Collage: Krishnendu Samui

Cardiovascular surgeon Naresh Trehan sweats it out in his home gym at Maharani Bagh; (above) Trehan is an early bird and loves his brisk morning walk

Who doesn’t worry about their heart? Anyone over 40 is likely to have a small niggling worry about their ticker and whether it’s in perfect condition. “The heart is a sensitive organ and it needs a lot of care,” says celebrated heart surgeon Naresh Trehan, senior cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon at Apollo Hospitals in New Delhi and chairman of the soon-to-open Medanta Medicity, a state-of-the-art hospital in Gurgaon.

So, how do you keep your heart in tip-top condition? At 63, Trehan, a fitness freak, shows the way. Trehan follows a strict fitness regime and never ever misses his Yoga classes.

Trehan’s often out in the evening but that doesn’t alter his early morning routines. He’s an early bird who hits the park by 6.15am for a brisk walk.You’ll find him either at Delhi’s Lodhi Gardens or in the gardens around Humayun’s Tomb.

And if the weather’s not great, Trehan sweats it out in his home gym. That’s followed by a session of Yoga. “Fitness to me means being in total control of my body,” says Trehan who nowadays starts work at 9am and keeps at it till 9pm — he’s extra busy nowadays and has a lot of administrative work because of the upcoming Medanta Medicity opening.

Trehan has six golden rules for maintaining a healthy heart:

1. “Never, ever underestimate your annual preventive health check-ups,” says Trehan who stresses that preventive health check-ups are crucial. “They should be mandatory for people the moment they reach 30 even if they are not suffering from any disease. It tells you where you stand and enables you to act accordingly,” he says.

In fact, Trehan says that a recent study of 3,000 executives between the ages of 26 and 40, undertaken by a team working under him, found that 30 per cent of the executives had high blood pressure, 26 per cent were diabetic and 35 per cent had high cholesterol levels. “None of them knew they had these problems,” he says. The idea is, the earlier you detect it, the sooner you’ll find a cure.

Trehan, who has been doing Yoga for the past 20 years, recommends it for de-stressing

2. Trehan advises that everyone should stay within 10 per cent of their ideal body weight. “Otherwise your chances of developing high blood pressure will double,” he warns. And those with a family history of high blood pressure and sugar face added dangers and are four times more likely to suffer from heart diseases. “Monitoring your weight early will help to ensure that you do not reach a stage where you cannot control certain health problems,” he says.

3. When was the last time you took a day off? According to Trehan, timely offs and restful weekends are essential for people to de-stress. Stress, he points out, increases the risk of having heart problems. “De-stress by getting away on weekends — spend time on the beach or head to the hills with your loved ones,” says Trehan who’s diligent about taking vacations with his family.

Then, there’s Yoga, which he says, is a great way to de-stress. “Half an hour of Yoga daily can do the trick,” he says.

4. How many times have you been almost force-fed oily laddoos and barfis? The next time someone insists that you eat unhealthy food that you don’t really want, refuse politely. “In our culture feeding is a way of love, but it’s really not a healthy practice,” says Trehan.

“Eating intelligently takes care of half your problems,” says Trehan who works from 9am to 9pm and opts for a light working lunch. Trehan says if it’s a choice between whole wheat and refined maida, go for whole wheat. When it comes to diet, nothing beats green vegetables and fruits.

5. How often do you change your cooking oil? According to Trehan, one must not only be selective about which cooking oil one uses, but one must also change oils every three months. “Rotate your oil after every three months so that any toxin in the oil will not remain in the body,” he says.

While mustard oil may be a mono-saturated oil which is good for health, using it for too long can affect the heart’s electrical impulses. Trehan recommends mono-saturated oils like olive, saffola or mustard oil while saturated oils, like coconut and vanaspati oil, are a big no-no.

6. Are you a chain smoker or a tobacco user? Everyone probably knows this one but Trehan emphasises once again that smokers and tobacco users are three times more likely to develop a heart disease than people who don’t smoke.

Smokers also have a higher likelihood of developing high blood pressure. If you combine that with stress and obesity then the chances of having problems multiply. Says Trehan: “The moment you keep adding the risk factors, your chances of developing heart disease keep increasing.”