One world, one heart

Cardiovascular diseases remain the world’s main killers, claiming about 17 to 18 million lives each year. Heart Foundation of Malaysia (Yayasan Jantung Negara) director Datuk Dr Khoo Kah Lin shares his views on the matter on the eve of World Heart Day tomorrow.
IT has been repeatedly said that the heart is an extremely vital organ. Can you put this into perspective?
The human heart is really the most amazing organ in the body. It beats even before you are born into this world, continuing to do so until you take your last breath. For as long as you are alive, your heart is hard at work. There is no other muscle in your body that works in such an astonishing way.
The human heart is tasked with pumping oxygen-rich blood and nutrients to the whole body. The heart’s other function is also to “carry away” your body’s waste products such as carbon dioxide, from the tissues. The heart is “connected” to every part of the body through blood vessels.

  According to Dr Khoo, 65% of people with diabetes die from some form of heart disease or stroke.

Despite the importance of our heart, it is often the most neglected organ in our body, as the rising prevalence of heart disease in the nation illustrates.
Also, after a heart attack, the damage done to your heart is irreparable. As such, it is of utmost importance that we prevent heart disease well before it strikes. This can be done if we eliminate the risk factors of heart disease, and this has to begin from childhood itself.
Isn’t heart disease a problem for older people? How do young children fit into the picture?
It’s really not accurate to say that heart disease only afflicts the older age group. Heart disease can be caused by multiple factors, called risk factors, which in fact begin building up right from childhood. I have personally heard that even children as young as two can already have developed risk factors for heart disease.
In my opinion, the true problem lies in the fact that the perception of heart disease has not evolved. In Malaysia, heart disease has been the number one killer for the past three decades. Before we can understand heart disease, we need to go to the root of the matter – the risk factors. The key is that heart disease is largely preventable, if only parents cultivate a healthy lifestyle in their children from young.
You said that heart disease is largely preventable, if tackled early on in life. Can you elaborate a bit more?
Yes, prevention of heart disease from childhood is what I wish to stress upon. I term this loosely as the “modifiable risk factor”, which largely co-relates to the diet and lifestyle of the child.
Under the umbrella of modifiable risk factor, we have five separate and equally important issues to deal with: high cholesterol levels, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and of course, a sedentary lifestyle.

  Salt intake should not exceed 5gm (one teaspoon) a day.

Most people will not contest that fast food consumption, frequent dining outs and being a couch potato profoundly affect the growing child. In fact, the more we move away from consuming a “natural” diet, the worse the outlook is in terms of heart disease.
Well, the notion of change makes people uncomfortable. So, instead of dwelling on change, why not instil the habit of healthy living in the child right from the start?
Healthy living does not mean creating a good food vs bad food list. Neither does it mean adhering to a vegan diet or bland and tasteless foods. That is rather unrealistic to ask for.
I task it upon the parents and caregivers, not to control their children and dictate their life completely, but to be a good role model and provide proper guidance to the young to live and eat healthily.
Of course, to err is human, and I am not saying that as a parent, you should be perfect. Neither am I asking parents to mould a Stepford child. A child will always be a child and it is in fact wrong to deny your child her “childhood” indulgences totally, as suppressing a child’s desires too much will result in unhealthy emotional growth