After angioplasty, 2 habits changed his life: Music critic reveals how health improved after getting stents

Music critic Karthik Srinivasan recently had a heart scare. The communications professional has now shared his health journey. Karthik is the founder of ItwoFS, which tracks plagiarism in Indian film music.

In his column for The Times of India, Srinivasan mentions that, in 2011, he experienced mild chest discomfort. But, his angiogram showed no blockage.

In 2025, 14 years later, he again felt chest pain while running. He was shocked to discover two arterial blocks. He underwent angioplasty, during which two stents were inserted.

The incident deeply affected him, especially because he had always maintained a disciplined lifestyle. Running 5 km every day, sleeping early, avoiding junk food, not smoking, and living with minimal stress became a part of his life after he became self-employed in 2018.

His cardiologist told him to be grateful that his running habit had helped detect the issue before it turned into a heart attack. Treating it as a second chance at life, Karthik resumed running gradually.

Karthik gave up ultra-processed food and limited eating out. He now believes that home-cooked food and mindfulness are the real luxuries of life. Meanwhile, he has identified two habits that changed his life.

Deep breathing twice a day

Karthik Srinivasan shared that despite sleeping early, he always struggled with poor sleep quality. Over the years, his smartwatch readings showed irregular sleep patterns.

Several attempts, from early dinners to soothing music and sleep apps, gave inconsistent results. After his angioplasty, he started doing deep breathing exercises twice a day for 15 minutes. He does it once in the morning and again before bed.

The change, especially at night, greatly improved his sleep. His smartwatch now records scores above 85, often crossing 90. He now feels more rested, despite experiencing frequent dreams. He later learned that slow breathing calms the nervous system, reduces stress and promotes deep, restorative sleep.

Here's a popular deep-breathing exercise video:

250 steps every hour

According to Karthik, sitting for long hours, even with daily 5 km runs, made his lifestyle sedentary. Earlier, he ignored smartwatch movement alerts, believing his runs were enough.

After realising the risks, he installed an app that makes him walk 250 steps every hour before clearing the alert. His daily runs are now a bonus, not a replacement for regular movement.

“I don't want 'sitting is the new smoking' to haunt me again,” he wrote.