Dr. Afgal Pasha

Heart diseases also called as cardiovascular diseases include a wide spectrum of conditions which affect your heart. The diseases include blood vessel diseases, heart attack, rhythm problems, and angina. Heart diseases are currently the most common cause of death worldwide.

There are a large number of risk factors which predispose you to increased risk of heart diseases. Some of those risk factors cannot be modified (non-modifiable) and are not under our control while there are others that you can modify (modifiable) to prevent heart diseases.

While you cannot do much about non-modifiable risk factors (like age and family history) you can reduce your chances of heart disease by working on the modifiable risk factors. This include:

1. Smoking

Smokers have more than twice the risk of heart attack as compared to nonsmokers. In fact, even nonsmokers who are exposed to constant smoke (such as living with a spouse who smokes) also have an increased risk.

What you can do: Quit smoking or never start smoking at all. If you find it hard to quit on your own, consult an expert who can walk you through the entire process.

2. Obesity and physical inactivity

You are at increased risk of heart disease if your body weight is more than 20% of the ideal weight or if you are fat and obese. The most common reason for this is physical inactivity or sedentary lifestyle.

What you can do: start exercising regularly. You should exercise for 30-45 minutes for at least 5 days/week. Even leisure activities like walking or gardening can lower the risk. You can also set a pedometer goal of 10, 000 steps a day.

3. Unhealthy diet

Taking a diet rich in saturated fats, salt, and refined sugars can significantly increase the risk of heart diseases.

Things you can do: Include a lot of fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains in your diet. Avoid taking fried food which is rich in saturated fats.

4. High blood pressure

Hypertension or high blood pressure is one of the most common heart diseases risk factor in the western countries and adequate measures should be taken to keep it under control.

What you can do: you should keep the blood pressure under control through diet, exercise, and medications.

5. Diabetes

Diabetes itself can cause significant damage to the heart and along with other risk factors, it can have a synergistic effect.

What you can do: keep your diabetes under control by making some lifestyle changes like healthy diet, exercise, taking medicines as prescribed by your doctor and going for routine blood tests and health check-ups.

6. High cholesterol

The risk of heart disease increases as the total amount of fat or lipids in your blood increases.

What you can do: have a diet low in fat and rich in fruits and vegetables. Start exercising regularly. Get a lipid profile test done regularly to know your lipid status. Consult a doctor if the levels are too high for lipid lowering drugs.

7. Stress

People who take are prone to getting stressed easily and who cannot manage their stress effectively are at much higher risk.

What you can do: de-stress yourself by indulging in hobbies or activities which you like. Try yoga or meditation or join a club or class for the company.

It is not necessary that if you have these risk factors, you will definitely develop cardiovascular disease. But, the more risk factors you have, the greater is the likelihood that you might develop these diseases. Therefore, it is important that you adopt a healthy lifestyle and take appropriate preventive measures.

With an upsurge in the technology, it has touched almost all aspects of our lives including our relationships. Today, technology has changed the way we interact with each other, no doubt it also helps us by removing the geographical boundries and help us stay close to our loved ones, at least virtually if not physically. One such act of virtual closeness is sexting.

What is sexting?

Sexting is  a mix of ‘sex’ and ‘texting’, that is when you are sending and receiving texts, images and videos, which are explicit in nature. This may include the following:

1. Nude pictures
2. Sexual pictures
3. Explicit texts and images

Sexting can be exchanged if you share the following kinds of relationship:

• Between two partners in love with each other
• Between partners who are not in relationship
• Between two person where one of them hopes to be in a relationship

What are the reasons for stexting?
There are various reasons why you might want to sext. Such as:

• Anxiety about being portrayed as a shy, rigid and not sexy person
• A constant feeling to showcase one’s sexuality
• Wanting someone’s acceptance
• Being in a romantic and faithful relationship
• Being in a long distance relationship and wanting to have sexual relationship
• Pride in one’s body and wanting to show it off

Why sexting is good for you?

Most of us has done or have had the thought of sending kinky dirty texts or images to his/her partner. These steamy texts and images have proved to improve relationship and increase sexual satisfaction. Now over 80% people are of the opinion that one of the ways to bring about a spark in a relationship is through sexting. While other ways might be scarier, sexting is a much safer way to get indulged for some sexual pleasure if the contents are not shared on social media sites and kept only with the significant other. However, trust is essential while sexting. You obviously do not want to get engaged in sexting with a person you have talked or met once or twice where there is hardly any element of trust. Generally, if two people are sexting with each other, it is implied they share a particular amount of trust.

What are the risks involved in sexting?
While sexting is a good idea to spice things up, it can also be dangerous and can pose some serious consequences. Once the images, texts or videos get into wrong hands, it can take a serious toll on your health, mentally and physically. Few people might only engage in it for bullying others. Sexting can collide with reputation of a person and not just socially, but digitally as well. Sexting can also lead you behind the bars so extreme caution is recommended. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a sexologist.