Heart Care Tips For a Heart Patient

A heart patient has to always live with caution. This World Heart Day, let us understand what it takes to keep our heart in good health. In fact, by following certain rules, one can lead a smooth life despite being a heart patient.
The major risk factors of heart diseases are smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes, physical inactivity, obesity, and high cholesterol. In addition to these, there are factors which add to the heart condition. They are stress, alcohol, sleep apnea and C - reactive protein.

Food and exercise play a major role in the well-being of a heart patient. It is important to engage in exercises as prescribed by your heart specialist. Follow these dos and don’ts with respect to food.

Say YES To:

1. Poultry and fish for the requirement Omega 3 and Protein
2. Raw nuts, flax seeds, avocados, olive oil, fish oils etc which make up the body's need of healthy fats.
3. Fruits and vegetables for the body's nutrient needs.
4. Whole grains and legumes which provide energy and fiber to the body.
5. Protein and calcium which come from unsweetened yoghurt, egg whites, low-fat/non-fat cheese and skimmed or double toned milk.

Say NO To:

1. Fried foods, cakes and pastries, since they have trans-fats or other harmful fats.
2. Foods high in sodium and sugar, especially packaged goods.
3. Rice, pasta, white breads, sugary foods.
4. Sausage, bacon and red meat.
5. Full cream milk, whole milk cheese and sweetened yoghurt.

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 Heart Care In Your Hands: World Heart Day Special Tips

Symptoms of heart attack

A heart attack (myocardial infarction) should not be confused with stroke or heart failure. It is the condition which causes major damage to heart muscles because of sudden blockage by a blood clot. The most common symptom of heart attack happens to be chest pain. Heart failure and ventricular fibrillation are probably the most common complications in this condition. 

Clear symptoms of heart attack are:

1. Feeling vaguely ill - very vague feeling of illness is one symptom. You cannot really put your finger on what is wrong with you, but you do feel unwell.

2. Pain in left arm - pain in the arm, mainly the left arm is also one of the symptoms of an impending heart attack.

3. Sweating and heartburn - a lot of people have reported experiencing sweating, indigestion and heartburn before a heart attack. If you are sweating profusely and without any particular reasons, or having an unbearable heartburn, consult a medical specialist immediately.

4. Chest pain - feeling of fullness or tightness in the chest followed by pain is also a symptom of a heart attack. A lot of people have reported to ignore it; kindly don't.

5. Breathlessness - sudden shortness of breath and inability to do a lot of work at one point of time is not a good thing. This could be an indication of a heart attack.

6. Silent attack - the scariest of all is silent heart attack. At times, it comes with no symptoms at all. A person could be visibly physically fit, and suddenly have an attack. This usually happens with those who are suffering from diabetes mellitus.

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All You Need To Know About Heart Attack Symptoms

As much as we take a dip in the bucket of blues and sing happy- sad songs to float and fall for the theorem of love; we are but orderlies to the emotion. We all wish if love had only been a four letter word. It, unfortunately, has multiple folds and crevices than the human mind can ever possibly think of. Nonetheless, staying in love is essential. Loving is as significant as is living; the reason being, it keeps you happy until you falter and with every faltering foothold, you emerge out as a stronger being.

A strange fact about the emotion is its tryst with wholeness. Love doesn t necessarily need an object or receptor under its radar. It could be experienced as a self - sufficient feeling. You may be full of love for a family, for a dear friend, for your lover or you could also be in love with your passion or yourself. Irrespective of perpetual disillusionment, one must try and remain in love.

Let's take a curious peek into these few ways to stay in love:

Put in efforts to look good: In any case,  beauty indeed lies in the eyes of the beholder , but finding yourself pretty is extremely important. One must take care to look good in his or her own eyes. Looking good is directly proportional to the way you feel and hence spending time on yourself helps you to think positively. You see yourself in a better light and are thus, in a position to love better.
Exercise to challenge your daily threshold: Exercising has multi - faceted effects on your overall health. If you exercise on daily basis, you witness your progress with every passing day. This encourages you to improve your flexibility and fitness. Exercising can lead to the release of the happy hormone - serotonin in one s body. Direct exposure to sunlight and consumption of food items rich in carbohydrates can also increase the level of serotonin. Exercising boosts up your confidence and makes you fall in love with your body.
Indulge in sweet things: As you grow up, you stop doing those little things that once gave you immense pleasure. Making a greetings card, baking a cake, making paper boats, going out on walks, teaching young children or doing whatever your heart feels like can actually make you stay in love.
Pursue your passion: A passion gets the best out of you; it rather steps up the limits of your talents. Pursuing one s passion makes one love oneself even more. It keeps you engrossed in your plus points, giving you little scope to brood over depressing factors.
Try having a pet to care for: Feeling responsible for your pet is a great way to discover another side of your personality. A pet gives you the warmth you had been looking for. The bond of love with a pet has had unmatched effects on a person s health.

5 Ways to Stay in Love

Cardiomyopathy is a serious heart disease. It is a disease associated with the heart muscle or myocardium. In this disease, the heart muscles get weak and fails to pump blood to the organs of the body. It has several categories. The categorization depends upon the range of factors. In this disease, irregular heartbeat is observed. These irregularities can lead to heart failure or attack or can trigger problems in the valves. It is important to take care of your heart to avoid such a condition. It is also advisable to see a doctor as soon as the symptoms are noticed to avoid greater damage.

Types of Cardiomyopathy
This disease can be divided into four categories. These are as follows:

Dilated Cardiomyopathy: It is the most common type. It occurs at a time when the heart muscle gets too weak to pump blood properly. The muscles of the heart get thinner and weak. In fact, this also leads to the expansion of the heart chambers. In common terms, it is also referred to as enlarged heart. In most cases, this is inherited or caused by some coronary artery disease.
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: This is genetically transferred to the patient. In this condition, the heart walls get thicker and this hinders the smooth flow of blood. It is one of the most common types of Cardiomyopathy.
Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia (ARVD): This is a very rare form. It can cause sudden death, especially in young athletes. In this disease, fat and fibrous tissues are responsible for replacing the muscles in the right ventricle. This leads to an abnormal rhythm.
Restrictive Cardiomyopathy: It occurs as the ventricles of the heart get stiff and are unable to relax. This prevents them from getting filled up with blood. Under this situation, you might have to go for a heart transplant.
Other Types: Some of the other types include Peripartum Cardiomyopathy (the one which occurs after pregnancy), Alcoholic Cardiomyopathy (happens due to excessive intake of alcohol) and Ischemic Cardiomyopathy.
Treatment of Cardiomyopathy

The treatment of Cardiomyopathy depends upon the extent of damage caused. It might not require treatment if symptoms are not very troublesome or prominent. It may be dealt with certain lifestyle changes, adjustments and medications, in cases those needs to be addressed.

Tips to deal with Cardiomyopathy
1. Maintain a healthy lifestyle by getting an adequate amount of night sleep. Go to bed early and wake up early too.
2. Don t spend long hours in watching television or work till late night
3. Eat a lot of fresh and green-leafy vegetables daily.
4. Avoid the intake of spicy, oily and fast foods.
5. Consume home-cooked food only. Avoid eating out at restaurants or street-side joints.
6. Don t drink excess coffee, tea or aerated drinks.
7. Don t consume alcohol or smoke up cigarettes.
8. Don t live a sedentary life and be a couch potato. Workout and exercise on regular basis.
9. Avoid emotional outburst and try to keep a control over your reactions.

Cardiomyopathy - Tips To Help You Deal With It!

Are you looking for effective and natural ways to prevent heart blockage and blood pressure management? You should consider taking Ayurvedic measures, which have been proven to be quite effective in dealing with various issues of the heart. Usually, heart blockages are difficult to deal with and a surgery has to be carried out for recovery. With Ayurvedic remedies, you can solve such issues without the concern of harmful side effects on your body.

Ayurvedic management of heart blockage
For effective prevention and management of heart blockages, you need to create a certain Ayurvedic medicine using basic ingredients.

Mix lemon, ginger, apple vinegar and garlic together and boil on a light flame.
After the quantity gets reduced, leave the mixture to cool.
After this, add some honey in the solution, and store it in a bottle for use. You have to take this medicine every morning after waking up.
Note all the ingredients are chosen for their unique and beneficial features.
Lemon contains more than 19 qualities, and garlic and ginger are good for dealing with gastric issues. Apple cider vinegar is given great importance in Ayurveda, and honey is good for your blood. Hence, this medicine is ideal for treating heart blockages effectively.
Ayurvedic management of blood pressure
High blood pressure or Rakta Gata Vata refers to an elevation in the pressure of blood in your arteries. The increase in pressure is based upon your age, activities, diet, and medical history.

The Ayurvedic remedies for the prevention and control of blood pressure include the following:

Avoid consuming eggs, meat, tea, coffee, pickles and table salt.
Abstain from smoking.
Increase your intake of food items such as lemon, garlic, parsley, grapefruit, cottage cheese, Indian gooseberry, and watermelon.
Engage in regular exercise as it is important for lowering and preventing your chances of high blood pressure.
Laugh a lot and keep away from anxiety and stress factors.
Make a juice of garlic cloves, wheat grass and basil leaves. Have this regularly for reduced chances of high blood pressure.
Mix onion juice with honey and have the mixture every day.
Make a paste using garlic and buttermilk, and drink it regularly.
Grind roasted watermelon seeds, add water to the powder, strain the liquid, and have it twice every day.
It is important for you to visit an Ayurvedic practitioner before starting to take Ayurvedic measures for heart blockage or high blood pressure on your own. This will ensure that you are prescribed the best measures by a qualified and experienced doctor.

Heart Blockage & Blood Pressure - How Ayurveda Can Help You Prevent It?

The heart pumps pure blood to all parts of the body through a network of arteries. These are thicker in the beginning and become finer and thinner as they reach the various organs. These arteries are lined by a layer of epithelial tissues and as blood flows through them, the heavier cholesterol / fat molecules settle down along the walls. 


This attracts more and more fat molecules to settle down.  This is known as atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). Over a period of time, the vessels circumference reduces and the blood supply to the target organ reduces. This impacts proper functioning of these organs and when this happens to the major organs like the heart, kidney or the brain, conditions like stroke or thrombosis or heart attack can occur.


This condition, known as coronary artery disease, is becoming a major cause of deaths.  While that is the bad news, the good news is that it is largely lifestyle dependent, and if steps are taken, it can be prevented, and in the early stages, the damage completely reversed.


Preventive measures: 
1. Diet: A low-fat, high-fiber, heart-healthy diet consisting of Omega-3 fatty acids is recommended by doctors, especially to people who are prone to develop heart disease.  This also requires reduced salt, increased unsaturated fats, reduced triglycerides and reduced sugar.  Include loads of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds and fish oils. Include multivitamins or other supplements after checking with your doctor.


2. Exercise:  Regular exercise in any form increases the efficiency of the circulatory system, keeps the cholesterol levels in check and helps in blood pressure management.  Exercise in any form is advisable, based on individual preference. A moderate physical activity of 30 to 45 minutes per day is advisable.


3. Smoking: This is one of the major risk factors for smoking, and quitting or controlling smoking is one of the best methods to prevent coronary artery disease.


4. Alcohol consumption:  While moderate alcohol consumption is believed to be healthy for the heart, excessive alcohol consumption is a strict no-no.  Binge drinking especially is shown to cause heart attacks.


5. Weight management: Check with your doctor on what is ideal BMI for you and work out a plan to keep your weight under check.


6. Regular medications: If you are on blood pressure or diabetes medications, ensure you do not miss them.  Keep a constant check to ensure your readings are managed well. 


7. Watch out:  Ask your doctor if there are specific symptoms that you need to watch out and seek medical support if you see any of them.


Coronary disease is not treatable fully, but can be prevented and managed effectively to improve the overall quality of life.

Coronary Artery Disease - 7 Ways You Can Prevent it 

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