Sunday, October 7, 2012

Healthy Heart Hints

Every so often we get these lists of things we should and should not do in order to keep ourselves healthy.  This list is purported to be from a heart specialist in Bangalore India.  Dr Hrudayalaya's name is all over the net, so perhaps there is some truth to this list.  As always with these things, take from it what you will, I found a grain of truth in most of what was written and nothing struck me as being harmful.

Thanks to Velma go for this list of healthy hints.


Ok, doctors, is this  true?
Because I Care for you...

Dr.Devi  Shetty, Hrudayalaya
(Heart  Specialist)  Bangalore

A chat  with Dr..Devi Shetty, Narayana Hrudayalaya(Heart Specialist)  Bangalore was arranged by WIPRO for its employees The transcript  of the chat is given below.
It is useful for everyone.


Q: What are the thumb rules for a layman to  take care of his heart?
Ans:
1. Diet - Less of carbohydrate, more of  protein, less oil
2. Exercise - Half an hour's walk, at least  five days a week; avoid lifts and avoid sitting for a  longtime
3. Quit smoking
4. Control weight
5. Control  blood pressure and sugar

Q:  Is eating fish good for the heart ?
Ans: Yes

Q:  It's still a grave shock to hear that some apparently healthy  person
gets a cardiac arrest. How do we understand it in  perspective?

Ans: This is  called silent attack; that is why we recommend everyone past the  age of 30 to undergo routine health checkups.

Q: Are heart diseases  hereditary?
Ans:  Yes

Q: What are the ways  in which the heart is stressed? What practices do you suggest to  de-stress?
Ans: Change your  attitude towards life. Do not look for perfection in everything in  life.

Q: Is walking  better than jogging or is more intensive exercise required to keep  a healthy heart?
Ans: Walking  is better than jogging since jogging leads to early fatigue and  injury to joints

Q: You  have done so much for the poor and needy. What has inspired you to  do so?
Ans: Mother Theresa , who was my patient..

Q: Can people with low blood pressure suffer heart  diseases?
Ans: Extremely  rare.

Q: Does cholesterol  accumulates right from an early age
(I'm currently only 22) or  do you have to worry about it only after you are above 30 years of  age?
Ans: Cholesterol  accumulates from  childhood.

Q: How do irregular eating habits affect  the heart ?
Ans: You tend to  eat junk food when the habits are irregular and your body's enzyme  release for digestion gets confused.

Q: How can I control cholesterol content without  using medicines?
Ans: Control  diet, walk and eat walnut.

Q: Which is the best and worst food for the  heart?
Ans: Fruits and vegetables are the best and the  worst is oil.

Q: Which oil is  better - groundnut, sunflower, olive?
Ans: All oils are bad .

Q: What is the routine checkup one  should go through? Is there any specific test?
Ans: Routine blood test to ensure sugar, cholesterol is  ok. Check BP, Treadmill test after an echo.

Q: What are the first aid steps to be  taken on a heart attack?
Ans:  Help the person into a sleeping position , place an aspirin tablet  under the tongue with a sorbitrate tablet if available, and rush  him to a coronary care unit since the maximum casualty takes place  within the first hour..

Q: How do you differentiate between pain caused by  a heart attack and that caused due to gastric trouble?
Ans: Extremely difficult without  ECG.

Q: What is the main  cause of a steep increase in heart problems amongst youngsters? I  see people of about 30-40 yrs of age having heart attacks and  serious heart problems.
Ans:  Increased awareness has increased incidents. Also, sedentary  lifestyles, smoking, junk food, lack of exercise in a country  where people are genetically three times more vulnerable for heart  attacks than Europeans and Americans.

Q: Is it possible for a person to have BP outside  the normal range of 120/80 and yet be perfectly  healthy?
Ans: Yes.

Q: Marriages within close relatives  can lead to heart problems for the child. Is it true?
Ans : Yes, co-sanguinity leads to  congenital abnormalities and you may not have a software engineer  as a child

Q: Many of us  have an irregular daily routine and many a times we have to stay  late nights in office. Does this affect our heart ? What  precautions would you recommend?
Ans : When you are young, nature protects you against  all these irregularities. However, as you grow older, respect  the biological clock.

Q: Will taking anti-hypertensive drugs cause some  other complications (short / long term)?
Ans : Yes, most drugs have some side effects. However,  modern anti-hypertensive drugs are extremely safe.

Q: Will consuming more coffee/tea  lead to heart attacks?
Ans :  No.

Q: Are asthma  patients more prone to heart disease?
Ans : No.

Q:  How would you define junk food?
Ans : Fried food like Kentucky , McDonalds ,  samosas, and even masala dosas.

Q: You mentioned that Indians are three times more  vulnerable. What is the reason for this, as Europeans and  Americans also eat a lot of junk food?
Ans: Every race is vulnerable to some disease and  unfortunately, Indians are vulnerable for the most expensive  disease.

Q: Does  consuming bananas help reduce hypertension?
Ans : No.

Q:  Can a person help himself during a heart attack (Because we see a  lot of forwarded emails on this)?
Ans : Yes. Lie down comfortably and put an aspirin  tablet of any description under the tongue and ask someone to take  you to the nearest coronary care unit without any delay and do not  wait for the ambulance since most of the time, the ambulance does  not turn up.

Q: Do, in  any way, low white blood cells and low hemoglobin count lead to  heart problems?
Ans : No. But  it is ideal to have normal hemoglobin level to increase your  exercise capacity.

Q:  Sometimes, due to the hectic schedule we are not able to exercise.  So, does walking while doing daily chores at home or climbing the  stairs in the house, work as a substitute for  exercise?
Ans : Certainly.  Avoid sitting continuously for more than half an hour and even the  act of getting out of the chair and going to another chair and  sitting helps a lot.

Q:  Is there a relation between heart problems and blood  sugar?
Ans: Yes. A strong  relationship since diabetics are more vulnerable to heart attacks  than non-diabetics.

Qn:  What are the things one needs to take care of after a heart  operation?

Ans : Diet,  exercise, drugs on time , Control cho lesterol, BP,  weight.

Q: Are people  working on night shifts more vulnerable to heart disease when  compared to day shift workers?
Ans : No.

Q:  What are the modern anti-hypertensive drugs?
Ans : There are hundreds of drugs and  your doctor will chose the right combination for your problem, but  my suggestion is to avoid the drugs and go for natural ways of  controlling blood pressure by walk, diet to
reduce weight and  changing attitudes towards lifestyles.

Q: Does dispirin or similar headache pills increase  the risk of heart attacks?
Ans : No.

Q:  Why is the rate of heart attacks more in men than in  women?
Ans : Nature protects  women till the age of 45. (Present Global census show that the  Percentage of heart disease in women has increased than in men  )

Qn: How can one keep  the heart in a good condition?
Ans : Eat a healthy diet, avoid junk food, exercise  everyday, do not smoke and, go for health checkup s if you are  past the age of 30 ( once in six months recommended)  ....




JUST TO  REMIND YOU TO BE MORE CAREFUL

Answer the  phone by LEFT ear

Do not drink  coffee TWICE a day

Do not take  pills with COOL water

Do not have  HUGE meals after 5pm

Reduce the  amount of TEA you consume

Reduce the  amount of OILY food you consume

Drink  more WATER in the morning, less at night

Keep your  distance from hand phone CHARGERS

Do not use  headphones/earphone for LONG period of time

Best sleeping  time is from 10pm at night to 5am in the  morning

Do not lie  down immediately after taking medicine before  sleeping

When cell strength is down to the LAST grid/bar, do not answer the phone as the  radiation is 1000 times

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