All World
Gayatri Pariwar

  Owing to unstable and impermanent emotional relationships, the number of heart-related diseases is on a steep rise. Heart faces the brunt during emotional problems since it is the organ closely related to emotions and feelings. Negative thinking adversely affects the heart and results in serious heart troubles; whereas, positive thinking leads to a healthy heart. Healthy and pure thoughts help in creating noble emotions like compassion, sympathy, service and tolerance, whereas thoughts of hatred, jealousy, ego maim the heart and harm it in such a way that it gives birth to many heart diseases.

It is essential to provide an outlet to our feelings. If there is no proper medium to express pent-up thoughts and emotions, then the person begins to feel the pressure and strain on his heart. All emotions, be it of sudden happiness or of fatal grief, both should be expressed. If they are not let out, they result in innumerable subtle knots in the heart chakra, which after a prolonged time lead to pain every now and then, making it difficult to lead a happy life. Hence it is essential that we express our extreme happiness in a proper manner and also be able to talk about our pain and grief with a trustworthy friend or aide.

To be able to control emotional expressions and express them appropriately is a challenging issue faced during adolescence. Adolescence is that stage in life which forms the basis for the personality that will shape up. It is during this stage when sexual attraction peaks in both boys and girls. If they get swept off in this passion without paying attention to nobility and purity, then it may result in untoward consequences because it is an age where their minds would not have matured and their thinking would not have evolved in order to rein in unrestrained emotions. If thoughts are not in control, then it becomes tough to handle both happiness and pain. This leads to panic disorder.

Panic means terror or fear. If the duration in which a person is under perpetual fear increases, then it is termed as panic disorder. Sensitive people are more prone to this disorder because they tend to think too much about an issue and worry a lot. Also, introvert people face this problem more than others. Researchers say that this disorder is not only as a result of grief but can also occur when sudden happiness is not handled properly. This problem is noticed largely among the youth today. First of all, these youngsters get tensed for smallest of things - their hands and feet get cold, their heart beats faster and mouth dries up. In a matter of few seconds, they get into this unnatural state and start to perspire. In such conditions, they should consult a physician and take care of their health.

Panic disorder leads to panic attack going forward. When a person suffers from a panic attack, a situation of intense fear, worry and tension is created. These attacks can occur at regular intervals or because of fear and tension due to societal reasons. Patient experiences intense pain, difficulty in breathing, heaviness in the chest and other symptoms. These symptoms are similar to that of a heart attack. These attacks occur more frequently during the night because it is that time at night when all the painful and bitter happenings of the day are forcefully activated in the brain leading to increased levels of worry and anxiety. The panic attacks that occur during the night last for less than 10 minutes.

Boys are more prone to panic attacks in comparison to girls. The percentage of occurrence is 2% in girls, while it is 4% in boys. On the whole, girls are mentally stronger than boys because of which their heart is under control. Panic attack leads to hypertension and other heart-related disorders. Worry and anxiety can adversely affect the heart and the blood circulation system. It can lead to shriveling of arteries, increased possibility of clotting and disturbed rhythm in the heart beat. Hyper emotions and negative thoughts are primary reasons for panic attack.

Research scientists say that our anxious and unbalanced emotions and negative thinking may not result in blockages in coronary arteries, but it certainly increases the pain. Because of these reasons, the smooth surface inside the arteries roughens, leading to accumulation of cholesterol and other blood cells and as a result blood begins to clot. This leads to heart-related diseases. When we are prone to worry and begin to think negatively, catecholamines blend with the blood and affect the heart. This leads to increase in blood pressure and heart rate. This results in agitation and anxiety. In this way, the heart gets burdened and blood gets clotted in the arteries which results in increased possibility of panic attacks.

A survey conducted by AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) has given shocking results. The survey has revealed that high blood pressure, obesity and heart-related diseases are on the rise among the youth. This increase in numbers is much steeper among the youth of the cities. Doctors believe that irregular life style, junk foods, smoking and alcohol are the main reasons behind this trend. The present life style is in stark opposition to the natural way of living. Owing to long work hours and lack of time, people have resorted to fast foods. In addition to the food habits, increased levels of stress and tension have also contributed to heart diseases. In today’s life, competition is present for the smallest of tasks. Increased competition in work culture and other reasons have increased the risk of heart diseases by 20-25%.

Statistics show that our country had the least risk of heart diseases in the world 10-15 years ago. This fact has completely taken an U-turn in just one decade. Presently, our country has 2-3% more people suffering from heart diseases. Before, people within the age group of 40-50 were at risk with respect to coronary troubles. Now, the age has reduced to 20. People who are less than 20 years of age are also recording heart troubles. Health problems that Americans face during 40-50 years of age group are being faced by Indian population aged 20 or less. The youth of our country is prone to coronary heart diseases three times more than of other countries.

Our country is at the first place with respect to heart troubles. 10% of our population is suffering from heart troubles whereas Europe and America are at the second place with 7% while China has 4%. According to World Health Organization (WHO), this disease will evolve to be the most disturbing health hassle by year 2025. There are about 5 crore people with heart troubles and this number will double by the end of this year. In the age group of 30 years, 1 in 20 people complain of heart trouble. Among the youth and employed population, the probability of heart attacks has increased 10% in comparison to other countries. This trend might soon be visible in people of age group 20.
Among every 10 deaths in the country, 1 is due to heart attack. Especially in the last decade, the CAD (Coronary Artery Disease) among the working class has increased from 17.5% to 35%. In order to control this situation, we should pay adequate attention to the points given below –

1.    Ensure that you eat foods that keep the heart healthy
2.    Try to control the sugar levels in the blood
3.    Think of ways and means to handle stress and anxiety
4.    Keep your daily routine balanced and simple
5.    Never sit idle because an idle mind is a devil’s workshop and one is tormented by negative thoughts that weaken the heart

A study has revealed that ambitious goals strain the heart. If the ambitions are not fulfilled, the heaviness in the heart increases. It is not wrong to be ambitious, but being ambitious beyond a certain limit definitely leads to lack of sense of achievement that affects the heart adversely. Emotional dissatisfaction is very dangerous and leads to loss of memory, carelessness towards work, unbalanced and agitated behavior. The study says that these problems are being faced by the present-day youth which has increased the risk of heart-related diseases.

The solution to emotional dissatisfaction is to stop accumulation and to begin sharing. Researchers say that contentment is achieved by sharing and is disturbed when one thinks only of oneself and resorts to accumulation. Working without a desire (Nishkaam Karma) and service-mindedness bestow emotional satisfaction. This feeling is capable of keeping heart troubles at bay.  To achieve this, we have to continuously think of how we can give to others. Negative thoughts and impure thoughts lead to innumerable knots in our heart system and these knots evolve into diseases over a period of time. That is why we should make it a point to express our thoughts in the presence of trustworthy people so that we create an outlet for the thoughts and do not let them distort our system.

To ward off heart-related ailments, we should maintain purity of thought and do selfless service. Doing Japa of Gayatri Mantra and Mahamrityunjaya mantra keeps heart troubles away from us. Observing Aaswad Vrata on Thursday helps in achieving emotional satisfaction and bestows purity. Developing empathy and forgiveness destroys the negative energy within our body and establishes emotional harmony. Hence, we have to learn to forgive others and get busy in doing selfless service. By working selflessly for one year, we can clearly experience the transformation in our thoughts and emotions.

If it’s worth doing, do it today! Tomorrow will be too late.