Q: I underwent angiography three years back. I was told by the cardiologist that there were no blocks in my heart and my heart was as good as a 25 years old! At that time I was 51 years old and had just developed type II diabetes. My sugar is in control, I am on anti-hypertensive drugs and also on drugs for cholesterol reduction. My question is with this background, what is the time frame to develop blockages in the arteries? I exercise and practice yoga regularly.

A:I don't think we have any mathematical scale on which we can define the timeframe for development of blockage. We all know, Churchill smoked till the age of 90 but he never developed cancer and there are people who have never smoked and they have fallen victim to cancers. Similarly there are lot of people who are diabetic, hypertensives, with high cholesterol level, who never developed blockages of the arteries of the heart and vice-e-versa is true. However, if you will keep your sugar and cholesterol under check and you exercise and practice yoga regular then I am sure, there is no reason, why you should develop the blockage and if it ever comes then we will talk about it but do not anticipate things because it may add another risk factor to your profile - that of stress.