Q What are the five thumb rules for a layman to take care of his heart?
A. 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 long time.
3. Quit smoking
4. Control weight
5. Control blood pressure and sugar.
Q Is eating non-veg food (fish) good for the heart?
A. No
Q. It’s still a grave shock to hear that some apparently healthy person get a cardiac arrest. How do we understand it in perspective?
A. This is called silent attack. That is why, we recommend everyone past the age of 30 to undergo routine health check-ups.
Q Are heart diseases hereditary?
A. Yes
Q What are the ways in which the heart is stressed? What practices do you suggest to de-stress?
A. Change your attitude towards life. Do not look for perfection in everything in life.
Q Is walking better than jogging or is more intensive exercise required to keep a healthy heart?
A. Walking is better than jogging since jogging leads to early fatigue and injury to joints.
Q You have done so much for the poor and needy. What has inspired you to do so?
A. Mother Theresa, who was my patient.
Q Can people with low blood pressure suffer heart diseases?
A. Extremely rare.
Q Does cholesterol accumulate 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?
A. Cholesterol accumulates from childhood.
Q How do irregular eating habits affect the heart?
A. You tend to eat junk food when the habits are irregular and your body’s enzyme releases for digestion gets confused.
Q Can a healthy person without a medical history have a heart attack due to stress?
A. Extremely rare
Q How can I control cholesterol content without using medicines?
A. Control diet, walk and eat walnut.
Q Can yoga prevent heart ailments?
A. Yoga helps
Q, which is the best and worst food for the heart?
A. Best food is fruits, worst are oils.
Q If a person has undergone angioplasty, what are the chances of the stent getting displaced?
A. Stent doesn’t get displaced. It can get blocked. You could prevent it by controlling sugar, cholesterol and taking medication to prevent clots.
Q Do negative emotions like depression or anger always cause heart disease?
A. Not always. On the other hand, positive emotions help recovery of the heart.
Q I have read about music therapy for the heart and the mind. What is your opinion on this?
A. Guess, it helps.
Q Which oil is better – gingili, groundnut, sunflower, saffola, olive?
A. All oils are bad. The so-called best oil company has the largest marketing budget.
Q What is the routine check-up one should go through? Is there any specific test?
A. Routine blood test to ensure sugar, cholesterol is ok. Check BP, Treadmill test after an echo.
Q How different was it in treating Noor Fatima, the little kid from Pakistan?
A. It was extremely difficult because of the media attention. As far as the medical treatment is concerned, she was like any other child with a complex heart problem.
Q What are the first aid steps to be taken on a heart attack ?
A. Help the person into a sleeping position, put an Aspirin tablet under the tongue with a Sorbitrate tablet if available, and rush him to coronary care unit since the maximum casualty takes place within the first hour.
Q How do you differentiate between pain caused by a heart attack and that cause due to gastric trouble ?
A. Extremely difficult without ECG.
Q Can drinking less water lead to heart problems ?
A. No. However, drinking plenty of water in normal people helps preserve good health.
Q 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 ?
A. 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.
Q What are some of the precautions during pregnancy to avoid heart problems in the new born ?
A. German measles, which causes congenital abnormalities in the babies. No smoking.
Q What is the main cause of a steep increase in heart problems amongst youngsters? I see people of about 30-40 years of age having heart attacks and serious heart problems.
A. 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.
Q What is the right time to check the BP in any person?
A. Past the age of 30 and earlier, if you have symptoms.
Q Is it possible for a person for a person to have BP outside the normal range of 120/80 and yet to be perfectly healthy ?
A. Yes
Q Are there any symptoms for heart problems, which we need to be aware of ?
A. Shortness of breath on exertion, and chest pain.
Q If a person has had a heart attack, how frequently is regular heart check-up recommend?
A. Once in 6 months.
Q Marriages within close relatives can lead to heart problems for the child. Is it true?
A. Yes, co-sanguinity leads to congenital abnormalities and you may not have a software engineer as a child.
Q Many of us have an irregular daily routine and many a time we have to stay in office till late nights. Does this affect our heart? What precautions would you recommend?
A. When you are young, nature protects you against all these irregularities. However, as you grow older, respect the biological clock.
Q How can we find out about blockage of arteries, beforehand?
A. Routine cardiac evaluation by blood test, ECGs, TMTs, Stress Thallium Scan, Cardiac CT Scan for Calcium score.
Q Does a recurring pain in the left arm signify any heart related ailment?
A. Usually, you get chest discomfort or shortness of breath, months or years before the heart attack. So, when in doubt, go for a heart check-up, which should not take more than a couple of hours.
Continued .........
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