India All the time on life-style is damaging our coronary heart well being: Cardiac surgeon Dr Shriram Nene

India isn’t any stranger to coronary heart illness. As the primary killer within the nation, cardiovascular sicknesses are now not simply the priority of the aged or high-risk teams. Viral movies of younger folks collapsing within the health club usually with out warning, youthful sufferers lining up in OPDs, mounting stress and unhealthy existence are feeding into the well being cloth of the nation, giving rise to extra instances of this worldwide killer.

At the guts of this rising disaster isn’t just genetics or likelihood – however how we dwell, work, sleep, and transfer.

Top cardiac surgeon Dr. Shriram Nene, additionally a well being advocate, decodes the rationale why so many Indians are nonetheless affected by coronary heart illnesses, why we have to blame the “always on” tradition and find out how to unload the digital overload to maintain our physique wholesome.

THE SILENT KILLER: SITTING

Sedentary existence have turn into the brand new smoking. And in city India, desk jobs and digital dependence are driving folks towards cardiac danger.

“Sitting is turning out to be one of the biggest and most silent cardiac risks in India,” Dr. Nene tells IndiaToday.in in an unique interview.

The latest ICMR–INDIAB data reveals that almost 37% of Indian adults aren’t assembly minimal exercise thresholds.

In a 2024 examine in Kerala, folks have been sitting for a median of 300 minutes a day, and that was related to a 28% enhance in main adversarial cardiac occasions over 5 years.

These aren’t fringe findings. The World Health Organisation’s 2024 report labelled South Asia the least bodily energetic area on this planet, with almost half the inhabitants inactive.

“Urban desk jobs are driving this downside. We usually hear of 40-year-old founders and professionals coming in with sudden cardiac arrest. These are individuals who said that they ‘work out’ thrice every week, however the remainder of their time is spent sitting. The math doesn’t add up. Muscles are glucose sinks. If you’re not participating them often, you’re lacking the purpose. It’s not nearly scheduled exercises, it’s about what your physique is doing the opposite 23 hours a day,” says Dr. Nene.

SCREEN OVERLOAD AND ‘NOTIFICATION TACHYCARDIA’

India is fast becoming the screen time capital of the world, and the results are now visible in medical data.

There’s no question that digital overload is starting to show up in clinical data, especially among younger age groups.

In India, common display screen time now crosses 7.3 hours a day. Among school-going teenagers, we’re seeing decrease coronary heart fee variability and early indicators of extreme hypertension in these with the best display screen time.

Dr. Nene phrases the phenomenon “notification tachycardia.”

“People come in with resting heart rates above 90, evening cortisol levels that are elevated, and sleep scores that are just terrible. It’s a cascade. Your system stays in a state of low-grade alert, and over time, that creates a cardio-metabolic environment that is ripe for disease. It’s not one dramatic moment, it’s the slow, constant toll of never switching off,” he explains.

STRESS, CORTISOL, AND THE CARDIAC COST

Besides this, modern stress isn’t just psychological – it’s biochemical. And it’s rewriting how doctors understand heart disease.

“Chronic stress is no longer something abstract. We now have data from Indian cohorts showing that salivary cortisol levels above 10 nanograms per millilitre are linked to a two-fold increase in stage-one hypertension and abnormal lipid profiles in young professionals,” says Dr. Nene.

Cortisol, the physique’s stress hormone, turns into dangerous when continuously elevated. When sustained, it reduces the bioavailability of nitric oxide, which is important for wholesome blood vessels. It will increase visceral fats, destabilises plaque, and primes the guts for stress-induced cardiomyopathy.

“What that appears like within the physique is sort of dramatic. These are situations we used to view as uncommon problems. Today, we sufferers with these points current each week to physicians in India and globally,” adds Dr. Nene.

INFLAMMATION, SLEEP, AND THE IRREGULAR LIFE

Poor sleep and irregular schedules are silently fuelling inflammation in the body – a root cause of heart disease.

And the link between poor sleep and inflammation is now well established.

Even if you’re clocking seven or eight hours of total sleep, if your bedtime is irregular, something that’s common in industries like tech or film, your risk for heart attacks and strokes increases by 26%.

The body responds to erratic sleep with a spike in inflammatory markers.

Dr. Nene explains, “The mechanism here involves a spike in inflammatory markers like interleukin-6, TNF-alpha, and high-sensitivity CRP. Indian sleep-restriction models confirm these findings. And in real-world practice, we have noticed that treating conditions like sleep apnea often lowers CRP more effectively than adding another statin. That says something about how central sleep and stress are to inflammation and heart health.”

SIMPLE SHIFTS, BIG DIFFERENCE

For busy professionals and parents who feel overwhelmed, Dr. Nene offers bite-sized changes that deliver measurable results.

“Small, consistent changes are the way forward. Just standing up or walking for one minute every hour can improve how your arteries function. You can use your smartwatch to remind you,” he says.

In reality, in case you’re commuting, get off one metro cease early and add two brisk ten-minute walks into your day. During lengthy calls, attend them whereas strolling.

That alone can get you a thousand additional steps per assembly.

Breathing methods and digital hygiene additionally make a giant distinction.

“Between emails, you’ll be able to strive 4-7-8 respiration. It lowers your coronary heart fee by round 5 beats per minute. If you’re in search of one thing culturally acquainted, pair it with nadishodhana. And on the subject of sleep, change off your screens not less than an hour earlier than mattress. Schedule your Do-Not-Disturb mode at a hard and fast time, say 10 pm, to sign to your physique that it’s time to wind down,” says Dr. Nene.

These aren’t hypotheticals. The cardiac surgeon quoted a examine, the INDIA-WORKS trial, that has already proven that such small office tweaks can cut back HbA1c and systolic blood stress inside 18 months. HbA1c measures one’s glucose management ranges.

WADING THROUGH THE WELLNESS NOISE

In the period of viral tendencies and influencer recommendation, how can folks defend themselves from misinformation? Dr. Nene says to confirm it first.

“Start with the source. Look at whether the information is coming from a credible authority, like the American Heart Association, the Indian Heart Journal, ICMR, or from a marketing page. Then apply what I call the three-signal test. Is the advice reproducible? Does it have a solid biological explanation? And most importantly, does it lead to actual clinical outcomes?” he says.

Dr. Nene warns that digital misinformation isn’t simply annoying, it’s, actually, harmful.

A 2024 examine on Indian cardiovascular content material on Instagram discovered that 42% of posts have been factually incorrect or incomplete. “That’s not just harmless misinformation, that’s the kind of stuff that leads people to make poor health decisions,” he says.

TRENDY DOESN’T MEAN TESTED

Many viral “wellness” tendencies haven’t been put by means of scientific scrutiny – and a few are actively dangerous.

“I treat trends the same way I treat any new intervention, as experiments, unless proven otherwise. The problem arises when trends are marketed like cures,” Dr. Nene explains.

From ice baths, that are common in gyms is likely one of the causes for cold-triggered atrial fibrillation. Yet it’s fashionable.

“Another concern is the megadose supplement culture. Fat-soluble vitamins taken in excess can be toxic, and some of these herbal pre-workout mixes are affecting heart rhythms, prolonging the QT interval. Many of them still haven’t caught the eye of regulators,” adds. Nene.

“My rule is simple. If a trend hasn’t passed the same level of scrutiny as statins or angioplasty, I don’t treat it like gospel. That’s not being cynical, that’s just protecting your heart,” he says.

WELLNESS PREVENTION

Despite the explosive growth of the wellness industry, heart disease continues to dominate India’s mortality statistics. Why?

The Indian wellness market is worth around Rs 13 lakh crore, and yet heart disease remains the number one killer.

“So clearly, something’s off,” Dr. Nene says. “A lot of it is one-size-fits-all, and that doesn’t work in a country as genetically and socio-economically diverse as India.”

Another problem is the emphasis on experience over habit. “A weekend spa or a detox program might feel good, but it doesn’t counteract what happens from Monday to Friday,” he adds.

People also focus too much on vanity metrics like weight, and not enough on clinical ones like LDL cholesterol or VO2 max. That, says Dr. Nene, gives a false sense of security.

The Surgeon’s Own Blueprint

So how does one of India’s top cardiac surgeons walk the talk?

Dr. Shriram Nene lives by a carefully designed lifestyle that combines modern science with mindful daily habits.

“I follow a protocol that’s tailored to my needs, but grounded in science and culture. I exercise early in the morning. That usually includes six workouts per week alternating between three high-intensity spin aerobic workouts and three whole-body strength workouts with weights. I reserve Sundays for family and recovery,” he says.

His wellness routine doesn’t cease at bodily exercise. “My weight loss plan is vegan. For stress administration, I do 10 minutes of respiration and preserve a gratitude journal. Sleep is non-negotiable: I’m going to mattress at 10:30 and get up at 5:30. No tech within the bed room. I monitor sleep with units and anchor my circadian rhythm with dawn actions,” he says.

The heart of the matter is this: India’s cardiovascular crisis isn’t inevitable.

It is being silently shaped by how we sit, sleep, stress, scroll, and surrender to unhealthy patterns. As Dr. Nene reminds us, the answers aren’t in fads, but in everyday science-backed consistency.

The revolution your heart needs isn’t dramatic. It’s daily.

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