Keep the heart in a good condition..

• 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 longtime
  3. Quit smoking
  4. Control weight
  5. Control BP - Blood pressure and Sugar

• Qn: Can we convert fat into muscles?
  Ans: It is a dangerous myth. Fat and muscles are made of two different tissues, fat is fat ... Ugly and harmful... Muscle is muscle. Fat can never be converted into a muscle.

• 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: Are heart diseases hereditary?
  Ans: Yes

• 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: 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: Can people with low blood pressure suffer heart diseases?
  Ans: Extremely rare.

• 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 can I control cholesterol content without using medicines?
  Ans: Control diet, walk and eat walnut.

• Qn: Which is the best and worst food for the heart?
  Ans: Fruits and vegetables are the best and oilis the worst.

• 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 2D-echo.

• 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: How do you differentiate between pain caused by a heart attack and that caused due to gastric trouble?
  Ans: Extremely difficult without ECG.

• 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, 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.

• 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: Does consuming bananas help reduce hypertension?
  Ans: No.

• Qn: Can a person help himself during a heart attack (Because we see a lot of forwarded e-mails on this)?
  Ans: Yes. Lie down comfortably and put anaspirin 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.

• 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: 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: 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.

• 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 better to avoid the drugsand go for natural ways of controlling blood pressure by walk, diet to reduce weight and changing attitudes towards lifestyles.

• Qn: Why is the rate of heart attacks more in men than in women?
  Ans: 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 ) 

• 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 checkups if you are past the age of 30 ( once in six months recommended) ....