- Dr.Mani Sivasubramanian

I'm a heart surgeon. Each day as I leave home, the dare-devil inside me is all agog. Not in anticipation of the thrill of opening up someone's heart to fix it, but the even more exciting, scary and risky adventure many of us live out every morn and eve - driving to work!

I back out of my garage narrowly missing that reckless young biker; and navigate past countless pot-holes, open sewer vents, suddenly veering bicyclists and seemingly maniac drivers seated behind their massive Tata Sumo's as I wend my slow, endless way to work.

Medical textbooks list many risk factors for heart disease. Surprisingly, none mention driving a car !

Stress

We all face it. Most of us handle it well. But our body suffers its aftermath. The damage is seen across organ systems, especially on the heart.

As anyone who drives a car in a crowded metropolis will testify, many things create stress:

- fear of an accident
- reckless driving of others on the road
- the high noise levels, of roaring engines and blaring horns
- poor road conditions
- air pollution, with trucks belching out thick, foul smoke
- the interminable waits at traffic signals
- the driver ahead who seems hell-bent on slowing you down
- and the driver behind who is equally determined to overtake you

All this and more can stress you out. And harm your heart and health.

How does stress injure your heart ?

Stress, both physical and mental, releases hormones like adrenaline, steroids and norepinephrine. The effect of these chemicals is to:

- speed up your heart
- raise your blood pressure
- narrow blood vessels, including the arteries to your heart
- increase the levels of lipids and cholesterol in blood

Add to this the common habits of over-stressed individuals - smoking and coffee drinking - and you have a recipe for disaster.

How to control stress ?

Many tomes have been written about stress control. Art Buchwald once wrote in his column that the sweetest-tempered man becomes a savage when he gets behind the wheel. It's true.

Here are a few tips to prevent becoming over-stressed while driving:

1. Don't drive when you are very tired or haven't had enough sleep
2. Don't let the other driver's attitude or behavior get to you
3. Think relaxing thoughts and breathe deeply while you drive
4. Listen to soothing music - but don't nod off to sleep !
5. Don't speed. The faster you drive, the quicker you need to react, and this imposes added stress
6. Try and avoid, if possible, driving at peak traffic hours. Leaving home just a few minutes earlier could help avoid the rush hour crush.
7. Keep smiling !

As I coast carefully through the last few yards to my parking space, taking care not to bury my wheels into the muddy bog on one side or sink them into the newly dug trench on the other, I notice my rapid heartbeat, the strong pulse pounding in my neck, the tension in my arms and back. And wonder, for the n'th time why I don't simply hire a car driver.

As ever, the stock answer pops into my head:
"What, and miss all the fun ?!"
Smiling to myself, I enter the operating room, feeling almost relieved that all I have to do now is heart surgery - not more driving !