Your heart is the most important and vital organ of all and regulates the flow of heart to all parts of the body. Thus, the valves and the arteries which take the blood to your heart are also an important component in ensuring that the circulation is constant. Thus, any hindrance to this process will put a lot of pressure on your heart and lead to more serious problems in the long run. Coronary artery disease is one such problem and can seriously put the health of your heart at risk.

What is coronary heart disease?
Coronary arteries are very important blood vessels, which carry nutrients, blood and oxygen to your heart. If the level of bad cholesterol is high in your blood, it will start leaving deposits on the walls of the arteries which are commonly known as plaque. This plaque will start building up over time causing blockage of the arteries and disrupting proper blood flow. Excessive build up of the plaque may then rupture the lining of the plaque. This will then induce blood clotting and further prevent the normal flow of blood.

Symptoms
Primary symptoms may include

Shortness of breath: This may occur while you are exercising or performing activities which are mildly exerting.
Heart beats very hard and fast: Your heart may beat very hard and fast, especially when doing everyday activities such as climbing stairs or walking for a prolonged distance.
Angina or chest pain: You may experience pain in your chest as if someone was pressing against it with a lot of force. Angina is also triggered due to stressful activities or even emotional stress. It usually occurs on the left or the middle of the chest and may even be felt in the back, arms, and neck.
Heart attack: Heart attacks are the most common and the most serious complications of coronary heart disease. You would feel extreme pain, akin to crushing on your chest, shoulder, or arm. It may even be accompanied by jaw pain, and sweatiness.
Treatment
Non invasive forms of treatment are always preferable rather than invasive surgeries or procedures to treat coronary heart disease, especially where the risk of serious complications such as heart attack are still on the lower side. Some of the treatments used for coronary heart disease are as follows:

Making lifestyle changes: Quit smoking, reduce alcohol consumption along with consumption of regulated diet will automatically start cleaning plaque that has built up within the arteries. Losing weight also tends to help.
Medications: Special medications can take care of cases wherein the deposits are still lesser and the plaque buildup can be removed without the requirement of extensive surgery. Anti-cholesterol medications are one example of this.
Surgical procedures: These are usually employed when the blockage is severe and cannot be corrected by the conventional methods mentioned above. Some of the procedures are angioplasty, stent replacement, as well as coronary artery bypass surgery.

Coronary Artery Disease -  Know the Primary Signs!

The past couple of days have witnessed trending news in the form of the stunning transformation of Anant Ambani, son of Mukesh Ambani, MD of Reliance Industries Limited. Anant, who had previously been burdened with excessive body weight due to intake of some strong medications, has achieved an unbelievable target of losing 108 Kgs of body weight in just 18 months!

Many people suffer from obesity and many other conditions as an aftereffect of excessive body weight, but don't know how to address the issue to attain a healthy weight. In this regard, the story of Anant is an inspirational lesson for all those who want to lose weight and follow a strict diet plan and exercise regime continuously to achieve their goals. Just like him, now you too can attain a healthy body weight and a fit physique too through the techniques mentioned below:

1. Following an Appropriate Diet Plan -
A healthy diet is the key to a good weight loss regime besides the implementation of an effective exercise plan. Anant had opted for a strict low-carb diet without the presence of sugar. This type of diet has a lot of benefits including weight loss in a healthy way. This type of diet requires you to avoid all types of processed food items including breads, soft drinks, cereals, pastas, sweets etc. And increase the intake of foods rich in healthy fats and proteins.

2. Weight and Functional Training -
Weight training is known for burning calories and functional training helps in increasing your core stability through exercises like squats, stretches, lunges etc. A combination of these two in your exercise regime will not only help you lose weight, but will also enable you to do it in a healthy way.

3. High-intensity Cardio Exercises -
High-intensity cardio exercises are recommended by most gym instructors to people who want to lose weight as they increase your heart rate and consume lesser amount of time to eliminate the extra fat from your body.

4. Yoga -
There's no better way to stay fit and healthy than making yoga a part of your daily lifestyle. This ancient tradition not only tones your muscles and burn calories, but also gives you a healthier life by helping you relax your mind and body both. This was also one of the techniques followed by Anant to reach his destination of a having a healthy body.

We've put together a sample diet plan exclusively for you, which can help you lose weight in a healthy natural way:

Early Morning (6:30 am - 7:00 am) - a glass of warm water + 1/2 lemon juice + pinch of salt; walk for 30 minutes.

Breakfast (8:00am - 9:00 am) - 1 cup milk/tea, with fruit, oats with milk/namkeen oats, veg. Dalia, veg. Upma, veg. Poha, veg. Sandwich, 2 egg whites/1 whole egg and toast.

Mid-Morning (11:30 am) - fruit/sprouts

Lunch (1:00 pm - 2:00 pm) - 2 chapattis with vegetable, salad, dal/curd/idli + sambhar (alternatively, if you want to have 1 bowl rice, have it with 1 katori rajma/kadhi/dal/chhole + salad)

Tea-Time (4:30pm - 5:00pm) - tea/coffee + 2 biscuits/rusks

Evening Snacks (6:00 pm - 6: 30pm) - roasted chana, sprouts, popcorn, veg sandwich, sometimes 4-5 almonds, walnuts, pista, raisins

Dinner (8:00 pm - 8:30 pm) - 1-2 chapattis with vegetable, salad or 1-2 veg sandwiches, or roasted chicken/grilled fish (if non-vegetarian)

Post-Dinner (if required, at 10:00 pm) - 1 cup of milk.

We hope the above suggestions and the sample diet plan will inspire you to embark on a journey of transforming yourself into a healthier and happier person! There/s no happiness better than feeling good about yourself!

If you liked this health tip, do 'Share' it with your loved ones.

If you would like a more comprehensive and customized diet plan for yourself or your family, along with a 7-day unlimited text chat, just click on 'Consult'!

How To Successfully Lose Weight Like Anant Ambani + A Sample Diet Plan!

The liver plays a significant role in the body s various metabolic processes. Infection with hepatitis C virus causes inflammation of the liver, known popularly as Hepatitis C. It is a relatively new discovery (late 1980s), but there are a significant number of cases identified. The challenge in identifying this disease is that the patient does not manifest with any symptoms and can be carrying the virus for years with no signs or symptoms. This makes diagnosis very difficult and in most cases, it is discovered when diagnosing for some other disease. It is transmitted via blood   through use of drug needles, tattoo needles, or sexual when the virus is present in the vaginal fluid.

Homeopathic Treatment For Hepatitis C -

Homeopathy is one of the most popular holistic systems of medicine. The selection of remedy is based upon the theory of individualization and symptoms similarity by using holistic approach. This is the only way through which a state of complete health can be regained by removing all the sign and symptoms from which the patient is suffering. The aim of homeopathy is not only to treat Hepatitis C infection but to address its underlying cause and individual susceptibility. As far as therapeutic medication is concerned, several well-proved medicines are available for Hepatitis C treatment that can be selected on the basis of cause, sensation and modalities of the complaints. For individualized remedy selection and treatment, the patient should consult a qualified homeopathic doctor in person.

Homeopathy offers remedy for hepatitis C by detoxifying and neutralizing viral cells, improving immunity, and stimulating production of healthy cells. The following compounds are useful in this.

Chelidonium Majus: Prepared from the flowers of Celandine, it acts on the hepatobiliary system and restores overall liver function. The patient s presenting symptoms include jaundice with pain, bloated abdomen, significant lethargy, weakness, reduced appetite, nausea and vomiting.

China Officinalis: This is useful in patients who are down with intermittent fevers, headaches, gallstones, dyspepsia and hemorrhages. The patient could also have debility, trembling, ringing in the ears, flatulence in the abdomen, gassy feeling and vomiting of bile.

Bryonia Alba: This is prepared from the plant known as wild hops after potentization. It works on multiple systems including the digestive, hepatobiliary, respiratory, and musculoskeletal systems. This is useful in patients who suffer from dyspepsia, migraine, bronchitis, joint pains, back pain, menstrual issues, and respiratory tract infections. The patient could also experience a burning sensation and soreness in the abdomen, which is extremely tender to the touch, along with nausea and vomiting. The symptoms are aggravated during summer months and with heat.

Kali Carbonicum: The active ingredient acts of multiple bodily systems including kidneys, liver, digestive, blood, bones, lungs, etc. It is widely used in liver dysfunctions like nephrotic syndrome, cirrhosis, and hepatitis C. The patient may have liver atrophy, cirrhosis, heaviness in the abdomen or jaundice. He or she could be restless, excitable and nervous. Extreme weakness and reaction to changes in light, sound, touch and odors are some other symptoms. The pain could be relieved by rubbing.

Other medicines like Lycopodium, Belladonna, Nux Vomica, and Aconite are also useful. However, as with all homeopathy medicines, self-medication is not advisable. The doctor will check for all accompanying symptoms and your overall health status and then determine what would work for you.

How To Cure Hepatitis C With Homeopathy?

An eardrum rupture or perforation is a little gap or tear in your eardrum and the tympanic membrane. The tympanic membrane is a thin tissue that partitions the canal of the middle ear and outer ear. This layer vibrates when sound waves enter your ear. The vibration proceeds through the bones of the center ear. Since this vibration allows you to listen, your hearing can be affected if your eardrum is harmed. A ruptured eardrum is additionally called a perforated eardrum. Permanent hearing loss could be an end result in some cases.

A ruptured eardrum, similar to thunder; can happen all of a sudden. You may feel a sharp pain in your ear, or an ear infection that you've had for some time all of a sudden leaves. In some cases, the person may not feel any signs of the rupture.

Some of the causes for such a perforation are:

Infection: Ear infections are a major reason for eardrum rupture, particularly in children. Liquids tend to deposit behind the eardrum in such cases.
Exercises: Exercising can bring about pressure changes in the ear and lead to a punctured eardrum. This is known as barotrauma, and takes place when the pressure outside the ear is not the same as the pressure inside the ear. Activities that can bring about barotrauma include scuba diving or flying on plane.
Other activities: Wounds can likewise burst your eardrum. Any injury to the ear or side of the head can bring about a crack.
Diagnosis: Your specialist can use a few approaches to find out whether you have a ruptured eardrum:

A liquid test in which your specialist tests liquids that might spill from your ear from infection.
An otoscope exam in which a specific gadget with a light is used to investigate your ear channel
An audiology exam, in which your specialist tests your listening to range and eardrum limit
Tympanometry, in which your specialist uses a tympanometer to test the pressure changes in your ear.
Treatment: The treatments are as follows:

Patching: In the event that your ear does not recuperate by itself, your specialist may fix the eardrum. Fixing includes setting a sedated paper patch over the tear in the film.
Antibiotics: Anti-toxins can clear up contaminations that may have prompted your eardrum break. They additionally shield you from growing new diseases from the aperture. Your specialist may endorse oral antibiotics or eardrops.
Surgery: In uncommon cases, surgery might be required to fix the gap in the eardrum. A surgical repair of a punctured eardrum is called tympanoplasty.
A cracked eardrum generally recuperates without any invasive measures. Many patients with cracked eardrums encounter just transitory listening problems.

Eardrum Rupture - Causes, Symptoms & Treatments

In a conservative society like India, many people thought that the Anti Immunity Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) virus would never come to their shores because  Indians don t act in those ways.  However, as moral and sexual attitudes change in the subcontinent, AIDS is fast becoming the new scourge.

When was AIDS first considered as a problem?

AIDS was initially a problem in the early 1980 s with many American scientists noting that many Indian doctors were not aware of the virus s presence because of cultural attitudes that the virus would never come to India. Still, Dr.Gilada, a doctor working with sex workers and their clients did an informal sample survey of government and private doctors in 1985. Her findings revealed that 80% of them were unaware of AIDS presence in India.

Based on this shocking finding, Gilada decided to establish an awareness program on AIDS because she knew that the virus would become a scourge if doctors did not treat it immediately. She wrote an article about the program which was featured in the October 1985 edition of Time magazine. She soon had a meeting with a representative from Abbot Labs who asked him to test sex workers for AIDS. She did so and found that 3 out of 600 tested positive for AIDS.

Shortly afterward, newspapers published that 6 sex workers in Chennai tested positive for AIDS. Notices were sent to representatives of Parliament, and awareness was raised. She examined sex workers in Chennai and found that 1 had AIDS, and 2 had HIV.

AIDS Education in India

Soon afterward, many ignorant doctors were being asked about the subject by the media, so Gilda decided to educate them about it because she already had the ready tests and information about it. Dr. Suniti Solomon was given official credit for detecting the first case because she was a mentor for a PhD student who was writing a dissertation on the subject.

Why AIDS is still a problem in India

The main reason for this is because of the fear of the disease, and the second is because of the social stigma attached to the primary ways in which it is contracted. Gilda believes that many people in India still keep quiet about the disease because of the  carpet culture  which is prevalent in the nation. Gilda realized that controlling AIDS meant working with sex workers because 1 sex worker had the potential to spread the disease to 1,000 people.

How AIDS is currently being dealt with in India

Better education and awareness means that prevalence of the disease has declined by 90% because of people engaging in safer sex. As can be seen, more awareness and better education can make the  king s disease controllable. 

AIDS - How It All Started?

Do you know that Huntington s disease is an inherited disease? This condition leads to the progressive degeneration of the nerve cells present in your brain. Huntington's disease has severe impact on several functional abilities of an affected person and results in psychiatric, thinking and movement disorders.

Causes
Huntington s disease occurs from an inherited defect present in a single gene. It is a form of autosomal dominant disorder, which indicates that a person requires just one copy of the defective gene for developing the disorder. Except the genes on the chromosomes, two copies of every gene are inherited by a person. The affected parent may pass along the defective gene copy or the healthy copy.

Symptoms
Commonly, the symptoms of Huntington s disease start appearing during midlife. It may also affect a person during childhood. The symptoms of this disease vary from person to person. Abnormal movement and weight loss are common symptoms, which occur in all stages.

Early stage

The usual early stage symptoms include the following:

Slight coordination changes, which affect balance and make you clumsy
Uncontrollable fidgety movement
Stiffness and slowing
Irritability and depression
Problems with thinking in difficult situations
Middle stage
With passing time, the symptoms start interfering more with the patient s daily life and activities. You may start dropping things, face trouble with swallowing, and talking. Staying organized may get tough. Certain emotional changes are indicated.

Later stage
In the later stage of Huntington s disease, a patient becomes dependent on others for taking care of them. A patient cannot walk or speak, and fidgety movements are likely to become more severe or may subside.

Treatment
Huntington s disease has no fixed cure. Several measures are followed for managing the symptoms. They are as follows:

Medications are used to manage fidgety movements. Other medicines are also used for controlling any other side effect experienced.
Speech or language therapy may be beneficial in case of speech and swallowing problems.
Physical therapy may help you in improving your control movements. Assistive devices like handrails can be used for managing your changing physical abilities.
Nutritional support is used in which special utensils are used to focus on a nutrient-rich diet.
Exercise is also important for patients with Huntington s disease as it enables them to stay active and fit.
In case you experience any symptom of Huntington s disease, it is important for you to consult a doctor immediately. This is a severe disease and early diagnosis and treatment will prevent the condition from worsening.

Huntington's Disease - Understanding the Stages of Symptoms!

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