1. What are the thumb rules for a layman to take care of his or her heart?
Diet – Less of carbohydrate, more of protein, less oil
Exercise – Half an hour’s walk, at least five days a week; avoid lifts and avoid sitting for a longtime
Quit smoking
Control weight
Control BP – Blood pressure and Sugar
2. It’s still a great shock to hear that some apparently healthy person gets a cardiac arrest. How do we understand it in perspective?
This is called silent attack. That is why we recommend everyone past the age of 30 to undergo routine health checkups.
3. Are heart diseases hereditary?
Yes
4. What are the ways in which the heart is stressed? What practices do you suggest to de-stress it?
Change your attitude towards life. Do not look for perfection in everything in life.
5. Is walking better than jogging or is more intensive exercise required to keep a healthy heart?
Walking is better than jogging, since jogging leads to early fatigue and injury to joints.
6. Can people with low blood pressure suffer heart diseases?
Extremely rare.
7. Does cholesterol accumulate right from an early age, or do you have to worry about it only after you are above 30 years of age?
Cholesterol accumulates from childhood.
8. How do irregular eating habits affect the heart?
You tend to eat junk food when the habits are irregular and your body’s enzyme release for digestion gets confused.
9. can I control cholesterol content without using medicines?
Control diet, walk and eat walnut.
10. Which is the best and worst food for the heart?
Fruits and vegetables are the best and oils the worst.
11. Which oil is better – groundnut, sunflower, olive?
All oils are bad.
12. What is the routine checkup one should go through? Is there any specific test?
Routine blood test to ensure sugar, cholesterol is okay. Check BP, Treadmill test after an echo.
13. What are the first aid steps to be taken on a heart attack?
Help the person into a sleeping position, place an aspirin tablet under the tongue with a sorbitrate tablet if available, and rush him or her to a coronary care unit, since the maximum casualty takes place within the first hour.
14. How do you differentiate between pain caused by a heart attack and that caused due to gastric trouble?
Extremely difficult without ECG.
15. What is the main cause of a steep increase in heart problems amongst youngsters? I see people of about 30-40 years of age having heart attacks and serious heart problems.
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.
16. Is it possible for a person to have BP outside the normal range of 120/80 and yet be perfectly healthy?
Yes.
17. Marriages within close relatives can lead to heart problems for the child. Is it true?
Yes, co-sanguinity leads to congenital abnormalities and you may NOT have a software engineer as a child.
18. 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?
When you are young, nature protects you against all these irregularities. However, as you grow older, respect the biological clock.
19. Will taking anti-hypertensive drugs cause some other complications (short/long term)?
Yes, most drugs have some side effects. However, modern anti-hypertensive drugs are extremely safe.
20. Will consuming more coffee/tea lead to heart attacks?
No.
21. Are asthma patients more prone to heart disease?
No.
22. Does consuming bananas help reduce hypertension?
No.
23. 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?
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.
24. Is there a relation between heart problems and blood sugar?
Yes. A strong relationship since diabetics are more vulnerable to heart attacks than non-diabetics.
25. Are people working on night shifts more vulnerable to heart disease when compared to day shift workers?
No.
26. What are the modern anti-hypertensive drugs?
There are hundreds of drugs and your doctor will choose 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.
27. Does aspirin or similar headache pills increase the risk of heart attacks?
No.
28. Why is the rate of heart attacks more in men than in women?
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)
29. How can one keep the heart in a good condition?
Eat a healthy diet, avoid junk food, exercise every day, do not smoke and, go for health checkups if you are past the age of 30 (once in six months recommended).
