign of valve degeneration. She had a bioprosthetic tricuspid valve implanted during her second open-heart surgery 12 years back which has now degenerated. In such a patient, particularly because of her age and comorbidities, conducting another open-heart surgery to fix a new valve can be extremely risky. We advised her to undergo a Minimally Invasive Percutaneous Valve-in-valve Procedure,” explained Dr. S. Venkatesh, Lead Consultant – Interventional Cardiology at Aster RV Hospital.

A physical examination, Echocardiogram, and CT Aortogram were performed to evaluate the size of the heart and determine whether there was any extra fluid in the heart or lungs, as well as other procedures to check the heart and assess any potential damage. The patient successfully underwent Tricuspid valve-in-valve implantation on 11 October 2021. “Through a vein puncture in the groin, we accessed her heart and implanted a MYVAL 27.5 mm tricuspid valve within the previous bioprosthetic valve. This procedure typically takes about an hour to complete. She was extubated the same day and had an uneventful recovery,” said Dr. Venkatesh.

“I was anxious about going through another open-heart surgery as I have crossed 70 years of age and do not have the strength that I used to have. This non-surgical option was great news to me, and I am glad I was in the hands of skilled doctors who made it a seamless experience. My recovery has been very smooth, and I was able to go back to my normal tasks within a week of surgery. I am enjoying my time with my grandkids!” said Shobha.

According to reports, about 70% of patients suffering from valve disease are due to rheumatic heart disease in India. This is a condition where the valves in the heart are permanently damaged because of childhood streptococcal infection and its sequela. The incidence of heart valve disease increases significantly with age affecting the longevity as well as the quality of life of elderly patients. This procedure requires expertise and is done only at specialized centres.

By Dr. Krithika Murugan, Surgical Oncologist, HCG Cancer Hospital Bengaluru

Palliative care is the range of symptom management services provided by the professionals like physicians, nursing, support workers, paramedics, and pharmacists. The palliative care team also includes nutritionists, psychologists, physiotherapists, and volunteers who help improve the quality of life of patients (adults and children) who are combating any form of life-threatening illnesses. It is a team approach for a wide range of diseases that improves the quality of life of patients who are vulnerable to chronic ailments as well as their caregivers. This includes addressing practical needs and providing bereavement counseling. It offers a support system to help patients live as actively as possible until death. This process has a significant role to play when it comes to cancer treatments. As we know, cancer occurs when abnormal and uncontrolled growth of cells interferes with the DNA of the cells at given factors like increasing age, exposure to certain radiations and chemicals, heredity, and unhealthy lifestyle habits like excessive smoking and alcohol consumption.

When cancer forms in the cells of the breasts, it is called breast cancer. The most common signs include a lump in the breast, bloody discharge from the nipple, and changes in the shape or texture of the nipple of the breast. Breast cancer typically has four stages – stage I to stage IV. When detected at the initial stage, breast cancer can be completely cured. The treatment depends on the stages of breast cancer and includes chemotherapy, radiation, hormone therapy, and surgery. Unfortunately, for some, cancer fails to respond to any form of therapy, and the symptoms and the disease progress, commonly known to metastasize. In these situations, or when the patient and their family decide not to go ahead with any form of treatment considering the pros and cons of treatment, symptom management / palliative care may help in enhancing the quality of the remaining length of life for the patient.

Palliative care for breast cancer

Most often, breast cancer and its treatment lead to several physical symptoms and side effects along with emotional, social, and financial consequences. Palliative care aims to manage all these consequences with a focus on dealing with the symptoms and supporting the patient and the family with other non-medical needs. Palliative care can be given to all patients of breast cancer, irrespective of the stage of cancer but most often, delivered to the patients of the last stage of breast cancer. Those receiving palliative care have less severe symptoms and improved quality of life. The process also helps the patient and other people related to them to plan for the finances, not just whilst they are alive but also once they are gone, and enable families to find closure to their not-so-easy long-term caregiving roles.

Benefits of palliative care

It enhances one’s comfort: Breast cancer treatment is a comprehensive one and is often painful and uncomfortable with severe side effects. The palliative care team addresses the needs of the patients and helps them remain stronger to be able to take the treatment successfully. Palliative care offers comfort physically, socially, and spiritually.

It plays a crucial role in stress management: Palliative care not only helps in meeting the physical health needs during a critical treatment like that of breast cancer but also helps in meeting the mental health requirements. Palliative care ensures overall care for mental health and helps in stress, anxiety, and panic management not just among patients but also among family members and caregivers. It puts the caregivers at ease as well and enhances their quality of life besides improving the quality of life for the patients.

It enables a patient to live longer and live healthier: Palliative care treatment enhances the quality of life and helps patients to live longer. In addition to palliative care, doctors offer several other therapies including delivery of antineoplastic treatment through hormonal therapy, chemotherapy, and biological therapies to reduce breast cancer pain and offer relief to some extent, and help patients to live longer.

Kinds of palliative care

A breast cancer patient can be offered two kinds of palliative care.

Oncologist-based palliative care: The oncologist plays the lead role in this model of palliative care and offers both cancer treatment and palliative care. The relationship between the patient and the cancer doctor is essential to be smooth for the optimal delivery of palliative care in this model.

Concurrent model: In such models of palliative care, the care is given by both oncologist and a palliative medicine specialist. The palliative care expert works with cancer doctors and delivers care based on one’s specific needs and potential issues one may face during the treatment.

Living with breast cancer

As you go through the treatment of breast cancer, there are several ways by which one can tackle the condition and live well with breast cancer.

Some of these include:

•  Having adequate sleep
•  Doing regular exercise to fight fatigue
•  Eating light meals to feel good and beat nausea
•  Utilising energy on good energy days and doing something that one loves
•  Keeping a journal and writing down daily thoughts may help in managing breast cancer-induced stress, anxiety, and pain on a daily basis.

Palliative care plays a significant role in breast cancer treatment and helps to improve the quality of life of patients as well as caregivers. Advances in technology paves way for digitized palliative care which could transform breast cancer treatment. To get more information on breast cancer palliative care, you can reach out to efficient palliative care cancer specialists.

India, 10 February 2023: MediBuddy, India’s largest Digital Healthcare platform announced today that it has acquired the ‘vHealth by Aetna’ business (Indian Health Organization Private Limited) in India.

‘vHealth by Aetna’, is one of India’s most innovative primary healthcare service providers. ‘vHealth by Aetna’ is a leader in the B2B healthcare space and offers subscription-based primary healthcare services such as telehealth consultations, an extensive outpatient network, pharmacy, diagnostics and dental among other benefits to customers.

Commenting on the acquisition, Satish Kannan, Co-Founder, and CEO at MediBuddy said, “We made a strategic decision to go ahead with this critical acquisition as it is in line with our commitment to making high-quality healthcare accessible to a billion people. We believe that this acquisition will further strengthen our market leadership by giving impetus to our distribution channels, helping us in scaling our operations and offerings to a much wider section of the population. ‘vHealth by Aetna’s subscriber base will now have the convenience and the opportunity to access the full spectrum of the healthcare services provided by MediBuddy.” He further added, “vHealth by Aetna’ business has shown an impressive rate of growth in the past and with the expertise of the current team and MediBuddy’s existing strengths, we expect the combined business to grow significantly over the coming years.”

Anurag Khosla, CEO of Aetna India and IHO said, “MediBuddy and ‘vHealth by Aetna’ share a common vision of a future, where primary and digital healthcare comes together to redefine accessibility and delivery of quality healthcare services. We are confident and excited that the coming together of MediBuddy and’ vHealth by Aetna’ will not only benefit our existing ‘vHealth by Aetna’ customer base but will also advance the combined business with MediBuddy’s expertise.”

Over the next six months, ‘vHealth by Aetna’ business will transition to be rebranded as ‘MediBuddy vHealth’. The existing IHO management team and employees across all functions will continue to be employed by IHO, which is now part of MediBuddy. Both the existing and new subscriber base of ‘vHealth by Aetna’ will have access to MediBuddy’s technology and scale prowess, leading to an enhanced customer experience. The latest acquisition will bring on board ‘vHealth by Aetna’s’ customers to MediBuddy’s platform further strengthening the existing customer base of 30 Mn+. MediBuddy recently concluded its merger with DocsApp and the company raised $125 million in Series C funding in the first quarter of 2022.

10th February 2023, New Delhi: In a rare feat, doctors at Max Super Speciality Hospital in Shalimar Bagh performed a successful revision total knee replacement surgery on a 92-year-old man, making him one of the oldest people in India to undergo revision total knee replacement surgery.

The nonagenarian underwent a revision total knee replacement surgery, 17 years after his first surgery, at Max Super Speciality Hospital, Shalimar Bagh under the care of Dr Palash Gupta, Director- of Orthopaedics & Joint Replacement and his team.

Revision surgery is required when knee replacement no longer functions correctly.

Mr Satya Swarup at the age of 75, in 2005, had undergone knee replacement surgery post which his knees were functioning well. However, in the last 2 years, he complained of acute pain and progressive swelling in his knees which was impacting his mobility. Mr Satya Swarup then came to Dr Palash Gupta, Director- Orthopaedics & Joint Replacement, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Shalimar Bagh.

After investigation and evaluation, Dr Palash Gupta explained to the patient that he required total knee replacement surgery as the implant life had expired. Initially, the patient and the family were hesitant to undergo the procedure considering his age and all associated co-morbidities which are usually present at this age, but since he was in disabling pain, he agreed to go ahead with the surgery.

Elaborating, Dr Palash Gupta, Director– of Orthopaedics & Joint Replacement, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Shalimar Bagh, said: “Revision surgery at this age is unheard of in India. This was quite a complicated surgery as the
patient was 92 years old and had co-morbidities but thanks to the team and resources available to

us at Max Shalimar Bagh, it was a success. The very next day of the operation, he was able to
stand up and even walk”.

Revision surgeries are always a challenge because they are much more complicated as blood loss, tissue loss and bone loss had to be avoided to make the surgery successful and lasting. The surgeon should be well experienced in revision surgeries as these are very uncommon.

The patient also commented, “At 92, I never thought I’d have the strength and courage to undergo knee surgery, but I did it and I couldn’t be more proud of myself. All of this is possible because of Dr Palash and his team of dedicated staff that has taken the utmost care of me during this difficult time in my life. ”

The patient was regularly monitored during his stay in the hospital and was discharged 5 days after the surgery.

Hyderabad, February 10th, 2023: The four-day prestigious 23rd Annual Conference of the Indian Society of Vascular and Interventional Radiology (ISVIR); was formally inaugurated by Dr (Smt.) Tamilisai Soundararajan, Hon’ble Governor of Telangana and Hon’ble Lt. Governor of Puducherry; today at Novotel Hotel-HICC, Hyderabad. This Conference, being held from February 9th to 12th, 2023, holds enormous significance for the Society, as it is celebrating its Silver Jubilee this year. The Executive Committee of ISVIR comprising of Dr. Suyash Kulkarni, President; Dr. Balaji Patel Kola, Vice-President; Dr. Ajit K Yadav, Secretary; Dr. Bhavesh A. Popat, Treasurer; organized this conference. Over one thousand delegates and faculty from India and abroad are participating in the conference.

Dr (Smt.) Tamilisai Soundararajan speaking after inaugurating the Conference said, Interventional Radiology is an emerging discipline and is the most talked about area in the field of medicine. I have a special affinity for radiology, as I was practicing interventional oncology. Though I am a gynecologist, I didn’t choose to practice gynecology or obstetrics, I had my training in sociology. When we diagnosed anomalies, I wanted to study fetal therapy. I went to Canada and underwent training in fetal therapy, during my tenure as Assistant Professor at Ramchandra Medical College, did ample number of interventional procedures of cordocentesis, amniocentesis, and others, therefore despite my busy schedule I wanted to come to this Conference. Though I became a gynecologist, my ambition was to be a radiologist. I missed the opportunity, but my daughter is a radiologist, so I am still one among your family. A specialty that is growing every second is Interventional radiology, what was practiced or studied yesterday becomes redundant today in Interventional Radiology. Interventional radiology is making rapid advances be it interventional-oriented or AI-oriented, or robotic-oriented. Earlier radiology was considered an imaging specialty, now it has evolved into an interventional specialty and now it has gone to the histological level. In this busy world, patients don’t want to be in the hospital for more days, don’t want scars in the body, and don’t want to suffer in a hospital for long, so you are specialists who are much sought after for fast and precise procedures. When we mention surgery to a patient and convey the number of hospital days, they refuse to undergo treatment. These advances help us to treat the patient efficiently, therefore it is the most needed specialty. When we diagnosed ovarian cysts and suggested surgery, most patients refused to undergo it, but after we started practicing interventional sinology, I could save several patients. I request all doctors to look after your health, that’s when you can look after others.

Interventional Radiology is the most promising and evolving specialty, transforming medical care through minimally invasive procedures, for most of the simplest and most complex ailments needing traditional critical and life-threatening surgeries. The specialty enables speedy recovery and quick return to regular routine of patients. There are over 1300 Interventional Radiology specialists in the country. Over a thousand delegates from India and abroad are attending the Conference. The Society commenced its operations with 28 founder members two and half decades ago and has over 1300 members currently.

Dr Suyash Kulkarni speaking on the occasion said, this year ISVIR is celebrating its silver jubilee. Our founder members had the vision to develop and propagate interventional radiology in India and today we are witnessing the exponential growth of Interventional radiology across the country to the extent that all hospitals and institutions claiming to provide comprehensive care, have Intervention radiology as an integral part. We are working towards several collaborations with international societies and with other specialties like gastro surgery and oncology. As a Society we are stressing on developing and promoting indigenous devices under the principle of make in India, to reduce the burden on the patient and make Interventional radiology cost-effective. On the academic side we are involved in developing various guidelines and SOPs, to ensure the safety of patients from the procedures.

Interventional Radiology, a subspecialty of radiology, uses image guidance to perform minimally invasive procedures. Some of these procedures are done for purely diagnostic purposes like Angiography, while others are done for treating patients. Improvements in imaging techniques and their wider availability over a period of time played a major part in the growth of IR in India. The annual number of procedures performed countrywide has grown from under 5,000 in 1999 to more than a lakh in the last year. The number of centers performing these procedures has grown exponentially from 8 institutions at the time of inception of the Indian society to over 500 today.

The Indian Vascular and Interventional Radiology professionals perform state-of-the-art techniques on par with the best Centers in the world and participate in cutting-edge experimental and clinical research. The Interventional Radiology techniques include cardiovascular, hepato-biliary, Genito-urinary, neurological, abdominal, and musculoskeletal systems.

As Interventional Radiology is a relatively new specialty, awareness among patients is dismally low, despite its overwhelming benefits. This lack of awareness about Interventional Radiology is leading to patients opt for conventional, often complex surgeries, despite the access to friendly minimally invasive treatments from Interventional radiology for patients. Now there are multiple interventional radiology clinics across India. every corporate and government hospital has interventional radiology departments. A patient can now directly consult interventional radiologists for non-surgical minimally invasive treatments of their ailments.

Now interventional radiology super specialty qualifications like D.M, Dr. NB, is recognized and approved by the national medical council and are available at major hospitals of India.

The Conference will deliberate on New Innovations and Research Topics, Artificial Intelligence in Interventional Radiology, Robotic Interventional Radiology, and Advancement in Cancer Care. Several Academic Sessions and Hands-on Workshops will be hosted during the Conference for Training of younger Interventional Radiologists.

Some of the interesting and futuristic topics being deliberated at the Conference are newer embolization techniques like prostatic artery embolization for benign prostate hypertrophy and genicular artery embolization for osteoarthritis of the knee. Both these procedures can be availed to avoid surgeries. Evolving IR and New Frontiers to expand – Collaborate with AI; AR & VR in IR practice and education; IR- The Indian Perspective; Expanding IR in rural places; Public awareness/Social Media of IR; Women in IR; Why women are underrepresented in IR; Interventional; Work-life balance for women in IR; What can be done to make IR as gender equitable. Dr. Balaji Patel Kola from apollo Hospitals; Dr Ram Murthy, NIMMS; Dr Jagadeesh Rampal from AIG Prominent Doctors from Hyderabad.

India, 09 February 2023: MediBuddy, India’s largest Digital Healthcare platform announced today that it has acquired the ‘vHealth by Aetna’ business (Indian Health Organization Private Limited) in India.

‘vHealth by Aetna’, is one of India’s most innovative primary healthcare service providers. ‘vHealth by Aetna’ is a leader in the B2B healthcare space and offers subscription-based primary healthcare services such as telehealth consultations, an extensive outpatient network, pharmacy, diagnostics and dental among other benefits to customers.

Commenting on the acquisition, Satish Kannan, Co-Founder, and CEO at MediBuddy said, “We made a strategic decision to go ahead with this critical acquisition as it is in line with our commitment to making high-quality healthcare accessible to a billion people. We believe that this acquisition will further strengthen our market leadership by giving impetus to our distribution channels, helping us in scaling our operations and offerings to a much wider section of the population. ‘vHealth by Aetna’s subscriber base will now have the convenience and the opportunity to access the full spectrum of the healthcare services provided by MediBuddy.” He further added, “vHealth by Aetna’ business has shown an impressive rate of growth in the past and with the expertise of the current team and MediBuddy’s existing strengths, we expect the combined business to grow significantly over the coming years.”

Anurag Khosla, CEO of Aetna India and IHO said, “MediBuddy and ‘vHealth by Aetna’ share a common vision of a future, where primary and digital healthcare comes together to redefine accessibility and delivery of quality healthcare services. We are confident and excited that the coming together of MediBuddy and’ vHealth by Aetna’ will not only benefit our existing ‘vHealth by Aetna’ customer base but will also advance the combined business with MediBuddy’s expertise.”

Over the next six months, ‘vHealth by Aetna’ business will transition to be rebranded as ‘MediBuddy vHealth’. The existing IHO management team and employees across all functions will continue to be employed by IHO, which is now part of MediBuddy. Both the existing and new subscriber base of ‘vHealth by Aetna’ will have access to MediBuddy’s technology and scale prowess, leading to an enhanced customer experience. The latest acquisition will bring on board ‘vHealth by Aetna’s’ customers to MediBuddy’s platform further strengthening the existing customer base of 30 Mn+. MediBuddy recently concluded its merger with DocsApp and the company raised $125 million in Series C funding in the first quarter of 2022.

New Delhi, 9th February 2023: On this year’s World Unani Day, Hamdard Laboratories, India’s leading Unani brand, focuses on strengthening immunity and advocates it as a Public Health right as it encourages people to visit the Hamdard Wellness Centres to avail free consultation from the doctors and Hakeems, and get 15% off on select medicines along with free BP/Sugar test. Unani Day every year observed on 11th February, will be celebrated across all Hamdard wellness centres from 30th January to 12th February 2023.

Hamdard Laboratories is a progressive, research-based health and wellness organization offering Unani medicines to provide preventive, curative, and rehabilitative healthcare. Hamdard Laboratories believes that in the modern age, having a strong immune system is one of the biggest advantages for humans; therefore, it’s crucial to build a robust immune system to fight infections and reduce the risk of contracting highly contagious diseases.

Unani, a form of traditional medicine based on a holistic approach compared to conventional medicine targeted on organs, is now getting a boost more than ever. Moreover, time and again, Unani has proved its scope in boosting immunity and its efficacy. Hamdard Laboratories’ Unani product range is the first line of defence against any infection and disease.

“Our immune system is the natural defence system that fights invading diseases. Such invaders can be viruses, parasites, and fungi. But, if the system gets compromised, one might end up becoming sick. That’s why we should always strive to boost our immune systems. We believe the Unani system of medicine, is a natural way of boosting our immunity. Therefore, we encourage everyone to utilize the opportunity and take free consultation from our doctors.” said, Suman Varma, CMO, of Hamdard Laboratories.

In the past, Hamdard launched twelve OTC immunity-boosting products that also treats illness like fever, cold, cough, etc. Hamdard’s special initiative of boosting immunity on Unani Day is another step towards uplifting everyone to prioritize their health and strengthen their immunity through holistic Unani solutions.

By Dr. Brajmohan Singh, Consultant – Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, HCG Hospitals Bhavnagar.

Our heart beats around 2.5 billion times in the average lifetime, circulating millions of gallons of blood throughout the body. This blood carries oxygen, fuel, hormones, and several other essential compounds that our body requires to stay functional. The heart’s workload is never ending, and it keeps on beating and keeps us alive. When the heart stops, almost all essential functions of the body fail. Poor diet, lack of exercise, smoking, infection, genetic issues are some common risk factors that cause various heart-related disorders. While winters are favorite for a large number of people in our country owing to the comfortable cold weather, it is also the time when one must be cautious about keeping one’s heart healthy. This is because winters are found to increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Here’s why and what to do to amp up heart health during winter.

How winters affect the heart health

The cold weather during winter contracts the blood vessels, thereby narrowing them. This results in increased blood pressure which enhances the risk of heart attack and stroke. Also, angina – chest pain due to coronary heart disease may worsen in the winter as the coronary vessels get narrowed. Also, the cold weather puts extra pressure on the heart as it has to work harder to maintain a healthy body temperature against the cold wind which makes the body lose more heat at a faster rate. In extreme cases, hypothermia can occur when the body temperature drops below 95 degrees and that could damage the heart muscle.

Here are various ways by which cold weather can affect one’s heart and what can be done to protect heart health.

Cold weather: Chilly winds and cold can cause arteries to narrow, restricting blood flow to the heart. Doing strenuous activities that put pressure on the heart at this time can make one more prone to a heart attack or stroke. Also, those with persistent heart disease must be more conscious during winter as it could aggravate and cause chest pain or trigger an attack.

Watch out for the signs of heart attack

The most common sign of a heart attack is acute chest pain. While men may experience nausea and dizziness, heart attacks among women are mostly asymptomatic which could lead to disregarding the signs.

Seasonal flu: Winters are known for influenza or flu including inflammation, dehydration, and fever. These could enhance the stress on the heart. It has been observed that the risk of getting a heart attack after getting the flu increases by 6 times.

Sedentary lifestyle: When winter, one prefers to stay indoors and become inactive. A sedentary lifestyle isn’t good for heart health and can anyway increase the risk of heart-related issues.

Overindulgence: It is hard to resist alcohol and comfort foods during winter but excessive consumption of alcohol and oily foods can increase the risk of heart attacks. One can, however, choose healthy food to warm up during winter like low-sodium, cream-free soups, oatmeal, roasted carrots, and other winter veggies.

Tips to keep the heart healthy during winter

•  Strenuous exercise must be avoided as that could put excessive pressure on heart health
•  One must dress in layers so that it is easier to remove clothing as overheating may also trigger a heart attack or stroke.
•  One must avoid excessive alcohol as it can make one feel warmer than the body temperature and can be specifically dangerous when one steps out in the cold.
•  Washing hands frequently ensure keeping flu and other respiratory infections at bay. Respiratory infections can also increase the risk of a heart attack.

One must get clinical help at once if one experiences any signs of heart-related disorders.