We Canadians

By Niraj Chandra

I had a mini-stroke a few weeks back and, in retrospect, it was  entirely my  fault.

Nature had given me several warning signs over the years that I simply ignored. I did a little yoga from time to time and believed that it was enough to keep me out of serious trouble. Unfortunately, life doesn’t work that way.

The first warning sign was when I was in my early twenties, just starting my first job in Mumbai, India. I was enthusiastic about my work -perhaps, a bit too enthusiastic. I fell sick with a routine fever, took lots of medication, and kept on going to work. However, on the second day of the fever, I woke up late at night and fell unconscious while in the bathroom; I passed out for a few minutes. I was OK by morning time and there was no real damage.

I got the second warning sign about a decade later. Again, I passed out while using the washroom very late at night. This time, the incident was a bit more severe and we had to call a doctor in the morning. He did all the tests, including an  Electro-cardiogram, but he could find nothing wrong. I was fully recovered within a few hours. This was a high stress time in my life as I was contemplating a job change.

The third warning sign came after another decade or so, this time in the US. Again, I was thinking about a job change and there was definitely quite a bit of stress. I passed out late at night while using the washroom and I was unconscious for a few minutes. My wife took me to the hospital and the doctors ran a battery of tests. Nothing showed up in the tests and I was discharged after an hour or two.

The last warning came a few weeks back when I suffered the mini-stroke. This time, I had to spend half a day in the hospital, followed by more visits to specialists and endless tests. My speech was slurred for at  least a week and there were plenty of other serious symptoms.  I had suffered what the doctors call a Transient Isochemic Attack - a TIA. I also have blockage of an artery for which some surgery will be  required.

As I look back, I realize there are so many health mistakes that I have made over the years. I have high cholesterol but I did not take medication regularly, as I experienced  side effects such as muscle pain. I did not take Aspirin pills prescribed by the doctor - I just didnt want to take daily medication. I also avoided taking blood pressure medication; all of these factors contribute to the TIA.

As I review my lifestyle, I notice other risk factors that should have alerted me to the dangers. My lifestyle is sedentary; an engineer by profession, I do mostly desk work including a lot of reading and writing.  At home, I like to read and write and work on the computer, or just watchTV.  I’m not much into sports or physical activities or even  household chores. I like tasty food and there is a food court right below my office carrying all kinds of “goodies”. Over the years, the junk food has  built up as plaque in the arteries. My Body Mass Index is borderline high. About the only redeeming factor is my love of yoga, which I practise as frequently as I can. However, I now realize that yoga practice is not enough unless it is very vigorous and done on a sustained basis.  And even if you exercise regularly, you must watch the vital signs of your body, such as blood pressure and cholesterol.

I have just learned the biggest lesson of my life the   hard way - NEVER, EVER ignore the warning signs of your body.