I was going through an article, in which there was an interview of Dr. Devi Shetty, the famous heart surgeon & entrepreneur of Narayana Hrudalaya in Bangalore. I found it very much valuable and must know for all human being to be aware of health related issues, especially HEART, which is very important part of our body.
Here is the interview conversation............
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: 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 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: 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: Which is the best and worst food for the
heart?
Ans: Fruits and vegetables are the best and
oil is the worst.
Qn: Which oil is better - groundnut,
sunflower, olive?
Ans: All oils are bad.
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 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 e-mails 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 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: 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.
(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) ....
