Take Care of Your Heart

A chat with Dr.Devi Shetty, Narayana Hrudayalaya (Heart Specialist) Bangalore was arranged by WIPRO for its employees .    Qn: 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. Qn: 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 longti me 3. Quit smoking 4. Control weight 5. Control blood pressure and sugar Qn: Which is the best and worst food for the heart?  Ans: Fruits and vegetables are the best and the worst is oil.  Qn: Which oil is better - groundnut, sunflower, olive? Ans: All oils are bad . Qn: Does consuming bananas help reduce hypertension? Ans : No. Qn: Is eating non-veg food (fish) good for the heart? Ans: No  Qn: Will consuming more coffee/tea lead to heart attacks? Ans : No. Qn: 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.  Qn: How would you define junk food? Ans : Fried food like Kentucky , McDonalds , samosas,Haldirams, Gardens and even masala dosas. Qn: What is the main cause of a steep increase in heart problems amongst youngsters?  Ans:  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. Qn: 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.   Qn: 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  Qn: 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.   Qn: Can yoga prevent heart ailments? Ans: Yoga helps.  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 if you are past the age of 30 ( once in six months recommended) .... Qn: 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.    Qn: How do you differentiate between pain caused by a heart attack and that caused due to gastric trouble? Ans: Extremely difficult without ECG. Qn: Is it possible for a person to have BP outside the normal range of 120/80 and yet be perfectly healthy? Ans: Yes. Qn: 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.   Qn: Why is the rate of heart attacks more in men than in women? Ans : Nature protects women till the age of 45. Qn: 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.  Qn: 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.. Qn: How can I control cholesterol content without using medicines? Ans: Control diet, walk and eat walnut.  Qn: 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.  Qn: Does headache pills increase the risk of heart attacks? Ans : No.  Qn: 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. Qn: 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. Qn: Are asthma patients more prone to heart disease? Ans : No. Qn: 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. Qn: 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 Qn: 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 cholesterol, BP, weight..