Simple lifestyle suggested to avoid complicated diseases

Health professionals at a health awareness seminar have called for adopting simple lifestyle to avoid complicated diseases, including heart diseases. Pakistan can save millions of rupees of foreign exchange being spent annually on importing food items through changing their eating habits.
The Mir Khalilur Rehman Society and the Pakistan Society of Interventional Cardiology organised the seminar here at a hotel on Saturday, where Health Minister Chaudhry Muhammad Iqbal was the chief guest.
In his speech, the minister said, "Credit goes to the government taking various initiatives to improve the health and education sectors. Pakistani doctors are recognised world wide because of their expertise and hard work. The Punjab Institute of Cardiology and other teaching hospitals are providing quality healthcare facilities to patients."
He said the government had set up the Multan Institute of Cardiology and intended to set up similar institutes in Faisalabad and Wazirabad. "People must pay attention to prevent the diseases because with more awareness, various diseases could be avoided or delayed," he added.
Professor Dr Farkat Alamgir said self-absorbing stents would be available in the market, bringing about a significant change in treating cardiac diseases. "Angioplasty is a long-lasting and tested treatment for those facing heart problems. The need is to get the treatment done through specialised cardiologists," he said in his speech. "In Britain, efforts are made to identify the population at risk of developing cardiac diseases."
Surprised over the high costs of stent being charged in Pakistan, he said the stent in Britain that cost only 400 pounds was available in Pakistan at 800 to 900 pounds, which was unfair to patients. He advised people to avoid risk factors such as smoking, stress and unhealthy lifestyle to lead healthy life.
In his speech, Professor Dr Jawad Sajid Khan praised the government for improving the state of health in the province, saying the Punjab Institute of Cardiology would launch research projects to determine blood pressure and cholesterol levels of the population.
Dr Riaz Ahmad Chaudhry warned that heart diseases were rising in the country. He said the Punjab Institute of Cardiology admitted 64,925 patients last year while in the first six months of current calendar year, 35,940 patients got admissions and the institute operated 954 patients and several others underwent angioplasty and angiography.
Professor Dr Nadeem Hayat Malik said there were 40 to 45 certified cardiologists in the city treating cardiac patients and that the institute had found the rate of heart attacks most frequent among the youth.
Professor Dr Jawad Sajid Khan of the Punjab Institute of Cardiology, Britain-based consultant cardiologist Dr Riaz Ahmad Chaudhry, Professor Dr Farkat Alamgir, Professor Nadeem Hayat Malik, Dr Shahid Amin, Ashraf Dar and Wasif Nagi also made speeches.