Inspiring Notes :: Known is a drop, Unknown is an ocean.

Health Management

HEART CARE

There was a chat, arranged by WIPRO (Multi Billion Dollar Indian I.T.Company) for its employees, with Dr.Devi Shetty, Narayana Hrudayalaya (Heart Specialist). The transcript of the chat is given below:

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What are the five thumb rules for a layman to take care of his
heart?
Dr Devi Shetty:
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 blood pressure and sugar
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Is eating non-veg food (fish) good for the heart?
Dr Devi Shetty: No
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It's still a grave shock to hear that some apparently healthy person gets a cardiac arrest. How do we understand it in perspective?
Dr Devi Shetty: This is called silent attack; that is why we recommend
everyone past the age of 30 to undergo routine health checkups.
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Are heart diseases hereditary?
Dr Devi Shetty: Yes
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What are the ways in which the heart is stressed? What practices do you
Suggest to de-stress?
Dr Devi Shetty: Change your attitude towards life. Do not look
For perfection in everything in life.
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Is walking better than jogging or is more intensive exercise required
To keep a healthy heart?
Dr Devi Shetty: Walking is better than jogging since jogging leads to
early fatigue and injury to joints
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You have done so much for the poor and needy. What has inspired
you to do so?
Dr Devi Shetty: Mother Theresa, who was my patient.
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Can people with low blood pressure suffer heart diseases?
Dr Devi Shetty: Extremely rare
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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?
Dr Devi Shetty: Cholesterol accumulates from childhood.
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How do irregular eating habits affect the heart?
Dr Devi Shetty: You tend to eat junk food when the habits are
Irregular and your body's enzyme release for digestion gets confused.
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Can a healthy person without a medical history have a heart attack due
to stress?
Dr Devi Shetty: Extremely rare
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How can I control cholesterol content without using medicines?
Dr Devi Shetty: Control diet, walk and eat walnut.
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Can yoga prevent heart ailments?
Dr Devi Shetty: Yoga helps.
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Which is the best and worst food for the heart?
Dr Devi Shetty: Best food is fruits worst are oil.
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If a person has undergone angioplasty, what are the chances of
The stent getting displaced?
Dr Devi Shetty: The Stent doesn't get displaced it can get blocked.
You could prevent it by controlling sugar, cholesterol and taking
medication to prevent clots
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Do negative emotions like depression or anger always cause heart
disease?
Dr Devi Shetty: Not always. On the other hand, positive emotions
help recovery of the heart.
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I have read about music therapy for the heart and the mind. What
is your opinion on this?
I guess it helps.
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Which oil is better - gingili, groundnut, sunflower, saffola,
olive?
Dr Devi Shetty: All oils are bad; the so-called best oil company
Has the largest marketing budget.
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What is the routine checkup one should go through? Is there any
Specific test?
Dr Devi Shetty: Routine blood test to ensure sugar, cholesterol is ok.
Check BP, Treadmill test after an echo.
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How different was it in treating Noor Fatima, the little kid from
Pakistan?
Dr Devi Shetty: It was extremely difficult, Because of the media
attention. As far as the medical treatment is concerned, she is
like any other child with a complex heart problem.
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What are the first aid steps to be taken on a heart attack?
Dr Devi Shetty: Help the person into a sleeping position, put 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.
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How do you differentiate between pain caused by a heart attack
And that caused due to gastric trouble?
Dr Devi Shetty: Extremely difficult without ECG.
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Can drinking less water lead to heart problems?
Dr Devi Shetty: No. However, drinking plenty of water in normal
People helps preserve good health.
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Is it true that diabetic women seem to have 3 to 7 times greater
Risk of developing heart diseases than non-diabetic women? Is it the same with high BP patients as well?
Dr Devi Shetty: Women are protected by the hormones till the age
Of 45; after that their risk increases like men and in general, the result of treatment on heart patients who are women is slightly poorer than men.
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What are some of the precautions during pregnancy to avoid heart
Problems in the new born?
Dr Devi Shetty: German measles, which causes congenital abnormalities
In the babies; No smoking.
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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.
Dr Devi Shetty: 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.
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What is the right time to check the BP in any person?
Dr Devi Shetty: Past the age of 30 and earlier, if you have
symptoms.
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Is it possible for a person to have BP outside the normal range
of
120/80
and yet be perfectly healthy?
Dr Devi Shetty: Yes.
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Are there any symptoms for heart problems, which we need to be
aware
of?
Dr Devi Shetty: Shortness of breath on exertion, and chest pain.
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If a person has had a heart attack, how frequently is regular
heart
check
up recommended?
Dr Devi Shetty: Once in 6 months
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Marriages within close relatives can lead to heart problems for
the
child.
Is it true?
Dr Devi Shetty: Yes, co-sanguinity leads to congenital
abnormalities
and
you may not have a software engineer as a child
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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?
Dr Devi Shetty: When you are young, nature protects you against
all
these
irregularities. However, as you grow older, respect the biological
clock.
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How can we find out about blockage of arteries, beforehand?
Dr Devi Shetty: Routine cardiac evaluation by blood tests, ECGs,
TMTs,
Stress thallium scan, cardiac CTscan for calcium score.
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Does a recurring pain in the left arm signify any heart related
ailment?
Dr Devi Shetty: Not always. However, heart pain can radiate to
the
left
arm.
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Can we foresee the occurrence of a heart attack? Are there any
indications
that the body feels before getting a heart attack?
Dr Devi Shetty: Usually, you get chest discomfort or shortness of
breath,months or years before the heart attack. So, when in doubt,
go
for
a
heart checkup, which shouldn't take more than a couple of hours.
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Will taking anti-hypertensive drugs cause some other
complications
(short
/ long term)? >
Dr Devi Shetty: Yes, most drugs have some side effects. However,
modern
anti-hypertensive drugs are extremely safe.
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Will consuming more coffee/tea lead to heart attacks?
Dr Devi Shetty: No.
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What are the chances of lean people developing heart
complications?
Are
they at less risk?
Dr Devi Shetty: Obese people are at a higher risk. Lean people
also
develop heart attacks, but primarily because of genetic
pre-disposition.
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Is it true that after open-heart surgery, patients lose memory
recall
to
some extent?
Dr Devi Shetty: No. Especially after bypass grafting on a beating
heart,
incidence of neurological problems have come down significantly.
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Are asthma patients more prone to heart disease?
Dr Devi Shetty: No.
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How would you define junk food?
Dr Devi Shetty: Fried food like Kentucky, McDonalds, samosas, and
even
masala dosas.
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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?
Dr Devi Shetty: Every race is vulnerable to some disease and
unfortunately, Indians are vulnerable for the most expensive
disease.
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Does consuming bananas help reduce hypertension?
Dr Devi Shetty: No.
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Is there any cure for chronic palpitations?
Dr Devi Shetty: The patient should be investigated and if there
is a
cause
for palpitation like an electrical abnormality of the heart, this
can be
rectified by a procedure called radio frequency ablation.
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How would you rate the health facilities currently available in
India?
Dr Devi Shetty: There are institutions, which are as good or
better
than
the ones in the US and Europe, however, they are exceptions. In
general,
the
qualities of health care available to the masses are poor.
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If there is a small hole in the heart, what are the possible ways
of
curing it? Is operation the only solution?
Dr Devi Shetty: Small holes in children less than 6 months of age
usually
closes but the decision not to operate should be taken by the
specialists
who are experts in treating children with heart problems.
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Are emotions really controlled by the heart?
Dr Devi Shetty: No. The heart is just a slave of the brain and it
is
the
brain, which controls the emotions.
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If a person does not do any physical exercise, he is bound to
have
shortness of breath on exertion; say climbing stairs. Is this an
indication of heart disease?
Dr Devi Shetty: No. But if one has difficulty in breathing on
mild
exertion, it is a good idea to go for a heart checkup.
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Can a person help himself during a heart attack (Because we see a
lot
of
forwarded emails on this)?
Dr Devi Shetty: 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.
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Do, in any way, low white blood cells and low hemoglobin count
lead to
heart problems?
Dr Devi Shetty: No. But it is ideal to have normal hemoglobin
level to
increase your exercise capacity.
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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?
Dr Devi Shetty: 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.
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Is there a relation between heart problems and blood sugar?
Dr Devi Shetty: Yes. A strong relationship since diabetics are
more
vulnerable to heart attacks than non-diabetics.
---------- >
Do bypass surgeries reduce the risk of future heart attacks?
Dr Devi Shetty: It significantly reduces the risk of heart
attack.
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What are the things one needs to take care of after a heart
operation?
Dr Devi Shetty: Diet, exercise, drugs on time. Control
cholesterol,
BP,
weight.
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Are people working on night shifts more vulnerable to heart
disease
when
compared to day shift workers?
Dr Devi Shetty: No.
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Can you brief us about angina attack and how major it is?
Dr Devi Shetty: Angina is the pain, which comes on exertion and
goes
away
with rest and medication. One has to be investigated in detail to
plan
treatment.
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What are the modern anti-hypertensive drugs?
Dr Devi Shetty: 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.
------------
Does dispirin or similar headache pills increase the risk of
heart
attacks?
Dr Devi Shetty: No.
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If there is about 85 percent blockage in the arteries, can the
person
be
treated without surgery? If not, what other remedies are
there?
Dr Devi Shetty: It depends on collateral or natural bypass, the
quality
of
other arteries and the power of your heart muscles. It's impossible
to
give
an opinion without seeing the angiography film.
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There is a feeling that bypass is unnecessarily being performed
in
some
cases. When is bypass really needed?
Dr Devi Shetty: When you have blockages affecting major arteries,
bypass
is the best option. I am sure conscientious doctors will not
perform an
operation when it is not required.
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Is it true that mechanical valves can fail any moment?
Dr Devi Shetty: No. If you take medication to prevent clot
formation
and
maintain the INR at accepted levels, the valve cannot get blocked.
However,
like any mechanical gadget, it can fail and fortunately, such
incidences
are
extremely low.
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Can you brief me on pulmonary stenosys problems? What are the
complications involved and what care needs to be taken?
Dr Devi Shetty: In this condition, the pulmonary valve is
narrower at
birth and putting a balloon across the valve and dilating it can
easily
correct it.
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Why is the rate of heart attacks more in men than in women?
Dr Devi Shetty: Nature protects women till the age of 45.
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How can one keep the heart in a good condition?
Dr Devi Shetty: Eat a healthy diet, avoid junk food, exercise
everyday,
do
not smoke and, go for a health checkup if you are past the age of
30 for
at
least once in two yrs. And work very hard...