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The Hindu
2 days ago
- Health
- The Hindu
How a simple two-minute walk can help both prevent hypertension and detect it early
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 1 in 3 adults globally -- about 1.28 billion people are living with hypertension, with nearly half unaware of it. In India, the burden is steep: over 220 million people live with hypertension, with detection and follow-up rates particularly low among younger adults and in rural populations. 'Even people in their twenties and thirties are now showing signs of early hypertension,' says T.S. Srinath, senior consultant, cardiology, SIMS Hospital, Chennai. 'But they don't get tested until symptoms appear, often too late.' Therefore, doctors are pointing to an underused yet effective pair of tools -- two minutes of regular movement, and the two-minute walk test (2MWT). Movement as preventive care and diagnostic tool First, there's movement as medicine. Multiple studies -- including recent ones by the American Heart Association show that two-minute activity breaks taken every 30–60 minutes can significantly reduce average blood pressure and improve vascular health, particularly for desk-bound adults. 'Physiology is cumulative,' explains Surya Prakash S., consultant, Institute of Cardiac Sciences, SRM Global Hospitals. 'Even just two minutes of walking every hour helps maintain blood flow, prevents arterial stiffness and reduces stress hormones, all of which matter in long-term BP control.' Simple interventions, like walking during phone calls, stair use, or pacing while watching TV -- can yield benefits over time. For a country with growing rates of sedentary behaviour, this offers a low-cost and scalable solution. Then comes the two-minute walk test -- a short submaximal exercise assessment initially used to gauge endurance in elderly or cardiac patients. Today, clinicians are repurposing it to spot early signs of cardiovascular dysfunction, especially in asymptomatic or newly-diagnosed hypertensive individuals. 'We check how much the blood pressure rises, how fast heart rate recovers, and whether the person reports symptoms like fatigue, dizziness, or breathlessness,' explains Madan Mohan B., Interventional Cardiologist at MGM Malar Hospital, Chennai. 'A systolic jump over 20 mm Hg or a delayed drop in heart rate after exercise signals poor autonomic control and vascular stress, both early signs of future risk.' According to guidelines, a heart rate recovery of less than 12 bpm in one minute is associated with higher mortality and cardiovascular events. Call for integrating 2MWT in routine tests Prakash Ayyadurai, consultant, orthopaedics & sports medicine, explains his clinical experiences in using the 2MWT to uncover exercise intolerance in patients who otherwise present normal resting vitals. 'A lot of people pass routine tests but struggle when asked to walk even two minutes,' he says. 'They show palpitations, fatigue, or sweat profusely. That exertion response can reveal hidden prehypertension or vascular rigidity.' Similarly, Dr. Srinath notes that in patients with mild or labile hypertension, the 2MWT is useful not only for screening but also for monitoring treatment outcomes. 'If BP response improves and heart rate normalises faster over time, it tells us the patient is improving.' Doctors emphasise that India must integrate simple physical activity-based screenings into routine health checks -- especially in primary care and semi-urban areas where access to advanced diagnostics is limited. 'Two minutes of walking can be far more revealing than sitting in a chair for a BP reading,' says Dr. Surya Prakash. 'The test costs nothing, requires no machines, and adds meaningful insight into cardiovascular fitness.' Even if not diagnostic, the test helps triage patients into low, moderate, and high-risk groups for further testing like ambulatory BP monitoring, echocardiography, or stress ECG. Lifestyle, risk and the way forward While WHO data and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) surveys show India's hypertension burden is high, doctors say the face of the condition is changing .'Young people are stressed, immobile, and consuming too much sodium and processed food,' says Dr. Srinath. 'But many still think hypertension is a disease of the elderly.' Still, not all trends are bleak. Dr. Ayyadurai sees a growing interest in preventive fitness among urban youth. 'In the last five years, I've seen more 20- and 30-year-olds coming in not with problems, but to learn how to stay fit. It's an encouraging sign,' he said. From preventing vascular strain through micro-movement to detecting hidden dysfunction through the 2MWT, these short interventions are fast becoming powerful tools in preventive care.
Time of India
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
NYT Mini Crossword July 8 answers: Today's hints and full word list
The New York Times Mini Crossword for July 8, 2025, is short, fun, and just tricky enough to slow you down. If you're stuck on a word or just need a nudge to finish, this quick guide gives you all the first-letter hints and final answers to help wrap it up. NYT Mini Crossword July 8 Across hints 1A. Concern for dentists and nuclear physicists – D 6A. Get married in a hurry – E 7A. The world's all-time best-selling book – B 8A. Doughnut's shape, mathematically – T 9A. Secret collection – S NYT Mini Crossword July 8 Down hints 1D. "A Lannister always pays his ___" – D 2D. Poet T.S. ___ – E 3D. Hisser with a hood – C 4D. Best-possible test grade – A 5D. "Oof, that makes me cringe!" – Y NYT Mini Crossword July 8 answers Across: 1A. DECAY 6A. ELOPE 7A. BIBLE 8A. TORUS 9A. STASH Down: 1D. DEBTS 2D. ELIOT 3D. COBRA 4D. A PLUS 5D. YIKES If you managed to solve a few but got stuck on the rest, don't worry, even a mini crossword can feel massive on busy mornings. Come back tomorrow for more hints, tips, and answers to keep your daily streak alive.
The Hindu
05-07-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Kerala to launch antibody surveillance studies on Nipah virus
Nipah virus (NiV) has surfaced in Kerala yet again, making this the eighth appearance in as many years. Whether virus spillovers (single index case, with no secondary cases in the community), or outbreaks (spillover with subsequent cases), Kerala has primed its response to the virus, seamlessly managing early detection, limiting the transmission and successfully saving lives. However, in all these encounters with NiV, researchers have identified several missing links or knowledge gaps. These pertain to the exact virus spillover mechanism from bats ( the fruit bats of the Pteropus species are the proven natural reservoir hosts of NiV) to humans; the recurrence of the spillover events/outbreaks in a specific geographic belt in northern Kerala and how exactly human behaviour, land use and bat ecology interactions are facilitating the virus spillovers. 'We have toyed with several hypotheses regarding the spillover mechanism. Are direct spillovers possible in areas near bat colonies , such as through droplet transmission from bat secretions or poop? Can individuals be indulging in high-risk behaviours, such as consuming bat meat (evidence of NiV in internal organs of bats has been reported)?,' said T.S. Anish, a public health expert who heads the Kerala One Health Centre for Nipah Research and Resilience, Kozhikode. The possibility that NiV transmission to humans could be through fruits bitten by bats has remained conjecture at best because NiV has never been isolated in any fruit samples collected and tested during outbreak investigations in Kerala. NiV RNA has been detected in date palm sap in Bangladesh but live virus has never been isolated from any field samples. But the link between consumption of raw date palm sap in Bangladesh and human NiV infections is strongly supported by epidemiological and experimental evidence. Also, as NiV is an enveloped virus, its ability to remain infectious on a fruit in an outdoor environment is extremely fragile, said Dr. Anish Intermediate hosts? 'Our current thinking about NiV spillovers strongly leans to the fact that there is an indirect transmission route to humans, involving an indirect host. Ephrin B2, the main cell receptor used by NiV for infecting host cells is highly conserved in all mammals, which means that all animals like dogs or cattle or pigs could harbour the virus, as has been demonstrated in Malaysia and Bangladesh,' he pointed out. None of the animal samples sent so far to the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases in Bhopal have so far turned out to be NiV positive. However, it is also a fact that NiV research is relatively nascent and that the research institutions in the country, including the National Institute of Virology, are still in the process of developing antibody markers and testing assays specific to NiV. PVNT platform Thus, while Kerala's public health response against NiV infections has been effective, the development of a novel pseudovirus neutralization test (PVNT) platform, based on a Vesicular Stomatitis Virus (VSV) system at the State's Institute of Advanced Virology (IAV), Thonnakkal has opened up new research possibilities on Nipah. IAV has developed a novel way of generating non-infectious Nipah virus-like particles (VLPs) as well as pseudovirions in the laboratory, which mimic the wild type NiV. These engineered 'ghost viruses' carry most of the characteristics of the virus, including the NiV structural proteins G, F, and M, except their ability to replicate (because it lacks the viral genome). VLPs and pseudovirions have long been recognised as effective platforms for studying cell binding and entry kinetics of the virus. These VLPs and pseudovirions mimic viral entry but can only undergo a single round of infection and cannot replicate and reproduce infectious viruses, making them safe to handle in standard Biosafety Level 2 (BSL-2) facilities. PVNT-based serological survey 'We are proposing a pseudovirus neutralisation assay-based serological survey among potential intermediate animal hosts and high-risk human populations in areas of previous NiV spillovers, with the collaboration of various stakeholders, including the departments of Health, Animal Husbandry, Forests and wildlife. The proposal is to collect healthy domestic animal blood samples (cattle, pigs, goats, dogs and cats) and human samples from within a few km radius of Nipah hotspots,' E. Sreekumar, the Director of IAV, told The Hindu. Serum samples will be tested using the IAV's VSV-based PVNT assays. The assay measures the ability of IgG antibodies in human/animal serum to neutralise these pseudovirions, thereby preventing infection of target cells. Infectivity and neutralisation, is quantified by measuring the expression of a reporter gene incorporated into the pseudovirus genome Positive PVNT results will indicate the potential of those animal species as intermediary hosts and such samples will be further tested against live Nipah virus in a BSL-4 facility with the help of NIV, Pune. This study is expected to provide robust data on NiV seroprevalence in high-risk human and animal populations in Kerala and open the doors to the mystery of NiV disease spillover and transmission pattern in the State. Futuristically, the successful validation of serological data and its integration with geo-spatial analysis will enhance Kerala's diagnostic and surveillance capabilities for NiV, it is hoped
The Hindu
13-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
BJP MLA opposes Cauvery Aarti
BJP MLA T.S. Srivatsa criticised the State government's decision to conduct Cauvery Aarti on the banks of Cauvery by spending ₹92 crore. Speaking to reporters in Mysuru on Friday, Mr. Srivatsa questioned the need for the event when the government had no funds to repair roads. 'MLAs were begging for as little as ₹1 or ₹2 crore financial aid from the government for developmental works in their constituencies. In Mysuru, there is a need for funds for underground drainage (UGD),' Mr. Srivatsa said. But the Congress government wanted to organise the event to show it was also working for Hindutva,' he said. The amount of money proposed to be spent by the government for the Cauvery Aarti did not seem to be in response to the aspirations of the people, he said, pointing out that the farmers of the region had expressed their opposition to the proposed programme. He advised the government that keeping the river banks clean itself amounted to performing Aarti. He opposed the proposed move by the Mysuru district administration to introduce fast-track darshan at the Chamundeshwari Temple atop Chamundi Hills by charging ₹2,000. Alleging that the State government was trying to collect money from all possible sources, Mr. Srivatsa said the government should instead introduce steps to ensure that all the devotees could have quick darshan. 'How will you manage the queue if a large number of devotees turn up for the fast-track darshan,' he asked, describing it as an unscientific move. Howeve, he welcomed the move to ban the practice of issuing VIP passes for darshan.
The Hindu
10-06-2025
- The Hindu
School headmaster suspended over participation of POCSO case accused in school Praveshanolsavam
The manager of Fort High School has suspended school headmaster T.S. Pradeep Kumar from service pending an inquiry in the wake of participation of a Protection of Children from Sexual Offence (POCSO) case accused at the school Praveshanolsavam last week. The suspension order came into effect on Tuesday. The order said the incident hurt the reputation of the General Education department. A preliminary inquiry conducted by the Thiruvananthapuram deputy director of education had found that the headmaster's inattention had resulted in the participation of the POCSO case accused in the celebrations. As per the directions of the DDE, the headmaster had been temporarily suspended from service, it said. Senior Malayalam teacher R. Rajesh would discharge the responsibilities of the headmaster. Minister for General Education V. Sivankutty had on Monday said that the school manager had been directed to take action in the case.
