World Heart Day is celebrated annually on the last Sunday of September, and encourages healthy heart awareness. It Will be celebrated on 26th September this year, with the theme ‘Team Up for Healthy Hearts’. It works on the idea that getting together and teaming up can be great way for promoting heart health. As individuals, all of us strive to maintain our health
and wellness. But only few know that by teaming up and working
Together, this can happen better and also a great deal faster. This
year’s campaign underlines the role of families and communities in
helping individuals reduce the risk of heart attack and ensure a sound
heart health. This can happen at a variety of levels: be it your
family, school, workplace or even your neighbourhood. So, instead of
doing it alone, team up to eat right and exercise.
How to team up for a healthy heart?
A
healthy heart is vital for healthy living, regardless of one’s age or
gender. One can prevent major cardiovascular risks, like heart attacks
and strokes by choosing a healthy diet, being physically active and not
smoking. This year’s campaign focuses on the need to team up and work
together for a healthy heart. If there is no such existing group, try
to identify others around you who also have an interest in
cardiovascular health and disease prevention and start your own!
Mantra for a healthy heart:
Exercise:
Physical
inactivity is a significant contributor to the ageing of heart, as it
can lead to excess weight gain and obesity, diabetes and hypertension.
Regular exercise helps in:
- Slow down the narrowing of arteries to the heart and brain
- Encourage the body to use up excess stored fat, so it is crucial in helping weight loss and fighting obesity
- Improve
cholesterol levels by increasing the level of good cholesterol (HDL or
high density lipoprotein cholesterol) in the blood - Maintain normal blood glucose levels in order to manage diabetes
- Reduce high blood pressure
- Smokers to quit - smokers who exercise are twice as successful in their attempts to stop smoking
Being active also improves the overall health, gives more energy,
reduces stress, builds stronger bones and muscles, and improves
balance, strength and mobility.
Eat right:
To help
maintain a young heart for life, calories consumed must be balanced
with calories burned. It is therefore recommended to combine exercise
with a balanced diet including plenty of fruits and vegetables, whole
grain products, lean meat, fish and pulses, as well as low-fat and
fat-free products, unsaturated soft margarines and oils such as
sunflower, corn, rape-seed and olive oil.
No smoking:
Smoking,
or any use of tobacco, is another important risk factor of heart
disease. Quitting using tobacco lowers blood cholesterol and
low-density lipoprotein “LDL” cholesterol (bad cholesterol) levels,
reduces blood clotting and the chance of a sudden blockage of an
artery. Setting a good example by not using tobacco gives a clear,
consistent message about the dangers of tobacco to children.
‘Go Red’ for Women
In
2005, roughly half of the 17.5 million victims of heart disease and
stroke - the world’s biggest killer - were women. This year there is a
special Go Red for Women international campaign, which aims to reduce
cardiovascular disease in women through improved prevention, early
diagnosis and treatment. The number of deaths and disability from heart
disease and stroke in women can be reduced by: saying no to tobacco,
eating healthy and doing more exercise.
Workplace Wellness
Your
work and workplace environment has a significant impact on our
physical, mental and social health. It has been seen that a number of
chronic diseases impact people in their “working” years, reducing
productivity and increasing costs. An unhealthy work environment is
characterised by stress, depression, chronic back problems, unhealthy
eating habits due to lack of time and decreased opportunity for
physical activity. A healthy work environment works to:
- improve employee health
- reduce employee stress
- reduce workforce turnover
- improve employee decision-making ability
- reduce organisational conflict
- reduce absenteeism
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Heart Facts
- Forty per cent patients with heart attacks in India are less than 40 years of age.
- Regular
exercise for at least 30 minutes every day, consuming 5 to 6 servings
of fruits and green vegetables protect against heart attacks. - Smoking
more than 20 cigarettes per day increase the risk of heart attack by 5
times, 10 to 19 cigarettes increases the risk by 3 times. - If you are a diabetic your chance of having a heart attack in the next
7 years is 10 times more than a non-diabetic, everything else remaining
the same. - The first few hours after sustaining a heart
attack are crucial for recognition and treatment. Treating a heart
attack within first 2 to 3 hours can reduce the chances of dying from
15 per cent to 3 per cent.
The normal blood pressure at all
ages is less than 120/80 mm Hg. Every 20 mm increase in systolic and 10
mm diastolic pressure beyond this level doubles the risk of a heart
attack and stroke.
Chest Pain Causes
Heart Attack Causes
A heart attack is caused by coronary heart disease, or coronary artery disease. Heart disease may be caused by cholesterol buildup in the coronary arteries (atherosclerosis), blood clots, or spasm of the vessels that supply blood to the heart.
Risk factors for a heart attack are:
- diabetes
- smoking
- high cholesterol
- family history of heart attacks at ages younger than 60 years, one or more previous heart attacks, male gender
- Postmenopausal women are at higher risk than premenopausal women. This is thought to be due to loss of the protective effects of the hormone estrogen at menopause. It was
previously treated by hormone supplements (hormone replacement therapy, or HRT). However, research findings have changed our thinking on HRT; long-term HRT is no longer recommended for most women. - Use of cocaine and similar stimulants.
Angina Causes
- Angina may be caused by spasm, narrowing, or partial blockage of an artery that supplies blood to the heart.
- The most common
cause is coronary heart disease, in which a blood clot or buildup of
fatty material inside the blood vessel (atherosclerosis) reduces blood
flow but does not completely block the blood vessel. - Angina can be triggered by exercise or physical exertion, by emotional stress, or by certain heart rhythm disorders (arrhythmias) that cause the heart to beat very fast.
Aortic Dissection Causes
- Aortic dissection may be caused by conditions that damage the innermost lining of the aorta.
- These include uncontrolled high blood pressure, connective-tissue diseases, cocaine use, advanced age, pregnancy, congenital heart disease, and cardiac catheterization (a medical procedure).
-
- Men are at higher risk than women..
- A similar condition is aortic aneurysm. This is an enlargement of the aorta that can rupture, causing pain and bleeding. Aneurysms can occur in the aorta in the chest or the abdomen.
Pulmonary Embolism Causes
Pulmonary embolism risk factors include:
- sedentary lifestyle,
- obesity,
- prolonged immobility,
- fracture of a long bone of the legs,
- pregnancy,
- cancer,
- history or family history of blood clots,
- irregular heartbeat (arrhythmias),
- heart attack, or
Women who use birth
control pills and smoke cigarettes are at higher risk than women who
have only one or neither of these risk factors (especially over the age
of 35).
Spontaneous Pneumothorax Causes
Spontaneous pneumothorax
(collapsed lung) occurs when the pressure balance between the sac that
contains the lung and the outside atmosphere is disrupted.
- Injury to the chest that pierces through to the lung sac is the most common cause of this condition.
- This can be caused by trauma, as in a car wreck, bad fall, gunshot wound or stabbing, or in surgery.
- Some very thin
and tall people may suffer a spontaneous pneumothorax due to stretched
lung tissues and abnormal air sacs in the upper portions of their
lungs. It is possible for these abnormal air sacs to rupture with even
a sneeze or excessive coughing. - Other risk factors for pneumothorax include AIDS-related pneumonia, emphysema, severe asthma, cystic fibrosis, cancer, and marijuana and crack cocaine use
Perforated Viscus Causes
Perforated viscus may
be caused by direct or indirect injury. Irritation to the diaphragm in
this case comes from below the chest. The diaphragm is the muscle that
allows us to breathe. It is located up under the ribs and separates the
chest and abdominal cavity. Any irritation to the diaphragm, even from
below it, can cause pain to be felt in the chest.
Risk factors not related to trauma are:
- untreated ulcers,
- prolonged or forceful vomiting,
- swallowing a foreign body,
- cancer,
- gallstones, and
- AIDS.
Pericarditis Causes
Pericarditis can be
caused by viral infection, bacterial infection, cancer,
connective-tissue diseases, certain medications, radiation treatment,
and chronic renal failure..
-
- Cardiac tamponade is
an accumulation of fluid around the heart. This prevents the heart from
effectively pumping blood to the body. - Symptoms of cardiac tamponade include sudden onset of shortness of breath, fainting, and chest pain.
-
Pneumonia Causes
Pneumonia may be caused by viral, bacterial, or fungal infections of the lungs.
Esophagus Related Causes
Chest pain originating from the esophagus may have several causes.
- Acid reflux (GERD) may
be caused by any factors that decrease the pressure on the lower part
of the esophagus, decreased movement of the esophagus, or prolonged
emptying of the stomach. This condition may be brought on by:- consumption of high-fat foods,
- nicotine use,
- alcohol use,
- caffeine, pregnancy,
- certain medications (for example, nitrates, calcium channel blockers, anticholinergics, estrogen, progesterone),
- diabetes, or
-
-
- Esophagitis may be caused by yeast, fungi, viruses, bacteria, or irritation from medications.
- Esophageal
spasm is caused by excessive, intensified, or uncoordinated
contractions of the smooth muscle of the esophagus. Spasm may be
triggered by emotional upset or swallowing very hot or cold liquids. -
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