June 11, 2010
AchatwithDr.DeviShetty, NarayanaHrudayalaya (HeartSpecialist) BangalorewasarrangedbyWIPROforitsemployees.
Thetranscriptofthechatisgivenbelow.Usefulforeveryone.
Qn: Whatarethethumbrulesforalaymantotakecareofhisheart?
Ans:
1.Diet-Lessofcarbohydrate, moreofprotein, lessoil
2.Exercise-Halfanhour''swalk, atleastfivedaysaweek; avoidliftsandavoidsittingforalongtime
3.Quitsmoking
4.Controlweight
5.Controlbloodpressureandsugar
Qn: Iseatingnon-vegfood (fish) goodfortheheart?
Ans: No
Qn: It''sstillagraveshocktohearthatsomeapparentlyhealthypersongetsacardiacarrest. Howdoweunderstanditinperspective?
Ans: Thisiscalledsilentattack; thatiswhywerecommendeveryonepasttheageof30toundergoroutinehealthcheckups.
Qn: Areheartdiseaseshereditary?
Ans: Yes
Qn: Whatarethewaysinwhichtheheartisstressed? Whatpracticesdoyousuggesttode-stress?
Ans: Changeyourattitudetowardslife.Donotlookforperfectionineverythinginlife.
Qn: Iswalkingbetterthanjoggingorismoreintensiveexerciserequiredtokeepahealthyheart?
Ans: Walkingisbetterthanjoggingsincejoggingleadstoearlyfatigueandinjurytojoints
Qn: Youhavedonesomuchforthepoorandneedy.Whathasinspiredyoutodoso?
Ans: MotherTheresa, whowasmypatient
Qn: Canpeoplewithlowbloodpressuresufferheartdiseases?
Ans: Extremelyrare
Qn: Doescholesterolaccumulatesrightfromanearlyage
(I''mcurrentlyonly22) ordoyouhavetoworryaboutitonlyafteryouareabove30yearsofage?
Ans: Cholesterolaccumulatesfromchildhood.
Qn: Howdoirregulareatinghabitsaffecttheheart?
Ans: Youtendtoeatjunkfoodwhenthehabitsareirregularandyourbody''senzymereleasefordigestiongetsconfused.
Qn: HowcanIcontrolcholesterolcontentwithoutusingmedicines?
Ans: Controldiet, walkandeatwalnut.
Qn: Canyogapreventheartailments?
Ans: Yogahelps.
Qn: Whichisthebestandworstfoodfortheheart?
Ans: Fruitsandvegetablesarethebestandtheworstisoil.
Qn: Whichoilisbetter-groundnut, sunflower, olive?
Ans: Alloilsarebad.
Qn: Whatistheroutinecheckuponeshouldgothrough? Isthereanyspecifictest?
Ans: Routinebloodtesttoensuresugar, cholesterolisok.CheckBP, Treadmilltestafteranecho.
Qn: Whatarethefirstaidstepstobetakenonaheartattack?
Ans: Helpthepersonintoasleepingposition, placeanaspirintabletunderthetonguewithasorbitratetabletifavailable, andrushhimtoacoronarycareunitsincethemaximumcasualtytakesplacewithinthefirsthour.
Qn: Howdoyoudifferentiatebetweenpaincausedbyaheartattackandthatcausedduetogastrictrouble?
Ans: ExtremelydifficultwithoutECG.
Qn: Whatisthemaincauseofasteepincreaseinheartproblemsamongstyoungsters? Iseepeopleofabout30-40yrsofagehavingheartattacksandseriousheartproblems.
Ans: Increasedawarenesshasincreasedincidents.Also, sedentarylifestyles, smoking, junkfood, lackofexerciseinacountrywherepeoplearegeneticallythreetimesmorevulnerableforheartattacksthanEuropeansandAmericans.
Qn: IsitpossibleforapersontohaveBPoutsidethenormalrangeof120/80andyetbeperfectlyhealthy?
Ans: Yes.
Qn: Marriageswithincloserelativescanleadtoheartproblemsforthechild.Isittrue?
Ans: Yes, co-sanguinityleadstocongenitalabnormalitiesandyoumaynothaveasoftwareengineerasachild
Qn: Manyofushaveanirregulardailyroutineandmanyatimeswehavetostaylatenightsinoffice.Doesthisaffectourheart? Whatprecautionswouldyourecommend?
Ans: Whenyouareyoung, natureprotectsyouagainstalltheseirregularities.However, asyougrowolder, respectthebiologicalclock.
Qn: Willtakinganti-hypertensivedrugscausesomeothercomplications (short / longterm)?
Ans: Yes, mostdrugshavesomesideeffects.However, modernanti-hypertensivedrugsareextremelysafe.
Qn: Willconsumingmorecoffee / tealeadtoheartattacks?
Ans: No.
Qn: Areasthmapatientsmorepronetoheartdisease?
Ans: No.
Qn: Howwouldyoudefinejunkfood?
Ans: FriedfoodlikeKentucky, McDonalds, samosas, andevenmasaladosas.
Qn: YoumentionedthatIndiansarethreetimesmorevulnerable.Whatisthereasonforthis, asEuropeansandAmericansalsoeatalotofjunkfood?
Ans: Everyraceisvulnerabletosomediseaseandunfortunately, Indiansarevulnerableforthemostexpensivedisease.
Qn: Doesconsumingbananashelpreducehypertension?
Ans: No.
Qn: Canapersonhelphimselfduringaheartattack (Becauseweseealotofforwardedemailsonthis)?
Ans: Yes.Liedowncomfortablyandputanaspirintabletofanydescriptionunderthetongueandasksomeonetotakeyoutothenearestcoronarycareunitwithoutanydelayanddonotwaitfortheambulancesincemostofthetime, theambulancedoesnotturnup.
Qn: Do, inanyway, lowwhitebloodcellsandlowhemoglobincountleadtoheartproblems?
Ans: No.Butitisidealtohavenormalhemoglobinleveltoincreaseyourexercisecapacity.
Qn: Sometimes, duetothehecticschedulewearenotabletoexercise.So, doeswalkingwhiledoingdailychoresathomeorclimbingthestairsinthehouse, workasasubstituteforexercise?
Ans: Certainly.Avoidsittingcontinuouslyformorethanhalfanhourandeventheactofgettingoutofthechairandgoingtoanotherchairandsittinghelpsalot.
Qn: Istherearelationbetweenheartproblemsandbloodsugar?
Ans: Yes.Astrongrelationshipsincediabeticsaremorevulnerabletoheartattacksthannon-diabetics.
Qn: Whatarethethingsoneneedstotakecareofafteraheartoperation?
Ans: Diet, exercise, drugsontime, Controlcholesterol, BP, weight.
Qn: Arepeopleworkingonnightshiftsmorevulnerabletoheartdiseasewhencomparedtodayshiftworkers?
Ans: No.
Qn: Whatarethemodernanti-hypertensivedrugs?
Ans: Therearehundredsofdrugsandyourdoctorwillchosetherightcombinationforyourproblem, butmysuggestionistoavoidthedrugsandgofornaturalwaysofcontrollingbloodpressurebywalk, dietto
reduceweightandchangingattitudestowardslifestyles.
Qn: Doesdispirinorsimilarheadachepillsincreasetheriskofheartattacks?
Ans: No.
Qn: Whyistherateofheartattacksmoreinmenthaninwomen?
Ans: Natureprotectswomentilltheageof45.
Qn: Howcanonekeeptheheartinagoodcondition?
Ans: Eatahealthydiet, avoidjunkfood, exerciseeveryday, donotsmokeand, goforhealthcheckupsifyouarepasttheageof30 (onceinsixmonthsrecommended )….