September 27th, 2009 is World Heart Day. According to the figures just released by WHO, cardiovascular diseases stands first as the world’s number one killer, accounting for nearly 17.1 million lives last year, a staggering number indeed. But how often do we acknowledge what the human heart does for us? Most of us take its function of working non-stop 24/7 as granted. We do not care at all until disaster strikes in the form of heart disease, raised blood pressure, high cholesterol and more. On this day of such great importance, let us dedicate ourselves to help our hearts function better by looking again at the following: • Is your blood pressure showing unsteady readings lately? Talk to your doctor if you are having heaviness in your chest and unreasonable fits of anger. Your blood pressure will vary according to your age. A healthy heart will show a reading of 120 – 130 and the diastolic pressure will read between 80 – 90. • Eat a low fat diet. Your diet should include plenty of fresh fruits, vegetables and nuts. Wherever possible eat the fruits with the outer skin. Do not fry the fish and chicken; instead, grill or roast them. Use less oil. And have plenty of garlic every day. • When did you last check your weight? Those unusual extra pounds will only increase your cholesterol levels, your blood pressure and increase the risk of coronary heart disease and even strokes. • Quit smoking! If you’ve been postponing the desire to quit cigarettes for years, now is the time to do it. Tobacco will only increase the formation of plaque in the blood vessels, leading to clots that can cause heart attacks. • Are you diabetic? If you are, then you are more prone towards coronary heart disease. Take measures regularly to keep your blood sugar levels safe. • Reduce the drinking of alcohol. Excess can only increase your blood pressure and result in irregular heart beat and a diseased heart muscle. • Does your family have a history of heart disease? How about your parents? It has been seen that diabetes, obesity and other risk factors are generally passed on to the children. • Last, but not the least, exercise regularly. Most people do not realize this, but the human heart is also a muscle just like any other – it must be exercised. Exercise reduces the blood pressure and widens the blood vessels to improve circulation. It also raises good HDL cholesterol. There is not one single medication that can alternate with the advantages of exercise. There is no need to allocate 2 hours every day at the gym. All you need is a moderate activity like walking briskly along the beach or side road every morning for 20 minutes a day. Or you could ride a plain bike. Walk down the stairs instead of using the elevator, park your car at the back of your building and walk the stairs to your flat. Walk to the market to do your groceries. Whatever it is, try to get more steps into your daily routine. They all will add up to give your heart a smiling look. A daily routine of 10,000 steps should do wonders for your heart! Exercising for a healthy heart should be as important as keeping an appointment with your hairdresser or facial at the Taj or Sheraton, or maybe even that game of bridge with your pals at your favourite club. On 26 and 27 September a health awareness program is planned in many main cities of the states in India as part of the World Heart Day celebrations. The activities will be held under the combined supervision of the Cardiological Society of India and the Heart Care Foundation. The programme includes free medical check-ups and seminars addressed by leading doctors from all over the country. You can log on to http://www.world-heart-federation.org/ for more information. Written by Mr. Sunder Venkataram, Thane (Maharashtra) … [Read more...]
Best diet for healthy heart
The major triggers of heart diseases are obesity and hypertension. Heart attack signs and symptoms: 1. Chest discomfort: You can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain.2. Pain or discomfort in the arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach. 3. Shortness of breath 4. Cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness. Cardiac arrest signs and symptoms: 1. Sudden loss of responsiveness. No response to gentle shaking.2. Blood pressure and pulse rate drop3. No signs of circulation. 4. No movement or coughing. Dietary control is the first step and perhaps the best approach to a “healthy heart” and change a life style can reduce risk of heart disease significantly. Diet recommendations for a healthy heart: 1. A well-balanced diet like plenty of fiber, fresh fruits (apple etc) and vegetables can save arteries and prevent heart diseases. Foods rich in the antioxidants like beta –carotene, vitamins C and E, and selenium that fight free radicals. Foods like tomatoes, sprouts, raw nuts (except peanuts), garlic etc help to reduce serum cholesterol levels. 2. Avoid foods like coffee, tobacco, alcohol, sugar, butter, red meat, hydrogenated oils, fried fruits, soft drinks, and white flour products etc as they damage the arteries and cause heart attack. 3. Consume no more than 20 to 22% of daily calories from fat per day. 4. Life style modifications: Modify some of those important risk factors which predispose you to develop angina and ultimately leading to heart attack. 5. Smoking: Smokers carry a 3-6 times greater risk of developing heart attack than non smokers. Smoking causes injury to the walls of the arteries and increases cholesterol level and other substance which gradually narrowly the arteries. 6. Obesity: Obese people have excess of harmful cholesterol. Fat deposits causing body weight to be more than 20% normal weight constitutes obesity. Obesity places a strain on the heart. 7. Alcohol: Regular intake of more than moderate quantity of alcohol leads to hypertriglyceridemia which in turn raises bad cholesterol and lead to the increase in abdominal weight. 8. High Blood Pressure: Increase in blood pressure can damage the delicate inner lining of the arteries and allow excess cholesterol to creep into walls of the arteries and cause narrowing of blood vessels. 9. Exercise and Stress: Regular exercise reduces blood cholesterol levels and slows down the process of atherosclerosis and decreases the body weight. It also promotes mental relaxation and reduces strain and stress. Future stress on cardiac diseases is not about treatment but prevention through healthy diet, regular exercise and disciplined lifestyle. … [Read more...]
Heart disease and Personality
Heart Attack and personalities: Personality of a person shows direct relationship with occurance of heart disease. Type A Personality or High risk group: Ambitious personalities. They always want to challenge or contest with others even if there is no necessity. They interfere while others talking. They show more anger. - Type A personalities are of - chronic incessant struggle to achieve more with in a short period of time - personalities. - They are more prone to heart diseases. Type B personalities: Appears always happy and are in relaxed mood. They will not run for success. They allow it to come in usual manner. - Heart diseases are very rare in this group. Blood Pressure and Diet: Blood pressure can be controlled with diet restriction. - Salt restriction (Sodium restriction). - Reduction of saturated fat. - Adequate dietary calcium intake. - Supplementary Potassium intake. Some Stats: Normal Heart beats 1, 03,680 times per every 24 hours. ECG is invented by William Iyen Dhoven. … [Read more...]
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