Chat with Dr. Devi Shetty (Heart specialist)
- Very Useful.
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A chat with Dr.
Devi Shetty, Narayana Hrudayalaya
(Heart Specialist) Bangalore was
arranged by WIPRO for its employees. The transcript of the chat is given below.
Useful for everyone.
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 long time
3. Quit smoking
4. Control weight
5. Control blood pressure and sugar
Qn: Is eating non-veg food
(fish) good for the heart?
Ans: No
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 check-ups.
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: You have done so much for
the poor and needy. What has inspired you to do so?
Ans: Mother Theresa , who
was my patient
Qn: Can people with low blood
pressure suffer heart diseases?
Ans: Extremely rare
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.
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: Can yoga prevent heart
ailments?
Ans: Yoga helps.
Qn: Which is the best and worst
food for the heart?
Ans: Fruits and vegetables are the best and the worst is oil.
Qn: Which oil is better -
groundnut, sunflower, olive?
Ans: All oils are bad .
Qn: What is the routine check-up
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.
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: Is it possible for a person
to have BP outside the normal range of 120/80 and yet be perfectly
healthy?
Ans: Yes.
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
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.
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: Will consuming more
coffee/tea lead to heart attacks?
Ans : No.
Qn: Are asthma patients more
prone to heart disease?
Ans : No.
Qn: How would you define junk
food?
Ans : Fried food like
Kentucky , McDonalds , samosas, and even masala dosas.
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.
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 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.
Qn: Do, in any way, low white
blood cells and low haemoglobin count lead to heart problems?
Ans : No. But it is ideal
to have normal haemoglobin 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: 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: Are people working on night
shifts more vulnerable to heart disease when compared to day shift
workers?
Ans : No.
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.
Qn: Does dispirin or similar
headache pills increase the risk of heart attacks?
Ans : No.
Qn: Why is the rate of heart
attacks more in men than in women?
Ans : Nature protects
women till the age of 45.
Qn: How can one keep the heart in a good
condition?
Ans : Eat a healthy diet, avoid junk
food, exercise every day, do not smoke and, go for health check-ups s if you are past the age of
30 once in six months
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Addendum by
A.C.N.PRASAD
1. In the above
discussion the emphasis is on how to avoid heart problems in future among young
software professionals.
2. Very Important: There is considerable advancement
in assessing and treating heart problems. Every year new tests, techniques,
procedures and medicines are coming to light. As this forward (Chat) is few
years old, for current status the concerned persons are advised to approach
CARDIOLOGISTS who are well-versed and up-to-date and take their opinion. Second
or third opinions can also be taken as heart problems are very crucial.
3.
Though it is very difficult to predict/foresee heart
attacks/problems the following indications and symptoms should be taken as
serious warnings:
a)
Breathlessness,
Palpitation, Uneasiness in heart region while doing exercises, climbing stairs,
brisk walking etc.
b)
Sudden bouts of
weakness forcing one to stop work and take rest.
c)
Abnormal sweating, shaking and Palpitation and uneasiness in heart & chest when lifting weights, bending etc.,
and while attending the second call of nature (No.2 toilet).
d)
Unusual pain in either hand (in olden days it was only Left arm).
e)
Squeezing pain in the heart region making one helpless (Very serious).
f)
Pain in the jaw. As this is very
serious, immediate action has to be taken before the pain becomes intense.
Hospitalisation is advised.
I gathered these from the advice of
doctors, experiences of relatives and acquaintances. There may be other symptoms also.
4.
Due to continuous research in this field the do’s and
dont’s in several areas keep changing
and we also do not know what is final till it is proved beyond doubt and is
confirmed even after 10 years.
5.
Praanaayaama (Ancient breathing
Techniques), Meditation, Yoga, Moderate exercises, taking appropriate food, avoiding
all bad habits & things, disciplined life, Moderation/Limit in everything,
stress-free life will help a lot in not only avoiding heart attacks/problems
but also in keeping good health.
6. Latest medical Advice-Ayurveda & Siddha strongly told these
millenniums ago: A) FRUITS SHOULD BE EATEN ON AN EMPTY STOMACH.
B) DON’T TAKE COLD THINGS INCUDING WATER ESPECIALLY AFTER MEALS. IT IS
BETTER TO DRINK HOT WATER ALWAYS.
C) SIT CALMLY FOR A WHILE SOON AFTER TAKING FOOD.
Even if you received
this kind of mail and read this before, please read this once again and pass it
on to all. It could save many lives!!
- by A.C.NAGARAJA PRASAD – 5 th November 2015