Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in the world but there are a number of ways to avoid heart disease and the complications that come with it. The biggest concern on everyone’s minds these days is heart health or how to improve heart health.

In order to keep your heart healthy, cardiologists recommend a plant-based diet as it is rich in anti-inflammatory Phyto compounds and nutrients that reduce inflammation inside the walls and protect the cells from free radical damage. To prevent heart disease, doctors advise eating 5-7 servings of fruit and vegetables every day, if eating fruits and vegetables doesn’t suit you then juicing can also impact the heart health.

To improve your cardiovascular health, including some drinks with heart-healthy benefits in your diet is beneficial.

1. Beet juice: Beet Juice is made by mixing beet and water and is one of the healthiest drinks for heart patients. Beet is a great source of antioxidant betalains that give deep red color to the vegetable and prevent heart disease risk. It helps in lowering the blood pressure and inflammation of arterial walls.

2. Cranberry juice: Cranberries are a natural source of polyphenols that help reduce the risk of cardiac disease. Cranberry juice is also rich in antioxidants anthocyanins, flavonols, and vitamins C and E which prevent the arteries to constrict and plaque to form on it.

3. Red Grapes Juice: Red Grapes juice contains resveratrol which restricts platelets to stick together. The daily dose of Red Grape juice reduces the risk of developing heart disease.

4. Pomegranate Juice: Pomegranate fruit is a bundle of nutrition. It is rich in Vitamin K that aids in heart health, blood clotting, and nerve impulses. The antioxidants present in pomegranate protects the cardiac system from tissue damage and inflammation.

5.  Orange juice: Oranges are rich in antioxidant Vitamin C that is essential for skin and immune system. Its phenolic compounds, such as cinnamic, ferulic, and chlorogenic acids fight against the free radicals and protect the body from diseases.

6. Garlic Juice: Garlic juice has the potential for cardiovascular protection. It lowers the blood pressure and total cholesterol level and thus prevents atherosclerosis. Garlic is more beneficial when it gets fermented. This fermented garlic is known as Black Garlic. It has more nutritive value than white garlic.

7. Celery Juice: Celery contains phthalides having anti-hypertensive properties that relax tissues of the artery and reduce blood pressure.

8. Apple Juice: the most common type of juice is apple juice. It is rich in antioxidants that fight against free radicals and prevent heart diseases. Apple is also a source of potassium that helps in conducting nerve impulses smoothly.

Other important factors to include in your daily life for a healthy heart are, avoid smoking, drinking, and junk food. Adopt healthy habits, do exercise regularly, and take action as early as you detect the symptom for heart disease.

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for a qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. Jugaadin.com does not claim responsibility for this information.

Patients underlying weak immune system, Diabetic and heart diseases are a great concern. So, to advise patients with underlying cardiovascular disease of the potential increased risk and to encourage reasonable precautions, Dr. Dinesh Sehgal, Interventional Cardiologist at Sapra Multispecialty Hospital, Hisar was invited at Talk@Jugaadin News.

He informed  ”According to a study, the Heart patients can get affected by the virus in several ways. Though the primary focus of Coronavirus is the lungs, but this could have an impact on the heart, particularly the diseased heart, because it has to work hard to get oxygenated blood through the body. In this way, the problem for coronary heart patients increases as the heart is already having difficulty in pumping the blood. Also, the person suffering from heart issues might have a weak immune system so when virus attacks, the body’s immune system can’t fight back with foreign particles. Also, immunity decreases with aging that’ why aged persons are also at risk of getting infection easily. These patients with heart diseases can be considered as High-risk Patients.

He also explained the new coronavirus, spreads through droplets in the air when someone coughs or sneezes. He recommends that people should protect themselves by adopting some very useful habits:

Dr. Dinesh Sehgal, an Interventional cardiologist at Sapra Multispecialty Hospital explaining the diseases that affect the circulatory system or cardiovascular system. By observing the signs and symptoms of these diseases and visiting cardiologists on time, diseases can be prevented and treated.

The 7 main diseases that can affect the circulatory system or Heart includes

1. Atherosclerosis:  In atherosclerosis, the hardening of arteries occurs and it happens when plaque made of cholesterol, fat, and calcium builds upon the walls of arteries and eventually blocks blood flow. It is also known as coronary artery disease.  This blockage increases blood pressure.

2. Heart Attack: Heart attacks occur when there is a shortage of blood supply to the heart due to blockage in arteries causes the heart muscle to damage. Symptoms can be a pain in the center or left side of the chest, shortness of breath, severe sweating, etc.

3. Arrhythmia and dysrhythmia: arrhythmia means “no rhythm” and dysrhythmia means “abnormal rhythm.” which means both are related to abnormal heart rate or rhythm.

4. Heart failure: When heart muscle gets weakened or damaged causes heart failure or congestive heart failure. In this condition, the heart is not able to pump blood around the body.

5. Peripheral artery disease: Peripheral artery disease is a type of atherosclerosis that usually occurs in legs. It causes less blood supply to legs cause cramps and sores in the legs.

6. High Blood Pressure: When force or pressure of the blood flowing through the vessels gets high due to any blockage is known as High Blood pressure.

7. Stroke: A stroke can happen when one of the vessels that lead to the brain either becomes blocked by a blood clot or bursts. This stops blood flow and prevents oxygen from getting to the brain.

Conditions likely to raise chances of Circulatory diseases

High cholesterol causes narrowing of vessels which increases the chances of a person getting a blood clot. Overweight or obese people also have more possibility of developing circulatory diseases. Being active can reduce the risk. By doing regular exercise a person can keep the heart-healthy. Genetic factors are also there for the occurrence of heart diseases.

When to See a Cardiologist

Cardiovascular diseases like stroke, heart failure, heart attack are dangerous, life-threatening and need medical advice as early as possible. Always consult a cardiologist and medical practitioner for a healthy heart lifestyle.

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for a qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. Jugaadin.com does not claim responsibility for this information.

Health factors that increase the risk of Heart Disease

1. Blood Cholesterol: Cholesterol is a waxy, oil-based substance that is both good and bad for the body when present at normal levels. It is produced by your body and you make it through your food also.  Cholesterol helps in many body functions like contributing to the structure of cell walls, making up digestive bile acids in the intestine, allowing the body to produce vitamin D, enabling the body to make certain hormones.

 But above the marked level, it can become a silent killer for the person. High cholesterol is the main reason for Heart attacks. For more information on how to manage the cholesterol level, click http://news.jugaadin.com/manage-your-cholesterol-level-to-prevent-heart-attack/

2. High Blood Pressure: Blood pressure is the act of blood pushing against the walls of arteries. High blood pressure is diagnosed when it remains elevated for extended periods of time. High blood pressure can cause damage to our heart and arteries, which can lead to heart disease, stroke, and other major complications. To know natural methods of lowering the high blood pressure, click http://news.jugaadin.com/worried-of-high-blood-pressure-adopt-natural-ways-to-lower-it/

3. Diabetes: The body needs glucose for energy. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas which helps in converting glucose into energy.  A person suffering from diabetes is unable to process insulin in the body. This causes blood sugar to grow that’s why adults with diabetes are at higher risk of death from heart disease than adults without diabetes.

4. The lack of sufficient physical activity can lead to heart disease. It can also increase the chances of other risk factors such as obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes, having other medical conditions.

5. Drinking Alcohol: Excess of alcohol raises blood pressure levels and increases the risk for heart disease. It increases the level of triglycerides, a fatty substance in the blood that can increase the risk of heart disease.

6. Smoking can damage the heart and blood vessels, which increases the risk of heart conditions such as heart attack and atherosclerosis.

These are some of the factors that are related to lifestyle and by controlling these factors one can prevent occurring of heart disease.

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist/ cardiologist or your own doctor for more information. Jugaadin news has no responsibility for any information.

Tachycardia is of three types:

Supraventricular

Ventricular

Sinus Tachycardia

Causes of High heart rate:

1. Irregular Blood Pressure (High Blood pressure/Hypertension)

2. Excessive exercise, sudden stress

3. Prolonged use of certain medications and their side effects

4. Drinking Alcohol and Caffeine included beverages

5. Heart failure, Heart Attack and reduced amount of blood supply to the heart (Atherosclerosis)

6. Thyroid

Dr. Dinesh Sehgal explains the symptoms of Tachycardia which include:

1. Shortness of breath

2. Dizziness

3. Sudden weakness

4. Fluttering in the chest

5. Lightheadedness

6. Fainting

7. Heart Palpitations

To prevent Tachycardia, the following tips can be followed:

Exercise, maintain a healthy weight, keep blood pressure and cholesterol levels under control, healthy diet, stop drinking alcohol and smoking, stay stress-free.

If you have heart disease, you can consult a cardiologist to lower your risk of developing tachycardia.

Disclaimer: The material contained on this site is for informational purposes only and DOES NOT CONSTITUTE THE PROVIDING OF MEDICAL ADVICE, and is not intended to be a substitute for independent professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.  Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare providers with any questions or concerns you may have regarding your health.

There are three approaches when dealing with heart diseases: invasive, non-invasive, and interventional cardiology.

The difference between these three approaches explained by Dr. Dinesh Sehgal, Director Cardiology Department at Sapra Multispecialty Hospital.

Non-invasive: The non-invasive procedure usually involves external tests rather than the insertion of body fluids, needles, or other such devices to diagnose heart disorders, cardiovascular diseases, or other heart conditions. This feature usually prevents further complications of the heart. Overall, this does not include the breakdown of the skin or any part of the body. These procedures are as simple as listening to the heartbeat, being non-invasive to perform such tasks, as well as taking a pulse and blood pressure. This evaluation is also useful in cases where patients are suspected to have valve disease, chest pain or another history of heart diseases. Further conditions treated in this way are nuclear cardiology, echocardiography (to identify the pumping of blood, infection, or any structural abnormalities), cardiac electrophysiology (electric currents to produce and evaluate the heartbeat). , Treadmill stress test (how to perform one under stress). Holter – Heart monitor, echocardiogram, trans-esophageal echocardiogram, myocardial perfusion scan and CT scan (for diseases of the heart and atherosclerosis). In most of these procedures, imaging using ultrasound waves, tape recorders, or electric currents are used to monitor cardiac activity.

Invasive: It is a minimally invasive procedure to identify heart abnormalities. Such procedures are usually minor surgeries that need to be broken into the patient’s skin. These include perforation, catheterization, incision, etc. Such procedures are used in situations such as angioplasty (arteries blocked by a balloon are opened to increase blood flow) and Stenting (a stent – a thin metal needle inserted to open a vein). In addition, invasive procedures are conducted for coronary angiography, coronary artery bypass grafting, valve replacement surgery, electrophysiology, right heart catheterization, permanent pacemaker digestion, automated transplant cardiac defibrillator (ACID), for acute chest pain. The equipment used is usually laparoscopic and remote controlled for these procedures.

Interventional: The interventional cardiologists perform treatment / traditional treatments for severe cardiovascular diseases to ensure that blood is delivered to the heart later and to other parts of the body. This approach uses a small catheter used to repair arteries or vessels or other parts of the heart surrounding areas i.e. treatment of structural heart diseases. Occasionally, angioplasty and stenting may be referred to as traditional procedures because they are catheter-based and require the opening of blocked arteries. Other conditions treated by this method are coronary artery disease (narrowing of the arteries), heart valve disease (not working well in relation to blood flow), peripheral vascular disease (clogged or hardened arteries and veins), Pericardiensis, transesophageal echocardiograms, and plaques. Invasive and interventional cardiology is closely related to where cardiologists work on similar techniques to overcome a patient’s disease.

Coronary Angiography is an X-ray of the arteries in the heart. It helps in viewing how blood flows in the arteries.

How Coronary Angiography is done?

Coronary Angiography is done using a thin flexible tube called Catheter. Through the catheter, a liquid dye is injected into the desired artery. The point from where the catheter is drawn can be arm or groin. This point is cleaned and numbed with local anesthesia.  Then the hollow tube called catheter is induced into the artery and the dye injected to show the flow of blood on the X-ray. Wherever there is a blockage or narrowing blood vessel, it shows on the X-ray. The whole process took nearly 30 to 60 minutes.

In Coronary angiography, the patient is discharged from the hospital after several hours or the next day.

Precautions and Risks after Angiography:

There are some precautions that every heart patient undergone Angiography should follow.

They must take ample liquid diet to prevent dehydration and for flushing of excess dye injected during the procedure.

Do not lift heavy objects for a week if the catheter is injected through the groin.

Puncture site may be slightly bruised and have a small bump for some days.

Call the cardiologist or visit the hospital if symptoms like bleeding, new bruising or swelling, discomfort at the catheter site.

Infection, such as redness or fever, change in color of the leg or arm that was used for the procedure and Weakness or numbness in the leg or arm where the catheter was inserted.

Dr. Dinesh Sehgal ( Interventional cardiologist at Sapra Multispeciality Hospital, Hisar suggests that a person should eat food to prevent Heart stroke are:

1. Fruits: Add servings of fresh fruits in your daily diet. Try to incorporate fruit into or after each small meal that you eat.

2. Vegetables: Vegetables are filled with good nutrients including fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. Because of all these nutrients, add a raw and cooked form of vegetables in your daily diet to prevent heart diseases.

3. Whole Grains: Stop using processed and refined bread and pasta. Start using whole grains which are rich in iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, selenium, B vitamins and dietary fiber.

4. Nuts: These are heart-healthy snack only when used in moderate amount. They help in maintaining cholesterol level as it contains good cholesterol (unsaturated fats). Nuts should be eaten in the limit as they include high calories.

5. Omega 3 Fatty acid-rich food: Include foods that are rich in omega 3 fatty acids as they help in alleviating the high triglycride level. Good source of Omega 3 fatty acids is seafood including salmon and tuna fish, oyster.

Dr. Dinesh Sehgal, (Cardiologist) also suggest what foods should a person must avoid

Sodium intake: It is suggested that an adult should take sodium below 2300 mg/day. It is a dietary addition that has a direct correlation with heart health, increasing blood pressure and putting stress on the arteries in the heart.

Cola Drinks: Sodas and juices aren’t good for us. The link between increased sugar in our diets and heart disease, diabetes and stroke is strong.

Red meat and processed foods: This kind of foods contain saturated fats that can increase cholesterol and risk for heart disease and stroke.

There is a strong connection between heart health and diet. Heart illness, stroke, and diabetes fatalities were attributed to diet. Modifying our diets will make it easier for us to have a healthy heart.

Dr. Dinesh Sehgal, Interventional cardiologist, Sapra multispeciality Hospital explain some signs and reasons that give you an alarm why you should visit the heart physician for maintaining a healthy heart:

1. High Cholesterol level: When the total value of Cholesterol (HDL and LDL) becomes high, your risk for heart disease increases. Always keep a check on cholesterol level with the guidance of your doctor.

2. High Blood Pressure: If you are suffering from high blood pressure and it constantly remains high, then you are at high risk of having heart disease.

3. If you are or were a smoker, you have an increased rate of heart disease. Cigarette smoking is injurious not only for lungs but it also damages the lining of arteries wall and causes blockages.

4. Genetics play an important role in determining the rate of Heart disease. If your parents or forefathers were having heart issues, then it is likely that you also can face Heart diseases.

5. Diabetic patients whose blood sugar level remains high are more susceptible to suffer from High BP, High Cholesterol and Obesity.

6. Preeclampsia: Preeclampsia is a condition in which an expectant mother develops high blood pressure. The condition has been linked to a fourfold increase in the risk of heart failure, making pregnancy the most dangerous time for a woman’s heart outside of the post-menopausal years.

7. Tooth and Gum Disease: Patients with swollen gums often have heart disease.

8. Last but not least, when your family doctor or Physician recommends you to see a cardiologist, you must pay attention to their words and visit the specialized physician as soon as possible.

Cholesterol being waxy in nature doesn’t dissolve in the blood. So to be transported in the bloodstream, it is divided into two forms known as LDL (low-density lipids) and HDL (High- Density lipids). LDL is known as Bad cholesterol and HDL as good cholesterol.

As cholesterol is produced by our own body, thus we do not require it from an outside source. The outside source like trans fat, saturated fats, a diet rich in cholesterol only increases the cholesterol level and trigger the body to produce more which is very much harmful to the Heart or coronary arteries.

Foods that are low in saturated fat and free of cholesterol can help in lowering blood cholesterol level. And these include plants that are rich in soluble fiber, which helps lower cholesterol by lowering the absorption of cholesterol and reduces the amount of cholesterol the liver produces. Oatmeal, barley, beans, nuts, and some fruits and vegetables are all good sources of soluble fiber.

There are many studies through which it is found that vegetarian diet holders as compared to non-vegetarian are less prone to heart diseases. It is recommended to adopt a low-fat, plant-based diet, get daily exercise, avoid tobacco, and manage stress to reverse the chance of heart disease.

This article is intended to promote understanding of and knowledge about general heart health topics. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your cardiologist or another qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment.