The Indian Medical Association, the apex body of the doctors practising modern medicine in the country, has issued a statement relating to the health concerns stemming from demonetisation. Here is what the agency is advising those headed for a queue.
Demonetisation
1. IMA supports the government move. All doctors in practice should accept cheques and if facility available credit/debit cards. Most bank account holders have access to ATM cards. All private hospitals and medical stores should consider installing card payment machine and also most big hospitals have banks within their premises.
2. Hospitals should also consider taking available money as advance at admission with an undertaking.
Health cautions
1.Those who complain of leg pains on standing should not stand in long queues. Also those who are advised elastic leg stockings should not stand in long queues without wearing them.
2. Patients with heart failure should also avoid long waiting in queues.
Many cases of heart attacks have been reported in the country. Following is the IMA advisory
1.Financial stress: The country's demonetisation has caused a lot of economic pain. Shock of demonetisation is like the shock of stock exchange share market crash.
2. Wall Street Crash of 1929 in US ended up with 23,000 suicides.
3. Heart attacks soar as the stock market crashes (American Journal of Cardiology, Dec. 1, 2010).
4. Researchers at Duke University reviewed medical records for 11,590 people who had undergone testing for heart disease during a three-year period, and then compared monthly heart attack rates with stock market levels. Heart attacks increased steadily during one eight-month period—September 2008 to March 2009—that was particularly bad for the stock market.
5. A California study had shown that hospital admissions spiked more than 5 percent on "Black Monday"—Oct. 19, 1987--when the market plunged nearly 25 percent. One standard deviation drop in US stock prices (roughly 1.5%) increased admissions to California hospitals by about 0.26 percent over the next two days. If the focus is limited to people complaining of anxiety or panic attacks, the increase in admissions is twice as great.
6. There is plenty of research suggesting that for people with heart disease risk factors, such as high blood pressure or diabetes, acute stress can temporarily raise the odds of a cardiac "event" such as a heart attack and cardiac arrest and low dose aspirin can prevent it.
7. Low temperatures can also have potentially risky effects on the cardiovascular system, such as making the blood more prone to clotting.
8. One should take extra precautions to protect your heart when the economy tanks. The basics consist of a healthy diet, regular exercise, stress management, and taking medications as prescribed.