"Heart"


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

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Qn: What are the five 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
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Qn: Is eating non-veg food (fish) good  for the heart?

Ans: No
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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.
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Qn: Are heart diseases hereditary?

Ans: Yes
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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.  
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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 .
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Qn: You have done so much for the poor and needy. What has inspired you to do so?

Ans: Mother Theresa, who was my patient.
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Qn: Can people with low blood pressure suffer heart diseases?

Ans: Extremely rare
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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.
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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.
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Qn: How can I control cholesterol content without using medicines?

Ans: Control diet, walk and eat walnut.
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Qn: Can yoga prevent heart ailments?

Ans: Yoga helps.
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Qn: Which is the best and worst food for the heart?

Ans: Best food is fruits worst are oil.
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Qn: Which oil is better - gingili, groundnut, sunflower, saffola, olive?

Ans: All oils are bad; the so-called best oil company has the largest marketing budget.
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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.
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Qn: What are the first aid steps to be taken on a heart attack?

Ans: Help the person into a sleeping position, put 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.
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Qn: How do you differentiate between pain caused by a heart attack and that caused due to  gastric trouble?

Ans: Extremely difficult without  ECG.
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Qn: 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, edentary 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.  
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Qn: Is it possible for a person to  have BP outside the normal range of 120/80 and yet be perfectly healthy?

Ans: Yes.
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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
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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.
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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.
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Qn: Will consuming more coffee/tea  lead to heart attacks?

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

Ans : No.
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Qn: How would you define junk food?

Ans : Fried food like Kentucky ,  McDonalds, samosas, and even masala dosas.
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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.
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Qn: Does consuming bananas help reduce  hypertension?

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

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

Ans : No.
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Qn: Why is the rate of heart attacks  more in men than in women?

Ans : Nature protects women till  the age of 45.
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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 a health checkup if you  are past the age of 30 for at least once in two yrs. And work very hardand Enjoy  urLife...
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