A Chat with Dr. Devi Shetty (Heart Specialist) - Very Useful!

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EVERYONE MUST READ....IF YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR HEALTH





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 longtime
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 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: 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 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 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 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.

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 s if you are past the age of 30 ( once
in six months recommended) ....


Sent by MM Muneer