LAHORE: Health professionals have warned fasting people to abstain from bad-eating habits and stay away from eating fried and high-calorie sweets.

“Fasting people must drink excessive water during pre-fasting hours, reduce salt consumption and rely more on fruit and vegetables to avoid heart attacks and other complications,” health experts told Business Recorder on Friday.

“During Ramazan, health professionals said, because of bad-eating habits, an increase of at least 10 percent of heart patients is being witnessed. With little awareness and precautionary measures, people can stay healthy and avoid heart related complications.”

They said in Ramadan, those who “eat excessively they gain more weight instead of losing it and eventually, they end up at the hospitals due to heart disease. When a person keeps fast during Ramazan in the summer, his or her blood gets thick, which leads to clot formation in the veins and result in heart attack or stroke”.

They also said chronic patients of heart ailments should consult their doctors before deciding to observe fast because heart patients’ life could be in danger due to keeping fast and avoiding essential medicines without the proper guidance and consultation from their physicians.

“Patients of diabetes and hypertension, who have to take medicines regularly, should also consult their doctors before fasting,” they said: “Diabetes and hypertension medicines must be re-adjusted during Ramadan to facilitate patients.”

They said in Pakistan, incidence of premature coronary heart disease was high as compared to other countries following genetic reasons while smoking was also a major cause of increase in heart diseases among younger people between 30 and 50 years of age, which is very unfortunate.

“Every second person after 50 years of age is a heart patient in Pakistan,” they added.

Source: Business Recorder