All you need to know about Heart Disease !

What is Heart Disease?

What is Heart Disease? This question has has been asked by many people. So here is the answer.

Heart is a pumping machine which pumps continuously about 1 lac times in a day to supply blood to the whole body. The tubes called Arteries, supply blood to the body as well to the pumping muscle of the heart. These tubes (Arteries) to the heart muscles called coronary arteries , get deposition of fats in the inner wall — gradually making the tubes narrower.

When only 20% is left out (80% blocked) the person become a heart patients. He/She gets chest pain/breathlessness on walking or physical exertion. It takes 10–40yrs to create these blocks. This deposition process can be stopped and this can save lives of millions of people dying of heart attack in the whole of the world including yourself.

What is Heart Attack?

What is Heart Attack? This is also a very common question. So here’s the answer for you.

Though the blocks of the coronary tubes take years — heart attack, which means 100% blockages takes few moments. Due to increasing blockage the inner wall of the tubes get stretched gradually and then breaks/ruptures one day. Some chemicals are released from the ruptured membrane and create a local clot which further close it completely. Some areas of heart start dying immediately and if the dead area is large — it may kill the person. Heart attacks can be identified as acute chest pain at rest (or breathlessness & sweating).

What causes the blocks? The lipid or fats.

sh, eggs, milk and its products) and the source of Triglycerides in food are oils and dry fruits\ seeds — which are full of fats. If we can stop the supply of these two fats in our diet — this can prevent further blockage. Some cholesterol ow to the heart muscles. Cholesterol is present in all animal foods that we eat (Meats, Fats called Cholesterol and Triglycerides in the blood make LDL cholesterol which actually cause these blockages. The LDL crosses the inner wall (thin membrane called endothelium) and deposit . They keep on adding up over the years — causing obstruction of blood  & Triglycerides are also manufactured in the body especially in the liver. Body also manufactures one protective chemical; called HDL which can help in reducing fats in the blockages. All these fats are called Lipids which can be tested in the blood. Cholesterol should be best below 130mg/dl in blood and Triglycerides below 100mg/dl, if you want to prevent or reverse the blockages.

Factors that speed up blockaging.

Five more factors can help in speeding up the blockage deposition and these are High Blood Pressure, High Sugar, Smoking or Tobacco, Overweight and Stress. If we can keep them in control, blockage can be stopped from growing. Best would be to keep the BP at or below 120/80 mm/Hg; Sugar; fasting/PP at or below 100/140 mg/dl or three month control (called HbA1c) below 6.5% .Tobacco in any form including smoking should stop. Our weight should be normal and we should cut down t he psychological stress to an optimum level.

Factors Protecting the Heart            

Walking for at least 35 minutes/day, Yoga, plenty of fruits and vegetables are four factors which can help the heart by slowing down the fat deposits or stopping them. Fruits and Ve g e t a b l e s / S a l a d h a v e fib e r s a n d Antioxidants (chemicals that slow the deposits of LDL). Fibers help in reducing cholesterol and weight. HDLC, a member of Cholesterol team also helps reversing blockage is called Good Cholesterol. It should be at least 25% of cholesterol.

Hope you liked this article!

This article is written by Dr. Bimal Chhajer (India’s Best heart specialist)