But the health records, released to commemorate his
150th birth anniversary indicate otherwise. Gandhi ji had hypertension and was reportedly on
medication (sarpagandha or Rauwolfia serpentina).
We have his ECG tracing done at Calcutta
(now Kolkata) dated 28th Oct., 1937. The record show that his
heart rate was 72 per minute and was regular. On 26th October, he
had very early and slight fullness of neck veins, which were not present on 28th
Oct. His BP reading on 26th Oct. was 194/130; on 28th
Oct. the BP was 150/98. He was prescribed adequate rest by the doctor “Adequate
mental and emotional rest with 8 hours restful sleep in 24 hours are indicated”
as the records show.
Let’s try to analyse his health status based on this information.
Mahatma Gandhi had hypertension and his ECG shows
no left ventricular hypertrophy. There were only a few anti-hypertensive
medications available then. Also, echocardiography was not available at
that time.
Lifestyle factors, in particular obesity, are
determinants of BP levels. Excess of body fat is a major factor predisposing to
hypertension. Excess body fat, especially central obesity, is associated with
metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. This is ruled out.
Arteriosclerosis is ruled out as his diastolic BP
was very high. In arteriosclerosis, the systolic BP is raised more than
diastolic BP.
His BP on 26th Oct. was 194/130; on 28th
Oct. it was 150/98. This is accelerated HT.
Gandhi ji lived by the principles of satya, ahimsa,
sarvodaya and satyagraha. Yet he was hypertensive.
He had been advised adequate rest with adequate
sleep by the doctor.
Could the stress of the country’s freedom struggle
have been a factor in the genesis of his hypertension?
We can only speculate.
Dr KK Aggarwal
Padma
Shri Awardee
President Elect Confederation of Medical Associations in Asia and Oceania (CMAAO)
Group
Editor-in-Chief IJCP Publications
President
Heart Care Foundation of India
Immediate Past National President IMA
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