"Hospital industry is promoting bypass surgeries"

Delhi-based eminent cardiologist Dr Bimal Chhajer had recently released his book "Reversal of Heart Disease in 5 Easy Steps", which advocates the Science And Art Of Living (SAAOl) programme. The author has developed this concept as an assistant professor at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) after six years of experiments on heart patients. He resigned from AIIMS in 1995 to start SAAOL and now he is the director of Saaol Heart Center in Delhi, which has trained more than 5,000 heart patients across the country. He revealed more about his recent book to Rita Dutta.

What is so unique about the book "Reversal of Heart Disease in 5 Easy steps"?

In January 2003, there must be close to 6 crore patients of coronary heart disease in India. The number of heart patients were about 1.5 crore in 1991 and 5 crore in 2001 according to estimates of the World Health Organisation. The estimated number in 2010 is about 10 crores. Estimates of people dying of heart attack per year now is between 20-25 lakh in India.

But sadly hospitals have become the mode of earning for the investors. This industry is profit driven and they can not promote anything but bypass surgery or angioplasty. The heart hospitals are mushrooming everywhere because of the money involved in bypass and angioplasty. Heart surgeons and interventional cardiologists earn highest amounts of money in this country. With the increase of heart hospitals, the number of these operations are growing in very high speed.

In 1997, there were about 50,000 bypass surgeries and another 5000 angioplasties being done all over the country. In 2002 there were about 1 lakh bypass surgery and 1.5 lakh angioplasties in India. The total number will increase to double very soon with more and more investors coming forward and nursing homes - graduating to heart institutes.

Almost 90 per cent of these patients can avoid these surgeries if they continue with drugs and lifestyle changes. And that is what I advocate in the book.

What are the five steps for reversal of heart disease?

Heart diseases are created because of lack of education, wrong food habits, lack of exercises, stresses in excess and so on. The same disease of the blockages can also be reduced if we withdraw these causes. This would mean withdraw or reversal of heart disease. These steps are "Education, Diet modification, Stress management, Yoga-Meditation and Exercises."

Can you elaborate on education and diet modification?

Heart patients must know that heart disease takes 30-40 years to grow at the rate of 2 per cent per year of blockages. Once the blocks reach 70-80 per cent the symptoms start. They should understand that with little changes the growth can be retard to 1 per cent per year and if they take care adequately the blockages can be arrested and even reversed. They must understand the drugs that are given to them, their actions and when they should stop these drugs. The lack of knowledge about this lead to the panic (often caused by heart hospitals) once the diagnosis of more than 70 per cent blockage is established. It is the education about cholesterol and triglycerides that brought down the numbers of heart patients in the US, UK, France, Canada by 50 per cent and in Finland, Japan by 60 per cent in the last three decades cholesterol in serum should be at 130mg/dl and triglycerides below 130 mg/dl for reversal. The food for heart patients should be zero oil.

What ways do you suggest to reduce stress, considering the fact that the stress level for the medical profession is high?

First, one must accept the fact that stress cannot be reduced to zero. But it can be brought down by 60 per cent with training, understanding and analysis. Heart patients must identify the external factors that cause or produce stress and take care of them appropriately.

They can anticipate some, accept some, avoid or modify some or become indifferent. They must also understand their own mindset. This setting can be modified with time, reciprocated with others mindset or matched in group living. Lastly, the patients must know how to relax quickly.

Practice of meditation is one of the biggest tools to control and tame our emotional brain. We advise two kinds of yoga postures or movements. One set is called Heart Rejuvenating Exercises. These are a series of movements of the body starting from ear and eyes to the toes and hills. They are completely safe for any heart patients who can walk 10 metres.

They have to be taught all these exercises by trained persons. Some other asanas are also advised by us to heart patients which include taadasana, pada-hastasana, sasanka sana, ardhmatseyendrasana, bhujangasana, salavasana, merudandasana and uttan-padasana.. We also recommend about 30-35 minutes of walking for every heart patient. If he is starting from worst condition he can start with two minutes and gradually increase over the next two to three weeks to the optimum walking level. The speed of walking must be just below the discomfort level. Those who cannot walk outside can do continuous walking inside house without stopping.