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Heart Diseases & Treatments
Heart ailments across India are on the increase. One of the
reasons for heart disease is High Blood Pressure. Medically,
high blood pressure is called “Hyper tension”. High blood
pressure has become a very common malady these days. Only 50% of
the patients know about it and only 25% are being treated.
Before we discuss further about high B.P., let us first know
about our Heart.
Heart is a very hard working organ of out body. Human heart is a
hollow, muscular, cone shaped organ. Stretch out your hand and
make a fist. The heart is about the same size as your closed
fist. It slightly tilts to the left of our body and may weigh
about 800 gms
What does the heart do?
Imagine a water pump that lifts water to the over head tank of
your house. Heart is similar but it pumps blood. It achieves its
pumping action by contraction and expansion. The rhythmic
contraction and relaxation is called a “heart beat”. Every time
your heart beats, it pumps blood containing oxygen and other
nutrients, continuously through the circulatory system to all
the parts, nook and corner of your body.
Amazing heart facts
Heart beats about 100,000 times a days (as said above) and 35
million times a year, your heart will beat 2.5 to 3 billion
times in your life time. Heart began to form when you were 4
weeks old in the mother’s womb. Your body has about 5.6 litres
of blood. These 5.6 litres of blood circulates through the body
3 times every minute. In one day, the blood travels a total of
19,000 km. The heart pumps about 1 million barrels of blood
during your lifetime. The rate of heart beat in men is 80 per
minute that is heart beats in every 0.8 second. The pulse you
feel, by placing two fingers at the throbbing pulse points on
your wrist, is the blood as it moves through your arteries. As a
kid, your pulse may range from 90 to 120 beats per minute. As an
adult your pulse rate could be 72 beats per minute. Even at
rest, the heart works twice as hard as the leg muscles of a
person sprinting.
Functions of the heart
Heart circulates oxygen and nutrient rich blood to all organs of
the body. All the organs, cells, tissues receive oxygen and
return carbon-di-oxide, which is carried back to heart. Heart
sends blood to lungs to be purified and gets back oxygenated
blood.
Requirement of the blood
Like any other part of the body, heart also needs pure,
oxygenated blood, to function properly. The coronary arteries
that rise from the aorta supply oxygen rich blood to the heart
muscles.
Anatomy of the Heart
Heart is a four chambered muscular “pump” located in the chest
cavity. There are two chambers on top and two, below. The upper
chambers are called Auricles (also Atria – Each chamber is
called Atrium)
The lower chambers are called “Ventricles”. There are fibrous
muscle partitions, called “septa” (plural for the word “septum)
separating the left and right auricles and the left and right
ventricles.
Blood flows in the heart
The impure blood from rest of the body is brought to the right
auricle and then passes into right ventricle. The right
ventricle contracts and blood is pumped into pulmonary artery.
This blood travels through the lungs where it is purified and
oxygenated. This returns to the heart at the left auricle
through which it flows into left ventricle. This ventricle
contracts and the blood goes rushing into aorta and to other
parts of the body.
Heart diseases
One of the prime reasons for the heart diseases is is High Blood
Pressure. It increases the heart’s work load. The heart thickens
and becomes stiff. B.P. increases risk of stroke, heart attack,
kidney failure. If the high B.P. patient has also obesity,
smoking habit, diabetes, high cholesterol levels, then the
danger increases several times.
What is Blood Pressure:-
The period of cardiac cycle during which the heart contracts is
called “Systole”. The term usually refers to ventricular
systole, which last about 0.3 seconds. Auricle systole lasts
about 0.1 seconds.
The period between two contractions of the heart, when the
muscle of the heart relaxes and allows the chambers to fill with
blood is called “diastole”. This term usually refers to
ventricular diastole which lasts about 0.5 seconds. During
exertion this period reduces, allowing the heart rate to
increase.
Blood pressure is the lateral pressure that the blood exerts
against the walls of the main arteries. Pressure is high during
systole (when ventricles contract) and lower during diastole
(when ventricles are relaxing and refilling). In other words
your blood pressure is the pressure your heart and arteries
apply, in order to supply and circulate blood around your body.
It goes up when you exert or get angry or excited. It returns to
normal when these moments pass.
For clinical purposes the blood pressure is measured at the
large brachial artery of the arm. Here the pressure is most
similar to that of blood leaving heart. The doctor uses a B.P,
instrument. It is measured in millimeters of mercury. The normal
range is – systalic 120 mm/ hg and diastolic – 80 mm hg. This is
written as 120/80.
To get the proper reading of B.P. follow the following
precautions:-
- If you reach your doctor’s clinic in a hurry, sit
down and relax for some time before checking your B.P.
- Do not get your B.P. checked immediately after
meals. Not also after urination. Not also when you have
tension.
- While B.P. measurement is being taken, do not bend
forward or do not sit with your legs crossed.
High blood pressure – (Hyper tension)
Generally any B.P. consistently above 140 mm Hg (systolic) and /
or 90 mm Hg (diastolic) is considered High blood pressure.
The risks of hyper tension:-
High blood pressure is a silent killer. It is one of the major
causes of disability and death all over the world. If it is not
controlled it will cause the following diseases: Heart attack,
stroke, Enlargement of heart, High B.P. makes heart work faster
and harder. Congestive Heart failure or damage may occur, Blood
vessels may shrink, Kidney problems and Eyes may be affected.
The causes for high B.P.
In Ayurveda hypertension is called ‘Rakta capa vriddhi’. It is
caused by imbalance of the three doshas (vata, pitta and kapha).
In ‘Vata’ type the patient has gas problems, nervousness,
anxiety and insomnia. The B.P. and pulse will be irregular.
Pitta type patients have headaches, nose bleeds. Red eyes,
irritability, anger. The kapha type has obesity, lethargy, high
cholesterol etc. Some of the causes could be:- Stress and hectic
life style, Vitiation of vata, Smoking and drinking, Obesity,
hardening of arteries, Metabolic disorder, Excessive intake of
salts and Overloading of ‘junk’ foods.
The symptoms of hyper tension could be Pain in the back of the
head and neck while waking up which soon disappears,
Palpitations, difficulty in breathing, Head ache, frequently
getting angry, Vertigo, dizziness, Frequent urination and
Fatigue.
The remedies
Low fat, low salt vegetarian diet is to be taken. Avoid meat and
eggs. Include dairy products, garlic, lemon, parsley and fruits
like Grape, gooseberry, water melons in your diet. Potassium and
calcium have been found to be useful in reducing high B.P. These
two nutrients help body to secrete excess sodium and control
vascular system. Potassium is available in fruits and vegetable
and calcium in dairy products. Eat more of Anti oxidant foods.
Give up coffee. It enhances action of adrenaline which in turn,
raises the B.P. Smoking must be stopped Drinking also is
prohibited. Regular exercise improves the body, helps in
reduction of weight. Watch your weight and avoid obesity. Be
cool and avoid stress and tension. Laugh away your worries.
Meditation & yoga help to achieve a calm mind.
Ayurveda has a long history of treating High Blood pressure. The
first anti – hyper tension medicine was an Ayurvedic herb, “Sarpagandha”
( Rauwolfia serpentine). Ayurveda has wonderful medicines and
tonics for treating high B. P and cardiac problems.
Certain useful herbs are:
Sarpa Gandha, Jatamansi, Terminalia Arjuna, Brahmi (Bacopa
monnieri), Shanka pushpi (Evolvulus Alsinoides), Ashwagandha (Withania
Somnifera), Pushkar mool (Inula Racemosus), Pippali (Piper
longum), Rose (Gulab – Rosa Damascence), Ginger (Zingiber
officinale),
Vegetables and fruits helpful in containing high B.P. are,
Garlic: Garlic reduces formation of gas, modifies heart rhythm,
relives shortness of breath and slows down pulse rate.
Indian Gooseberry: A tablespoon of fresh juice of Gooseberry
with honey, taken every morning brings down high B.P.
Lemon: The vitamins in lemon prevents capillary
fragility. Hence lemon is used in treating high B.P.
Watermelon: The seeds of this fruit, dried and
roasted should be taken in liberal quantities because a
substance extracted from the seeds, is said to have a definite
action is dilating blood vessels, which results in lowering the
B.P.
Grapes Ayurveda advises that when a man
complains of chest pain, he may be given a glass of orange or
Grape juice. Grape juice regulates heart beat. Grape juice helps
in producing blood. French people who consume more of ‘Red’ wine
made of grapes, have been found to be resistant to heart
attacks.
Rice:- Rice is a beneficial food for hyper
tense persons because of its low – fat, low cholesterol content.
Brown rice, in particular, has calcium that sooths the nervous
system.
Potato: Potatoes boiled with their skin, lower
blood pressure. They are rich in potassium but have low sodium
salts. The magnesium content in this vegetable is beneficial.
Summing up, the foods suitable for a high B.P. patient are:-
What, rice, Ragi, sprouted cereals, Fish, Greens, Fruits, Sun –
flower oil, Gingelly oil, Soya seed oil, fibre fruits like
apple, orange, banana vegetables like carrots cabbage, Potatoes,
Tomato, Beans etc.
Avoid:-
Fried, oily food, Dalda (Vanaspathi), Milk cream, Ghee, Butter,
Pickles, Chips, Palm oil, Coconut oil, Chicken, Meat, Pappads,
Sauce, Chocolate, Cake, soft drinks, icecream etc. Do not starve
your self. Eat properly at the proper time. Physical exercises
and yoga are very beneficial. These must be done on the advice
of your doctor. Walking is a simple but highly beneficial
exercise. Whenever possible walk daily. Do not use lift. Try to
climb steps. Salt is detrimental to health, particularly for
High B.P. patients. You must avoid salt. Avoid Sugar. Anti –
oxidant foods protect your body against “Free radicals”. These
free radicals are like “Thieves” who wait for an opportunity to
rob you off good cells & tissues. So take more of anti oxidants.
One of the most common problems facing mankind is heart disease.
Because of the high tension life style of today's world, heart
diseases are now attacking even teenagers.
One of the main reasons for heart diseases is high level of
cholesterol in the blood.
What
is cholesterol?
It is a soft, waxy substance found in all
body's cells and among the lipids in the blood stream.
Cholesterol and other fats can not dissolve in blood.
Level of cholesterol in the blood
High blood level of cholesterol (240 mg / dl.
and higher) greatly increases an individual's risk of heart
attack.
How does the body get cholesterol?
From two sources. Our own bodies - It is
synthesised in the body from Acetate, mainly in the liver. The
other source is - animal products such as meat (beef, chicken,
fish) egg yolks, cheese and other whole milk products.
Because the body can easily make all the
cholesterol it needs, it does not really need any additimal
cholesterol from foods. Just like oil and water cholesterol and
blood do not mix. Therefore cholesterols have to be transported
to and from the cells by special carriers called lipoproteins.
Check your cholesterol level (Total
cholesterol)
| 160 mg / dl |
Optimal for people with a
history of heart disease |
| 200 mg / dl |
Desirable for general population |
| 200 mg / dl |
to Borderline high blood |
| 239 mg / dl |
cholesterol |
| 240 mg / dl |
High Blood cholesterol or greater |
Excess cholesterol, actually the low -
density lipoprotein, part of cholesterol deposited in the artery
walls coat the wall linings causing the hardening of the walls.
Blood flow gets restricted, and the heart has to do more
pumping. The hardened arteries can rupture, bleed, haemorrage or
clot. If the clot blocks the arteries completely, halting blood
supply to the heart or brain, heart attacks and strokes occur.
That's why LDL cholesterol is often called "bad" cholesterol.
Lower levels of LDL cholesterol reflect a lower risk of heart
disease.
Decrease 'bad' cholesterol (Low
density lipoprotein)
Avoid animal and hydrogenated fats. Use
moderate amounts of vegetable oils. Eat more un - refined foods
(whole wheat, bread, cereals, etc,.). Have fruits, vegetables
and legumes (peas, beans, soya beans).
Increase 'Good' cholesterol (High
density lipoprotein)
Increase your physical activities. Loose
weight or maintain a healthy weight. Stop smoking. Replace
saturated fats with poly - unsaturated or mono saturated fats.
Things That Affect Blood Cholesterol.
Your blood cholesterol level is influenced by
many factors. These include.
What you eat: High intake of
saturated fat, dietary cholesterol, and excess calories leading
to overweight can increase blood cholesterol levels. The average
daily intake of dietary cholesterol is 220-260 mg for women and
360 mg for men.
Over weight: Being
overweight can make your LDL - cholesterol level go up and
you're HDL - cholesterol level goes down.
Physical activity: Increased
physical activity lowers LDL - cholesterol and raises HDL -
cholesterol levels.
Heredity: Your genes partly
influence how your body makes and handles cholesterol.
Age and sex: Blood
cholesterol levels in both men and women begin to go up around
age 20. Women before menopause have levels that are lower than
men of the same age. After menopause, a woman's LDL -
cholesterol level goes up - and so her risk for heart disease
increases.
Other measures
Consume soluble fibres - which flush out
extra cholesterol (cooked dry beans, oats & whole grains). This
helps lowering both total cholesterol & LDL. Eat chicken rather
than mutton wherever possible. Chicken fat is mainly in the
skin, so be sure to remove it. Eat more fish. Moderate your
consumption of eggs and dairy products such as cheese, whole
milk, cream and butter. Choose low fat varieties wherever
possible.
Ayurvedic Remedies for Perfect
Cholesterol Levels
Garlic - Report and researches on garlic are
suggestive of its cholesterol lowering effects. It has been
found that garlic can reduce cholesterol levels by an average of
9 to 12% over a period of 4 months.
Onion - Onion assist the functioning of the
heart by correcting thrombosis and reducing cholesterol. Eat
onions with the outer skin as the skin has potent fat lowering
properties.
Turmeric also lowers cholesterol level.
Channa: Cicer arietinum - Germinating seeds
contain a hormone known as Isoflavone Biochanin A which not only
lowers cholesterol levels but also excretes the already
deposited cholesterol from the arteries - Atherosclerosis.
Other Herbs useful in lowering cholesterol
levels are Guggul -(commiphora mukul), Tinospora cordifolia
Saussurea lappa, Terminalia arjuna etc.
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