Top Health Tips on Managing Atherosclerosis

Hello,

Mein Dr. S.K. Tyagi. EECP ke bare mein kuch tathya, facts main public ko batana chahunga. Pahli cheez ye external therapy hai, ismein koi cut, wiring, injection, glucose, operation wagaira kuchh nahin hota hai, pressure based mechanism hai, US FDA approved method hai, aur iske jo benefits hai ke bina operation, bina dard ham apna goal achieve kar sakte hain. Number two jo small vessels hain, jo branches hain, jo badi arteries hai, god ne arteries 3 badi main arteries hai unki ko branches hai, unki disease ko ballooning, stenting ya bypass surgery take care nahin kar sakti hain.

To ye EECP therapy small vessel disease ke liye bhi important hai. Hamen proper results angioplasty ya bypass se nahi mil paate hai kyunki distal branches jo small vessels hain unme bhi problem hoti hai, to desired results nahin milte isliye kuch patients ko CABG operation ke baad bhi angina rehta hai ya stent ke baad bhi angina rehta hai ya koi complications ajaati hai after surgery or angioplasty. Uska main reason small vessel disease hai jisko EECP control karti hai small vessels ko bhi dilate karke collateral vessels develop karti hai.

Dusra EECP therapy un patients main bhi ki ja sakti hai jo high risk cases hai, jinki heart ka ejection fraction ya pumping power bohot kam hai, jinko operation mein bohot risk hai, unko heart transplant ki bhi salah di jaati hai. Jo cases iske layak nahi hai ki wo kara paye kyunki high risk hai, apni life khona nahi chahte hain unke liye bhi ham EECP aaram se successfully kar paa rahe hain kyunki iski koi complications nahi hai. To iska main purpose small vessel disease, new vessel formation aur un patients ko laabh dena hai jinka ham operation nahi kar paate hain high risk ki vajah se ya patient nahi karana chahta dar ki vajah se ya high risk wo nahi lena chahta unke liye bohot hi kargar therapy ha.

Thank you

While every organ in the body needs to be cared for, the heart assumes a very special place. What is good for the heart can be good for the whole body and the reverse is equally true. The effects of a diet that is unhealthy for the heart is definitely unhealthy for the whole body.
With lifestyle changes like heart disease, diabetes, obesity and stroke are on the rise, the importance of eating a heart healthy diet has assumed all new levels of importance. The following are some of the heart healthy foods that should be a part of everybody s diet.

Fatty fishes: Salmon, sardines and mackerel are loaded with generous amounts of Omega-3 fatty acids and reduce the risk of arterial plaque buildup. They are also rich in antioxidants. Eating fish at least twice a week is recommended; for non-fish eaters, supplements of Omega-3 fatty acids are recommended.
Oatmeal: Oats again are rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, folate and potassium. It is also rich in soluble fibre and is believed to lower bad cholesterol and keep the arteries free of plaque. It soaks up the cholesterol in the digestive system and helps manage cholesterol.
Avocado: This creamy fruit has loads of monounsaturated fat which helps lower the levels of bad cholesterol and improve levels of good cholesterol. They also improve absorption of other carotenoids like lycopene and beta-carotene, which are also extremely heart friendly.
Berries: Blueberries, strawberries, and other berries reduce the risk of heart attack by almost one-third. These are rich in compounds like anthocyanins and flavonoids which are proven antioxidants. They relax the blood vessels and reduce blood pressure and reduce the incidence of heart attacks.
Dark chocolate: Chocolate which contains 60-70% cocoa is rich in polyphenols, which helps blood pressure, clotting, and inflammation.
Olive Oil: Loaded with monounsaturated fats, this helps reduce levels of bad cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. The extra-virgin variety is preferred for cooking in place of regular vegetable oils.
Nuts and seeds: Almonds, walnuts, pistachios, peanuts, and macadamia nuts are packed with mono and polyunsaturated fats, fibre, and vitamin E. Flaxseed is rich in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids and can be added to oatmeal or eaten raw.
Soy: Soy products, including tofu and soy milk, are ideal for adding protein and reducing cholesterol and polyunsaturated fats, fibre, vitamins, and minerals.
Legumes: These are high in omega-3 fatty acids, calcium, and soluble fibre.
Spinach: Helps with its rich content of fibre, folate, lutein and potassium. In fact, most vegetables have a beneficial effect.
Green tea: Rich in antioxidants, it reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke.
Include some of the heart healthy foods and see your heart smile!!

Having a heart of gold is a metaphor but at the same time is something which is quite achievable, as long as a person looks out for oneself and makes an effort to eat the right foods!
If a person who wishes to maintain good heart health is willing to search out the right foods to eat, there is a surfeit of benefits. Just some of these benefits are a lower level of the bad sort of cholesterol, as well as a slower rate of plaque growth.

Foods for a Healthy Heart

Fish is something which is known to have great benefits for the mind and now, the heart, too. This is especially true, if the fish which is being eaten happens to be salmon. Fish in general, and Salmon in particular, has Omega-3 fatty acids, which are the best sort which can be consumed bar none. As a matter of fact, the medical evidence of this is so much that the American Health Association has made it a point to recommend that each person eats fish at least twice a week.
If eating fish and preparing it seems to be too much of a hassle, what can be done is to make sure that supplements which have these properties are consumed on a regular basis. Talking about Omega-3 fatty acids, adding a small amount of chia seeds to whatever a person is having has a lot of health benefits. However, as should normally be the case, the person has to make sure that his or her hydration is more or less adequate as the side effect of this not being the case can have a greater impact than the benefits as it can result in constipation!
Oatmeal is something which somehow finds its way to the breakfast table of a lot of health conscious families and it can be said that this is with good reason. This is because oatmeal has the great property of imbibing the cholesterol which is present in a person s digestive tract and to a great extent, making sure that this cholesterol does not find its way to the bloodstream where it can cause significant damage to the heart and body in general.
However, instead of eating the instant oatmeal variety, having the comprehensive sort is good as it is likely to be sans sugar, which is something which may not be the case with instant oatmeal. All these health benefits add up and can be mulled over a glass of green tea, which is also amazing for the heart!

Today with the rising instances of cardiovascular diseases, people have become really conscious about their heart's health and want to opt for items that promote good health. Oil is one of the most important components in food that is almost unavoidable so it is recommended to educate yourself about the different kinds available. Mustard oil is an age old oil that is used to cook almost all types of foods in India and then there is refined oil which is processed to meet the customers' needs. It becomes difficult to choose an oil that is actually beneficial to your health.

Health benefits

Mustard oil is derived from mustard seeds which is a little pungent and dark yellow in color. It is widely used as cooking oil in India. It is known to contain healthy fats that do not accumulate in the blood vessels and is also a source of omega 3 and 6 fatty acids and decreases the cholesterol level. Mustard oil has Glucosinolate, an antimicrobial ingredient that provides protection from infections.

Refined oils are natural oils which have been processed to remove impurities, odor, and contaminants. They are chemically treated to make the oil look clearer and cater to the customers' preference. Not many health benefits of refined oil are known apart from the fact that it is rigorously treated to meet the needs of the customers such as refined oils for heart patients. Filtered oil, on the other hand, is made by only eliminating impurities without being chemically processed which is better than refined oil.

Harmful effects

Though generally mustard oil is regarded as healthy, researchers have found its downside too. Mustard oil has considerable amounts of erucic acid and heavy consumption may cause diarrhea or anemia. It is also known to cause skin eruptions and Rhinitis. It is recommended to consume moderate amounts of mustard oil so that you don't expose yourself to such risks.

Refined oils have much more harmful effects on your health than mustard oil. To begin with, the very fact that it is chemically treated makes it quite harmful. The process of refining involves nickel which has detrimental effects on the skin, respiratory system and liver. Preservatives and sodium hydroxide are also added during the processing which is harmful to the digestive system.

It is always better to go natural; so, mustard oil wins the debate but not without some glitches. It is advisable to choose your oil wisely and also monitor your consumption.

In today's stress filled time it is important that we take good care of your heart health. As heart illness takes a larger number of lives than the other ailments consolidated. Heart problem is the main enemy of both men and ladies and currently, one in four citizens has some type of heart ailment.

However, both current drug and Ayurveda agree that there are things you can do each day to keep your heart healthy and we have a few recommendations to help you. Pick maybe a couple and begin with those in the event that you like, then include a couple all the more at regular intervals until you are normally carrying on with a heart-healthy way of life. Reward your heart, as well as your whole physiology will much obliged.

Mitigate away stress: As indicated by ayurveda, a comprehensive way to deal with heart health obliges you to feed the passionate heart and also the physical heart. The heart is not only a pump it's the origin of all feelings, whether it's bliss and elation or trouble and dissatisfaction.
Develop the positive: While averting abundance stress is fundamental to keep the enthusiastic heart from squandering without end, effectively looking for mental and passionate prosperity can help the enthusiastic heart thrive. Ayurveda discusses ojas, the substance that looks after life.
Eat right: Ostensibly the most basic stride you can take towards heart health is to eat a heart-accommodating eating routine. Pick new sustenances over prepared nourishments or remains; light sustenances over rich, rotisserie ones; and warm, cooked nourishments over chilly, overwhelming nourishments. An adjusted cell reinforcement Rasayana, for example, Brahma Rasayana is phenomenal healthful backing, and distributed examination affirms that Amrit decreases LDL cholesterol, which has been involved in plaque develop.
Eat carefully: How you eat is as essential for heart health (and general health) as what you eat. Eat modestly, the perfect ayurvedic 'part' is the thing that fits in your two measured palms. Try not to skip suppers, since eating three dinners at general times every day "prepares" your processing to suspect and process your sustenance.

Let's understand the function of our heart and how to keep it healthy! Our heart is a muscular organ, located just behind and slightly left of the breast bone. It pumps blood through the network of arteries and veins called the cardiovascular system.

The heart has four chambers:

The right atrium receives blood from the veins and pumps it to the right ventricle.
The right ventricle receives blood from the right atrium and pumps it to the lungs, where it is loaded with oxygen.
The left atrium receives oxygenated blood from the lungs and pumps it to the left ventricle.
The left ventricle (the strongest chamber) pumps oxygen-rich blood to the rest of the body. The left ventricle s vigorous contractions create our blood pressure. The foods you eat, the amount of activity you do as well as your lifestyle can dramatically affect the overall health of your heart along with many other tissues that make up your cardiovascular system. Unhealthy eating habits can lead to various Heart Disorders.
Let s look at the ways to keep it healthy!

Healthy mind healthy body, so it is important that you take peaceful 7 to 8 hours of sleep.
Keep yourself out of stress, involve yourself in regular some stress buster activities.
Keep a check on your Blood Pressure.
Cut your saturated fat intake and make an effort to check the ingredients of your intake. Too much bad cholesterol can clog the heart and arteries with dangerous plaque.
Keep control of your blood sugar level.
Exercise at least 30 minutes a day, if you're doing nothing, do something and if you're doing something, do extra.
Eat more fruit and less fruit juice.
Control obesity and keep your body mass index(BMI) at controlled level to be fit.
Quit smoking as soon as you can and get yourself into having something else that you like at regular intervals, which is healthy.
Cut your calorie intake and cut your sugar-sweetened soda and keep a check on all your sweet temptations.
Eat a lot of Seafood.
Find ways to keep yourself happy and out of worries, be with lively people.
Breathe slowly and deeply for a few minutes a day.
Get yourself into Yoga.
Keep a regular check of your heart health under your doctor s guidance.
Leave aside all your worries! Have a Healthy Heart and a Healthy Life!

A blood clot (also called a thrombosis) is a mass or clump of blood that forms when blood changes from a liquid to a solid.

The body normally makes blood clots to stop the bleeding after a scrape or cut. But sometimes blood clots can partly or completely block the flow of blood in a blood vessel, like a vein or artery. This can cause damage to body organs and even death.

Most women with blood clotting conditions have healthy pregnancies. But these conditions may cause problems for some pregnant women. In severe cases, they can cause death for both mom and baby. But testing and treatment can help save both you and your baby.

If you re pregnant or trying to get pregnant and have had problems with blood clots in the past, tell your health care provider at a preconception checkup (before pregnancy) or at your first prenatal care checkup. Also tell your provider if someone in your family (your parent or a brother or sister) has had problems with blood clots. This means the condition may run in your family.

What problems can blood clots cause during pregnancy?
If you have a blood clot or a kind of thrombophilia called antiphospholipid syndrome (also called APS), you may be more likely to have complications that can affect your health and your baby s health, including:

Blood clots in the placenta. The placenta grows in your uterus (womb) and supplies the baby with food and oxygen through the umbilical cord. A blood clot in the placenta can stop blood flow to your baby and harm your baby.
Heart attack. This usually happens when a blood clot blocks blood and oxygen flow to the heart. Without blood and oxygen, the heart can t pump blood well, and the affected heart muscle can die. A heart attack can lead to lasting heart damage or death.
Intauterine growth restriction (also called IUGR). This is when your baby grows poorly in the womb.
Miscarriage. A miscarriage is when a baby dies in the womb before 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Placental insufficiency. This is when the placenta doesn t work as well as it should so your baby gets less food and oxygen.
Preeclampsia. Preeclampsia is a condition that can happen after the 20th week of pregnancy or right after pregnancy. It s when a pregnant woman has high blood pressure and signs that some of her organs, like her kidneys and liver, may not be working properly. Some of these signs include having protein in the urine, changes in vision, and severe headache.
Premature birth. This is when your baby is born before 37 weeks of pregnancy.
Pulmonary embolism (also called PE). An embolism is a blood clot that moves from where it formed to another place in the body. When the clot moves to a lung, it s a PE. PE can cause low oxygen levels in your blood and damage your body organs. It s an emergency and a leading cause of death during pregnancy. Signs and symptoms of PE may include:
Trouble breathing
Fast or irregular heartbeat
Chest pain
Fainting
Feeling anxious
Coughing up blood
Stillbirth. This is when a baby dies in the womb after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Stroke. This happens when a blood clot blocks a blood vessel that brings blood to the brain, or when a blood vessel in the brain bursts open. Pregnancy and childbirth cause strokes in about 8 in 100,000 women. Stroke can cause lasting damage to the body or death.
Thrombosis. This happens when a blood clot forms in a blood vessel and blocks blood flow. It most often happens in the deep veins of the legs but can be in other places of the body:
How are these conditions treated?
Your provider may use tests like ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging (also called MRI) to find out if you have a blot clot or clotting conditions. Ultrasound uses sound waves and a computer screen to show a picture of your baby inside the womb. MRI is a medical test that makes a detailed picture of the inside of your body. These tests are painless and safe for you and your baby.

If you are pregnant and have a clotting condition, you may need to go for prenatal care checkups more often than women who don t have these blood clot conditions. At these visits, your provider checks your blood pressure and can use other tests, like blood tests, to monitor your health.

Your gynaecologist also checks your baby s health in the womb using tests like:

Ultrasound to check your baby s growth and development. She may use a special kind of ultrasound called Doppler to check your baby s blood flow in the umbilical artery, a blood vessel in the umbilical cord. The umbilical cord connects your baby to the placenta. It carries food and oxygen from the placenta to the baby.
Fetal heart rate monitoring (also called a nonstress test or NST). This test checks your baby s heart rate in the womb and sees how the heart rate changes when your baby moves. Your provider uses this test to make sure your baby s getting enough oxygen.
A blood clot occurs when your body sends cells, called platelets, to interrupt the stream of blood. Typically, this happens when you have a cut, to keep the damage from draining consistently. During pregnancy, your blood will probably cluster as a defense mechanism against losing an excess amount of blood during the process.

Signs and Symptoms

Women have a tendency to be more sensitive and risk-prone of potential difficulties while they are pregnant. Despite the fact that blood clots are far-fetched, there are a couple of signs that can demonstrate the possibility of a blood clot. These include:

Swelling or pain in one leg
Pain that increases when you walk
Veins that look bigger or more swollen than usual
Different components that can additionally raise your odds of growing profound vein related blood clots in pregnancy include:

Being thirty-five or older while pregnant
Pre-pregnancy blood clots outside of pregnancy
Being overweight
Smoking
Having a cesarean conveyance (C-section).
However, there are certain solutions to every problem. In order to get rid of blood clots during pregnancy or prevent them from happening, these are the possible solutions:

Continue moving: In case that you are overweight and inactive, it will affect your blood-stream and increase your risk for profound vein clots in pregnancy. So, remain active and keep up a healthy weight. If you must be on bed rest because of a damage or inconvenience in your pregnancy, your specialist may endorse blood thinners as a careful step.
Get up during travel: Flying alone is a risk for clots; so pregnant women need to be very careful about that. In case that you need to fly, get up and move around consistently and do a lower leg exercise while you sit. Do a similar thing in case you go for a long journey or have to travel fast.
Wear pressure tights: Since they enhance the flow and lessen swelling in the legs, pressure tights can bring down your danger of profound clots in pregnancy.
Drink loads of water: Remaining hydrated during pregnancy forestalls clots by keeping the blood from getting too thick.
The reason pregnant women need to be aware of the connection amongst pregnancy and clot risks is that an untreated clot can possibly break free and go through the circulatory system. The fear is that it will move to the heart or lungs and cause a pneumonic embolism, which can lead to death.

A heart disease is definitely something, which is serious. In most cases, it is the result of a person s lack of prudence when it comes to staying fit and moderating what food items feature in the diet. But is this always the case? Well, not at all. Genetic or hereditary heart diseases, such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, long QT syndrome, very high cholesterol levels running in the family and many others, provide enough reason as to why not.

This is because a person cannot be blamed for a hereditary heart disease as the reason why this occurs is on account of the genetic makeup. So, the best way for one to know, if there is a risk of this sort of disease is to take a look at the family history with respect to the disease.

Keep a record: One of the ways by which a person can get to know if there is a risk of a hereditary heart disease is by finding out, if a condition known as arrhythmia is prevalent in the family. This is a condition in which the heart has an irregular heart beat and can be potentially lethal. Other things which are to be watched out for include, but are not limited to, a track record of members in the family who have faced a heart failure at a young age, especially prior to them reaching the age of 50.
Watch out for signs: It is not always true that the signs of hereditary heart diseases pertain to the heart. If a person has fainted or has had seizures, and an effective treatment could not be performed by making use of the normal medicines, which would generally be used in these circumstances, it could be taken as a sign of presence of hereditary heart disease.
Get tested: To know if there is a risk of a hereditary heart disease, it is important that a person gets genetically tested. This is to be done so that the gene analysis can provide details as to which hereditary heart diseases a person has, along with the other members of the family. There are various tests for things such as HCM, ARVD and Marfan syndrome.
Apart from this, undergoing genetic counselling is also considered important. This is to keep a check on the worries of having a sudden heart attack as well as the concerns one may have about passing the genes relating to the heart disease to one s offspring. This is one of the most necessary, but underrated things when it comes to dealing with a hereditary heart disease.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR is an activity that should be learnt by everybody. It s a skill that comes handy at the time of the crisis. Owing to the fact that 90 percent of the overall cardiac related conditions occur outside the hospital, learning CPR becomes essential. A person with the knowledge of CPR can save the life of a patient in those crucial seconds when life hangs in the balance. Here is a brief know how about CPR and the way it is done:

Before CPR is started:

It is necessary to tap the patient on the shoulder and ask if he is fine. If the answer is not in the affirmative, seeking medical help is the best possible alternative. If medical help such as ambulance is out of reach, starting the CPR is the best possible way to go.

CPR for children above 9 years:

The patient should be laid on their back and the person intending to give the CPR should kneel next to the shoulder and neck of the patient. The heel of one hand should be placed to the center of the chest of the patient. The heel of the other hand should be placed over the lace and first fingers together. The elbow of the person intending to give the CPR should be kept straight and the shoulder should be aligned directly over the hands. Thus, begins the process of compression as hard as possible. The aim should be to compress at least 100 times within a single minute. The chest should be given the chance to arise fully in between each compression. One small hat tip in this regard is to give the CPR in the disco mode. One beat at a time.

CPR for infants and children below 9 years:

Before starting the CPR, the head should be tilted backward and the chin should be lifted upward to open the passage for the airway. In case the breathing is absent, either of the below-mentioned rescue breaths should be applied:

For a child, the nose should be shut and mouth should be completely sealed.
For an infant, the seal is applicable on the mouth and the nose both.
This should be followed by blowing in the mouth till the chest has a visible rise. There should at least be 30 chest compressions given to the patient within a minute. While For a child the chest should be pushed with one or two hands, for an infant, the chest should be pushed with no more than three fingers. The above steps should be repeated three to four times.

How to treat Coronary Artery disease?

Hello. This is Dr. Rohit Sane, Medical Director of Madhavbaug. I've done my MBBS, I've done my fellowship in Cardiac Rehabitilation from Apollo Hospital. Today we'll be talking about blockages and the available treatment options on this disorder. Normally we call this as blockages but the medical term for this is atherosclerosis or else coronary artery disease. Now whenever a blockage has been identified in you coronary artery the search for n number of treatment options begins. We need to understand what all treatment options are available for treating a blockage coronary artery. Now, as all of us know there are many invasive options in which we can invade the coronary artery with angioplasty or else we can open the whole thorasic cavity with bypass surgery. Or else there are non invasive therapies also.

Now we need to understand what to take as a decision when a coronary artery has been blocked. What will lead to our decision are typical simple parameters that we need to assess. Consider that I've been diagnosed with a coronary artery blockage. The next thing I'm supposed to do is to perform a stress thallium. Angiography helps me to diagnose whether I've a blockage in my coronary artery or not. Now once I've been diagnosed with a coronary artery the next thing I'm supposed to do is to undergo a stress thallium. Now, the question arises why. Stress thallium will give you two inferences, the first one whether this blockage has resulted into any damage in your coronary artery or not. And second whether this blockage is really blocking your blood supply to your heart muscles or not. Based on these two parameters we can take the next option whether to go for invasive therapy or whether to go for non invasive therapy.

Talking about non invasive therapy can the blood supply to the myocardium be increased with it? Yes. there are n number of invasive therapies which can help you to increase blood supply to the heart muscle. The only thing that decides whether to go for invasive or non invasive therapy would be some type of stress thallium or a normal stress test. A simple stress test where in you have to walk for about 15mins on a modified Bruss's protocol or else 9mins on Bruss's protocol with a typical ECG which is monitored by the doctor. If at all you get this stress tolerance test, whether it be thallium or a normal stress test, if you get your stress tolerance test done, based on this report we'll be able to take a decision whether to go for invasive or whether to go for non invasive therapy.

So, a simple parameter which is called as MET value, which is nothing else but the exercise tolerance capacity of your heart muscle. As your MET value is a clear indicator of your exercise tolerance capacity of your heart muscle, this will help us to decide whether to go for invasive or whether to go for non invasive treatment options. Thus, if at all a coronary blockage is identified in your heart with angiography the next thing you got to do is get a stress tolerance test done which will help you to take a good decision in the future.

For more information log onto Lybrate. Thank You.