How To Keep Your Child's Heart Healthy. By. Dr. Sunita Maheshwari, Pediatric Cardiologist

...The World Health Organization predicts that India will have 100 million, or 60 percent of the world's heart patients by 2010. The statistics are growing and are frightening. We could blame it on genetics or destiny. But the truth of the matter is that its time we took our destiny and that of our kids into our own hands.

Heart attacks occur because of blockage of the blood vessels supplying the heart by plaque ("fat!"). Preventive measures can ensure a healthy heart for a lifetime. The

THREE  E'S ARE COMMON SENSE TIPS BUT NOT COMMONLY FOLLOWED:

1. EAT HEALTHY
Heart healthy eating habits need to be initiated at a young age when oatmeal may still be considered `yum'. For the modern day kid a treat means an outing to Pizza Hut or a Burger and fries joint. What happened to our good old idlis (sans the ghee!) and curd rice?

•    Start heart healthy foods (Table 1) As soon as your children start eating solids, place heart healthy foods at the dining table. What children are given
     to eat is what children continue eating later in life. Use cooking methods that require less oil: boil, broil, bake, roast, poach, steam, saute, stir-fry, or
     microwave.

Table 1
Vegetables
Fruits
Oatmeal, whole grain cereals
Brown bread
Pulses, rice, pasta
Curds
Chicken and fish (avoid mutton and lamb-`red meats')

2. EXERCISE:
Don't let your kids become couch potatoes. Limit the much-loved television to 1 hour a day.  Set that rule from the day they begin watching TV. Ensure at least half an hour of vigorous activity 3-4 times per week. Initiate a sport like tennis or swimming or a game of cricket or football-that they can begin to enjoy. Nothing like a pulse racing activity to keep that heart toned and beating strongly.

3. EVADE TOBACCO EXPOSURE & STRESS:
Smoking doesn't just happen. Its peer pressure, advertisements, machismo, adult role models. Set an example yourself by avoiding cigarettes. Talk about it to your children when they're at the age that they can comprehend and perhaps subconsciously engrain the idea that cigarettes are a no-no for their heart and lungs.

Teach them techniques to de-stress effectively like yoga, deep breathing, relaxing walks, a warm oil massage and a positive attitude to life.

If you start your children onto a heart healthy lifestyle when they're young, they'll have a lot to thank you for as the years roll on..


Dr Sunita Maheshwari,
Diplomate, American Board of Pediatric Cardiology
Consultant Pediatric Cardiologist and HOD
Narayana Hrudayalaya, Bangalore