SRINAGAR: After an alarming rise in heart attacks in Kashmir, doctors have pressed the panic button over the rampant use of cold medicines and cough syrups.
More than 18 cases of heart attack are reported every day in SMHS and SKIMS this winter. An increase in heart failure cases is also being seen in private and other hospitals of different districts.
“Heart attacks have increased two and a half times in winter. We are seeing 17 to 18 cases daily in both SMHS and SKIMS. Earlier heart attack was a disease of old age. People above the age of 65 were the victims of the attacks. Now people below 40 years of age are having heart attack. People below the age of 28 are getting heart attacks,” Dr Irfan Ahmed Bhat, senior cardiologist at SMHS hospital, daily Kashmir Monitor reported.
What is acting as a new trigger is the uncontrolled use of anti-cold medicines and over-the-counter cough syrups. “Suppose someone has a common cold, so he buys over-the-counter medicines. There is a problem with anti-cold medicines. They contain salt which increases the blood pressure. Similarly, people do not know the harmful effects of cough syrups. Without consuming it. It increases the rhythmic disorder in the heart. These are additional factors that trigger heart attacks in winter,” he said.
Cold weather causes blood vessels and arteries to narrow. For this reason more force is required to supply blood to different parts of the body. As a result the blood pressure increases. Blood pressure can also be affected by sudden changes in weather such as humidity, atmospheric pressure, cloud cover or wind. Apart from this, weight gain in winter and lack of physical activity can also contribute to the increase in blood pressure levels.
“During winters, stable diseases become unstable. There is more pressure on the heart. It has to pump more blood. The workload on the heart increases in winter. The coronary blood vessel becomes dilated. There is less blood supply to the heart,” he said.
Dr Muhammad Salim Khan, Head of the Department of Community Medicine, said that people need to take in lots of fluids to stay hydrated during winters. “It is a myth that people do not sweat during winter. Actually we wear so much clothes that we sweat. We lose the amount of water from the body. So we need to drink more and more fluids in winter. When we don’t drink water, our blood becomes thicker. Our blood pressure also increases. It puts more strain on the heart,” he said.
