On Friday, renowned fashion designer Rohit Bal, who Time Magazine had labelled ‘India's Master of fabric and fantasy’ in 1996, passed away at the age of 63. He was hospitalised in the ICU a week before his final appearance in October. He presented his last collection Kaaynaat: A Bloom in the Universe as a part of the FDCI x Lakme Fashion Week. This was his last show.

Bal has been suffering from a cardiac disease known as dilated cardiomyopathy for quite some time. It is a condition in which the heart muscle weakens and grows, rendering it incapable of effectively pumping blood to the body's other organs.

According to news sources, he died after being admitted to the hospital on Friday night.

Bal had an angioplasty in 2010 after suffering a heart attack. He was very unwell when he was admitted to the intensive care unit at Medanta Hospital in Gurugram in November 2023. According to news reports, he was also on ventilator support.

What exactly is the rare condition?

Dilated cardiomyopathy is defined by an enlarged heart chamber, which weakens the heart muscle. It is usually caused by long-term substance usage, viral infections, or hereditary diseases.

Young athletes are more likely to develop hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a condition in which the heart muscle enlarges and blocks blood flow. Although rare, restrictive cardiomyopathy occurs when the heart muscle stiffens and loses suppleness, making it difficult for the heart to pump blood.

How can someone know they have it?

Cardiomyopathy symptoms include fatigue, dyspnoea, limb oedema, and irregular heartbeat. Imaging studies, such as echocardiograms, are typically used to make the diagnosis, with genetic testing being used in rare circumstances.

Depending on the type and severity, treatment options may include medication, lifestyle changes, or surgery.

Types of Cardiomyopathy

Dilated Cardiomyopathy: The most frequent variety, causes the heart chambers to weaken and enlarge, resulting in reduced pumping efficacy. Long-term high blood pressure, virus infections, alcohol misuse, and genetic predisposition can all exacerbate the problem.

Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: The thickening of the heart muscle in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which is typically hereditary, can compromise blood flow and raise the risk of arrhythmias.

It can occasionally induce sudden cardiac arrest, which is more common in young athletes.

Restrictive Cardiomyopathy is a less frequent type of cardiomyopathy in which the heart muscle stiffens and loses flexibility, making it difficult for the heart to pump blood. It could potentially be related to disorders like amyloidosis or hemochromatosis.

How Do You Deal With It?

Diagnosis is used to make the diagnosis. Physical tests and imaging procedures, such as echocardiograms, as well as genetic testing in rare circumstances, are utilised.

Depending on the type and severity of the problem, treatment options may include lifestyle changes (such as diet and exercise), medications (such as beta-blockers and ACE inhibitors), and, in severe situations, surgery (such as implanted devices or heart transplants).

How Does This Affect Daily Life?

Cardiomyopathy management also requires changes in lifestyle, following medicines and regular check-ups to the doctor. Patients are often advised to maintain open channels of communication with medical experts and to be knowledgeable about their illnesses.

The rains arrive, and suddenly everyone around you seems to be sniffling, coughing, or curled up under blankets with a fever. But is it dengue, Covid, the flu, or just the common cold? That is where the confusion begins. The symptoms often overlap, leaving most of us second-guessing whether we need paracetamol, a Covid test, or to run to the nearest pathology lab for a platelet count.

These illnesses show up together during seasonal changes and can look deceptively similar. But knowing their distinct signs helps people act quickly and avoid complications.

With experts, we break it down for you to understand each viral infection.

Dengue

If there is one thing the Aedes aegypti mosquito thrives in, it is damp weather. Dengue usually makes its entrance with a sudden high fever that seems to come out of nowhere. Add in an intense headache (often behind the eyes), severe muscle and joint pain, nausea, and a rash, and you have got all the symptoms of dengue.

“Dengue does not usually cause cough or cold-like symptoms, which makes it a bit easier to identify,” says Dr P Venkata Krishnan, Senior Consultant, Internal Medicine, Artemis Hospitals. “What makes dengue dangerous is its tendency to lower platelet counts, leading to bleeding gums or nosebleeds in some patients. Timely testing is essential.”

Covid-19

We may no longer be obsessively sanitising everything, but Covid has not really gone away. Its symptoms can be mild or severe, often starting with fever, a dry cough, sore throat, and a now-infamous loss of smell or taste. Some people also report fatigue, diarrhoea, or even skin rashes.

Dr Manjusha Agarwal, Senior Consultant Internal Medicine, Gleneagles Hospital Parel Mumbai, points out, “Breathing difficulty is a red flag with Covid. If you experience that, do not delay medical help.”

Another clue? Covid symptoms tend to linger longer than a cold and may worsen quickly, especially in older adults or those with health conditions. If you have been near someone who tested positive and then come down with flu-like signs, it is time to get tested.

Flu

The flu is like the severe version of the common cold. Caused by influenza viruses, it spreads rapidly through coughs and sneezes. The symptoms? A sudden fever, chills, bone-deep, cough, sore throat, and crushing fatigue that can flatten you for a week.

“The flu typically feels more severe than a cold,” says Dr Krishnan. “People often underestimate it, but it can lead to serious complications in vulnerable groups.”

Unlike dengue, the flu rarely brings rashes or bleeding issues. And unlike Covid, it does not usually cause loss of taste or smell. But the exhaustion it brings can make binge-watching your favourite show feel like climbing a mountain.

The Common Cold

Finally, the mildest of the lot: the common cold. Usually sparked by rhinoviruses, it is the one that makes you sneeze endlessly, wrestle with a runny or blocked nose, and battle a sore throat. Fever, if it shows up at all, is low-grade.

Dr Agarwal explains, “A cold does not usually cause severe body pain or high fever, and the symptoms often clear up within five to seven days.” If you are still able to go about your day, it is probably just a cold.

When to Call the Doctor

Do not play guessing games with your health. If your fever lasts more than three days, if you struggle to breathe, vomit persistently, or notice blood or unusual bruises, it is time to head to the doctor. “Self-medication, especially with antibiotics, is not advisable. Only proper medical tests can confirm what’s really going on,” stresses Dr Krishnan.

Prevention Is Still the Best Medicine

While you cannot completely escape viral season, you can reduce your risk with some smart moves:

• Wear long sleeves and use mosquito repellents to dodge dengue.
• Keep up with Covid and flu vaccinations.
• Practise good hygiene and mask up in crowded places.
• Avoid close contact with anyone visibly sick.
• Eat well, hydrate, and rest enough to keep your immunity strong.

“Early recognition and timely consultation improve recovery and quality of life,” adds Dr Agarwal. “Do not wait for symptoms to get worse. Act fast.” Whether it is the mosquito-borne misery of dengue, the unpredictable threat of Covid, the knockout punch of the flu, or the sneezes of a common cold, each viral visitor has its own telltale signs.

Finding your keys, remembering a name, or forgetting what you needed at the store happens to everyone. But while it's normal to be forgetful sometimes, it's also important to take care of your memory.

When you're about to learn something new, sleep is a crucial first step. Scientists have found that sleep before you learn actually prepares your brain to take in new information. Without enough sleep, your ability to learn new things can drop by as much as 40%.

This is because a lack of sleep affects a part of the brain called the hippocampus, which is essential for making new memories.

How Your Brain Works to Store Memories During Sleep

After you've learned something, sleep is even more important. When you first form a memory, it's very fragile. Your brain uses sleep as a special time to go back through recent memories and decide which ones to keep.

During the deep stages of sleep, memories become more stable and firm. Research has even shown that memories for skills, like playing a song on the piano, can actually get better while you're asleep. After deep sleep, REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep—the stage where you dream—helps to link related memories together in new and unexpected ways. This is why a full night of sleep can help with problem-solving. REM sleep also helps you process and reduce the intensity of emotional memories.

Link Between Aging, Sleep, and Memory

It's a well-known fact that our sleep patterns change as we get older. Unfortunately, the deep sleep that is so important for strengthening memories starts to decline in our late 30s. A study found that adults over the age of 60 had a 70% loss of deep sleep compared to young adults (ages 18-25). This reduction in deep sleep was directly linked to having a harder time remembering things the next day.

Scientists are now looking into ways to improve deep sleep in older people. Since there are few medical treatments for memory problems in old age, improving sleep could be a very promising way to help people hold onto their memories as they get older. Ultimately, whether you are a student or an older adult, it's important to know that the sleep you get after you study is just as vital as the sleep you get before you study. When it comes to sleep and memory, you get very little benefit from cutting corners.

Some Other Ways To Improve Your Memory

Here are some simple ways you can keep your brain health in check.

Be Active Every Day

Exercise gets blood flowing to your entire body, including your brain. This can help keep your memory sharp. Try to get at least 150 minutes of moderate activity, like walking fast, each week. Even a few 10-minute walks a day can help.

Keep Your Mind Busy

Just like exercise strengthens your body, mental activities keep your brain strong. To help prevent memory loss, try things like reading, doing puzzles, playing games, or learning a new skill or musical instrument.

Spend Time with Others

Being social can help you avoid stress and depression, both of which can lead to memory loss. Make an effort to spend time with friends and family, especially if you live alone.

Stay Organized

When things are messy, it's easy to forget. Use a notebook, calendar, or digital planner to keep track of tasks and appointments. To help remember things, you can repeat them out loud as you write them down. Keep important items like your keys and wallet in the same spot so you can always find them.

Get Enough Sleep

Not getting enough sleep can be linked to memory loss. Aim to get 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night on a regular basis. If snoring or restless sleep is an issue, talk to your doctor, as it could be a sign of a sleep problem.

Eat Healthy Foods

A healthy diet is good for your brain. Make sure to eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Also, choose lean proteins like fish and beans. Be mindful of how much alcohol you drink, as too much can cause confusion and memory loss.

Manage Health Problems

Follow your doctor's advice for managing any long-term health issues like high blood pressure, diabetes, or depression. Taking good care of your body can help you take better care of your memory. It's also a good idea to talk to your doctor about any medicines you take, as some can affect your memory.

The phrase, “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” may hold more truth than we led on. Women are always thought of as the less aggressive, more forgiving and expected to be more rational than men. However, how much of that is a biological factor and how much of it is societal expectation?

While many people believe women are more forgiving, the results of many studies suggest otherwise. This 1997 research, which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) USA, compared men and women to see if there were differences in how they forgive. The study looked at how forgiving people are in general, as well as how they forgive themselves, others, and situations they can’t control.

Why Women Hold More Grudges

The study, which included 625 people (mostly women), found that men were more forgiving overall than women. Men also showed a greater willingness to move past feelings of unforgiveness. However, when it came to the more positive aspects of forgiveness, like being accepting and compassionate, there was no major difference between the genders.

Both men and women in the study showed similar emotional patterns related to forgiveness. Things like negative emotions, anxiety, and holding in anger were all linked to being less forgiving. On the other hand, positive emotions were linked to being more forgiving. An interesting difference was seen with anxiety control: for women, controlling their anxiety was linked to being less forgiving, but for men, it was linked to being more forgiving.

How Emotions and Gender Affect Forgiveness

The study found that a person's gender can change the way certain emotions are connected to forgiveness. This was especially true for forgiving oneself and forgiving situations that are out of one's control. Forgiveness of others, however, was not significantly affected by these gender differences. This suggests that while everyone's emotions play a role in forgiveness, gender can influence how those emotions shape our ability to let go of certain types of hurt.

Are Men More Forgiving Than Women?

Another 2021 study, published in the Journal of Religion and Health, on average, men were more forgiving than women, especially when it came to overcoming feelings of unforgiveness toward themselves and situations they couldn't control. However, there was no significant difference in the more positive aspects of forgiveness, such as a compassionate mindset.

• The research also found a link between emotions and forgiveness for both genders:
• Negative emotions, like sadness, anxiety, and anger, made it harder for people to be forgiving.
• Positive emotions were associated with being more forgiving.

An interesting finding was how controlling emotions affected men and women differently. For women, trying to control their anxiety was linked to being less forgiving. For men, controlling their anxiety was actually linked to being more forgiving, particularly of themselves and difficult situations.

How Does Serotonin Affect Your Brain?

According to a study published in the Biological Psychiatry, the study showed that when serotonin was low, the connection between two key brain areas became weaker. To find this, researchers adjusted the diets of healthy volunteers to lower their serotonin levels. Using an fMRI brain scan, they observed how the volunteers' brains reacted to faces showing angry, sad, or neutral expressions. They found that these 2 areas of the brain became weak,

• The amygdala, which is the emotional part of the brain that creates feelings of anger.
• The prefrontal cortex, which is the part that helps us regulate and control our emotions.
• This suggests that with low serotonin, it's harder for the prefrontal cortex to manage the anger signals coming from the amygdala. This can make a person more likely to act aggressively.

Why Some People Are More Prone to Aggression

The researchers also gave the volunteers a personality test to see who had a natural tendency toward aggression. They found that in these individuals, the link between the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex was even weaker when serotonin was low. This means that people who are already more prone to aggression are the most sensitive to drops in serotonin, which makes it even harder for them to control their angry feelings.

These findings highlight that while everyone's emotions play a role in forgiveness, gender can influence how those emotions shape a person's ability to let go of certain types of hurt.