13 October, 2012 Clippings

‘65% patients of knee replacement are women’

Women in the state, particularly in the city, seem to be going weak in the knees, literally. No, it is not the sight of drop-dead handsome men, but lack of calcium and adequate exercise coupled with general disregard for their health that is playing havoc with their knees.

Knee replacement surgeons in the city say that 60-70% of such operations are carried out on women. And an equal number of them are also their patients, most complaining of bone problems.

Speaking at a function held to talk about the new advancements in knee replacement surgeries and how more people were undergoing the procedure, Dr HP Bhalodiya said that 60-65% of his patients are women. He said many undergo the procedure to get relief from pain owing to arthritis.

“In women, menopause, sedentary lifestyle and general callousness towards health are some of the factors leading to poor bone health. When compared to men, women lead a more sedentary lifestyle that does not involve much of physical work. This is another reason,” said Bhalodiya.He said that new implants even allowed patients to sit cross-legged. At the meet, several patients who had their knees replaced performed garba to show their relief from pain. Echoing similar sentiments, Dr Dimple Parekh, another joint replacement surgeon, said that 70% of his patients who undergo knee replacement are women.

“A part of the problem is genetic, but other factors include obesity, improper calcium intake and hormonal changes following menopause,” said Parekh.

He added that in India the problem was more severe. In the western countries the women to men ratio for knee replacement is 50:50. But here it is in the ratio of 70: 30, he pointed out.

“Osteoporosis is another common ailment affecting our women which again is a result of lack of exercise and unhealthy living habits among others,” said Parekh.

Source: www.dnaindia.com

13.10.2012

Low cholesterol does not mean healthy heart

Got your cholesterol levels checked? Relieved because you are still on the borderline of prescribed limit? However, before you rejoice, here’s a grim fact: If doctors are to be believed, you may have already overshot the limit. How? Well, it’s because while checking cholesterol levels at present, most laboratories use standards set for western people, which may not be ideal in case of Indians. City cardiologists say that as per research Indians are genetically predisposed to have high levels of lipoprotein(a) or LP(a), which increases the risk to Coronary Artery Disease.

“Elevated LP(a) found in about 40% of Indians magnifies adverse consequences of other factors like use of tobacco, consumption of unhealthy foods and poor physical activity,” said Dr Hitesh Shah, interventional cardiologist. Shah was speaking at a press conference held as part of World Heart Day on September 29.

Thus, a smoker or junk food addict also genetically predisposed to have high LP(a) levels as well, will be at a greater risk of suffering heart disease.

Emphasising on the need to have different threshold level for Indians when measuring parameters like BP, waist size, cholesterol levels etc, Shah said, “Even the Indo-US Health Summit too had recommended stricter levels for the same,” adding that most laboratories, however, continue to measure these parameters as per western standards.

The summit had recommended 30mg lower levels for Low-density Lipoprotien cholesterol (LDL-C) and non-high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) than what was in use.
Shah recently carried out an angioplasty on a 22-year-old engineering student. Talking on the reasons why more young were falling prey to heart disease, he said: “Chirag was genetically predisposed to have high LP(a) levels. This, combined with his unhealthy eating habits, is the reason why he had to undergo an angioplasty at such a young age.”

Source: www.dnaindia.com

13.10.2012

Correction does much,

but encouragement does more

Johann Wolfgang