PREVENTION OF HEART ATTACKS: FORMATION OF ATHEROMA (FATTY DEPOSIT) – THE RISK FACTORS – WORK AND RECREATION – IF HARD WORK CAN PRODUCE PROBLEMS IN OLD AGE, WOULD IT NOT BE CORRECT TO GIVE UP ACTIVE WORK ALTOGETHER ? WHAT ABOUT RECREATION ?
Q. If hard work can produce problems in old age, would it not be correct to give up active work altogether ? A. No, one should try and remain active as long as possible in order to maintain physical and mental health and one’s dignity. Inactivity is not conducive to good health, neither physical nor mental. Activity within one’s capacity should be undertaken. However, long hours of continuous work should be avoided; there should be adequate periods of rest in between.Q. What about recreation ?A. Recreation is equally essential, but it also demands more physical effort or less depending upon its nature. Recreation should be such that it is not too much of a drain on the limited energy available. It has become fashionable these days to advocate almost unlimited physical activity for old people including those who have sustained a myocardial infraction. The pendulum has swung far too much from almost complete inertia to unlimited physical activity. It is time we realise that the physical activity is beneficial to a certain extent, but when the limits are exceeded it can prove really harmful. Therefore, too strenuous recreational activity, skiing for example, may be left to the younger people to enjoy. Cinema, theatre, television, reading and writing for pleasure, non-competitive games are the activities to indulge in. Holidaying should be comfortable and enjoyable. If in the hills, climbing steep heights should be avoided.*85\328\8*
