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 blood pressure and sugar

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: 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: 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: 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 complication
(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: 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 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: 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 checkup if you are past the age of 30 (once in six
months recommended) ….

Courtesy: Adopted from a chat with Dr.Devi Shetty, Narayana Hrudayalaya (Heart
Specialist) Bangalore