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HEALTHlkFITNES!;

HOW T O T I M E CARE O F YOUR HEART : SOME TIPS FROM A DOCTOR Dr. Revi Shetty
Ans: Change your attitude towards life. Do not loolc for perfection in everything in life.

Qn:

W h a t are t h e t h u m b rules f o r a layman to take care of his heart?

Ans:

1.
2.

Diet - Less o f carbohydrate, rnore 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 blood pressure and sugar

Qn:

Is walking better than jogging or is more intensive excrcise required t o keep a healthy hea.rt?

Ans: Walking is better than jogging since jogging leads t o early fatigue and injury to joints.

3.
4.

Qn:

Can people w i t h Icw blood pressure suffer heart diseases?

5.
Qn:

Ans: Extremely rare

Is eating non-veg food (fish) good for the heart?

Qn:

Ans: No

Qn:

It's still a grave shock t o hear t h a t some apparently healthy person gets a cardiac arrest. Mow do w e understand i t in perspective?

Does cholesterol nccurnulates right from an early aye (I'm currently only 22) or do you have to worry about i t only after you are obove 30 years of age?
acct~mulates f r o m

Ans: Cholesterol childhood.

Ans: This i s called silent attack; that is why we recommerid everp,one past t h e age o f 30 t o undergo routi,ne health checkups.

4n:

Mow do irregular eating habits nzect the heart ?

Qn: Are heart diseases hereditary?

Ans: Yes

Ans: You tend to eat jur:lc food when the habits are irregular and your body's erlzyrne release f o r d i g e s t i o r i g e t s confused.

Qn:

What are the ways in which the heart is stressed? W h a t practices do you suggest to de-stress?

Qn:

Hov~ can I control cholesterol content vhthou t using medicines?

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

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

a country where people are genetically three times more vulnerable for heart attacks than ~uroseans and Americans.
Is i t possible for a person t o have BP outside the normal range of 120/80 and yet be perfectly healthy?

Ans: Fruits and vegetables are the best and the worst i s oil. Qn: Which o i l is better sunflower, olive? Ans: All oils are bad

Ans: Yes. Qn: Marriages within .close relatives can lead t o heart problems for the child. Is i t true?

groundnut,

art:

Lttjclt is : h e ~ ~ o t r icheckup i;~~ or,e should g o rhrouyh? i s t h e r e uny

Ans: Yes, co-sanguinity leads t o congenital abnormalities and you may not have a software engineer as a child. Qn:
, ~ ~ ,

specflc test?

All$; I ~ O \ I ~ I Il)loo(l II.~ lo ~ * I I ~ , L I I6( ~ . t ~ ~ cholesterol is ok. Check BPI Treadmill test after an echo.
Qn: W h a t are t h e f i r s t aid steps t o be taken on a heart attack?

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: Help the person into a sleeping position, place an aspirin tablet under the tongue with a sorbitrate tablet if available, and rush him t o a coronary care unit since the maximum casualty takes place within the first hour. Qn: How do you differentiate between pain caused by a heart attack and that caused due to gastric trouble?

Ans: When you are young, nature protects you against all these irregularities. However, as you grow older, respect the biological clock. Qn: Will taking anti-hypertensive drugs cause some other complications (short / kong term)?

Ans : Yes, most drugs have some side effects. However, modern anti-hypertensive drugs are extremely safe.
Qn: Will consuming more coffee/tea lead t o heart attacks?

Ans: Extremely difficult without ECG. Qn:

What is the main cause of a steep Ans: No. increase in heart problems amongst youngsters? I see people of about 30- Qn: Are asthma patients more prbne t o heart disease? 40 yrs. of age having heart attacks Ans: No. and seriocis heart problems. Qn: How would you define junk food? Ans: Fried food like Kentucky , McDonalds , samosas, and even masala dosas.

Ans: Increased awareness has increased incidents. Also, sedentary lifestyles, smoking, junk food, lack of exercise in

FAarch, 2812

HEAI-TH & FITNESS : t l o ~ to take care of \;ocir -------- i-letrri ...

411:

Y ~ i mentioned l fltnt Indians arc tttree times more vulnerable. W h a t is the reason f o r this, as Europeans and Americans also eat a lot qf junk food?

4n:

Whut nrc the things one needs to tuite cure of aficr a heorr a;era?ion?

A l ~ s : Diet, exercise, drugs oil time, control cholesterol B?, weight. Qn: Are pcnple working on n i g h t sh$ts m o r e v u l n e r a b l e t o l l e n r t disease when compared t o doy shiJf ~ ~ o i k e r s ? What a the rnoder,~ ontihypertensive drugs?

Ans: Every race is v u l n e r a b l e t o some disease a n d u n f o r t u n a t e l y , Indians are vulnerable for the lriost expensive disease. Qn: Can a person help himself during a heart attack (Because w e see u lot of forwarded e-mails on this)?

Ans: No.

Qn:

Ans: 'Yes. Lie d o w n comfortably and put an aspirin tablet o f any description under t h e tongue and ask someone t o take you t o the nearest coronary care unit without any delay and do not wait for the ambulance since most o f tlie time, the ambulance does. not turn uls.
Qn:

Ans: T1ier.e are hutidreds o f drugs arid your doctor *.vi!l chose tho right cc:mlsination for your problem, but my sugge.stion is t o avoid the drugs ar:d go for natural ways o f contro!!ing b l o o d pressure by ~vall:, d i c t t o redgce w e i g h t a n d changing at6tudes towards lifestyles. 1 :
Does dispirin or similar headache pills increase the risk of ilcart aitacks?

Do, in any way, low white blood cells

and l o w tremogEobin count lead t o lieart prablen~s? Ans: N o . t3ut i t is i d e a l t o have n o r m a l l i e m o g l o b i n l e v e l t o increase y o u r excrcise capacity. Qrr: Sometimes, due t c the hectic schedule w e are r;ot able ;o exercise. So, does walking while dcing daily chores a t home or climbing t h e stairs in t h e r house, work as a scrbsiitutef ~ exercise?

Ans: No.

Qn:

Why is the rate of hetart athgcks more in men ttran in wome.q? of

Ans: Nature protects wonien tiil the a e ; 45. Qn:

How can one keep the keurf in a good ccndition ?

Ans: Certainly. Avoid sitting continuoilsly for rnore than half dn hour and even the act o f getting out of the chair and going t o another chair and sitting helps a lot.

Ans: Eat a healthy diet, avoid junk food, exercise everyday, do rrot smoke arid, go for health checkups if you are past t l i e a g e o f 30 (orlce i n zix m o n t h s recommended) .... Share this w i t h all your friends ....... They might be benefited.
(Courtesy: A chat with Dr. D r v i Shetty, Narayaou Hrudayalayn ( t i e a r t Specialist) Bengnlrrru was arranged by WlPRO for its employees.)

Qn:

Is t h e r e a r e l a t i o n b e t w e e n h e a r t p:.oblems and blood sugar?

Ans: Yes. A s t r o n g r e l a t i o n s h i p since diabetics are more vulnerable t o k a r t attacks than non-diabetics.