What is good heart health — and how can you monitor it at home?

In an unpredictable world, it is difficult to avoid stress. But too much stress can cause unlimited damage to your body, including your heart. Be it blood pressure or cholesterol or even stress, out heart health can often be impacted, without us even realizing it. By the time we start to notice symptoms such as breathlessness or chest pain, our heart health has most probably been severely affected. Over the past few years, there has been an increase in the number of people succumbing to death due to a sudden heart attack. This has made people aware of how unpredictable heart health can be. Read on to know how we should take care of our heart.

What is heart health?

Heart health is a broad term that includes a lot of parameters. Most commonly what we mean by heart health is how the arteries that supply blood to the heart are. “These arteries are called the coronary arteries. In heart health, we see how the overall heart pumping function is and also how is the functional status of the patient, whether they are de-conditioned or can they do all the routine activities without any discomfort,” explains Interventional Cardiologist Dr Chirag D.

Also Read: World Heart Day: Keep your heart young post-30s in these 4 simple and effective ways

What are the various tests one can monitor at home?

There are some home-based tests that one can take to measure heart health at home.

1. Heart rate and blood pressure

The most common tests one can monitor at home are heart rate and blood pressure. Heart rate and blood pressure in resting conditions should always be monitored. The normal heart rate is in the range of 60 to 100 and blood pressure is less than 140 by 90 being the optimal reading in most patients, states UK’s NHS.

You can use blood pressure monitors to test your BP at home. If you want to check your heart rate, find your pulse on the wrist, and count the number of time the heart beats. The standard heart rate ranges from 60 to 100 beats in a minute.

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2. Monitor chest pain or breathing difficulty

The one other thing that people can monitor is any effort-related symptoms like chest pain or breathing difficulty walking briskly or climbing a flight of stairs. If such symptoms are noted, early evaluation should be done so that the outcomes of blockages like heart attacks can be avoided. According to the US National Institutes of Health, any pain, pressure, tightness, and discomfort, which starts or radiating to the chest can be an important indicator of potentially serious cardiac ailment.

What are the risk factors affecting the heart?

Heart health can be affected by several factors. Here are some conditions that need to be treated affectively to avoid deteriorating heart health:

1. Hypertension

A very common risk factor of heart diseases is hypertension, which results in hypertrophy of the heart muscle. And when it is left uncontrolled, it can result in dysfunction of the heart, leading to several heart diseases. It is referred to as the ‘silent killer’ as there are no symptoms that are evident, until its too late. Check out the causes of hypertension, and how to avoid it.

2. Diabetes and cholesterol

Uncontrolled diabetes can result in fat build up in the arteries. This is often associated with an abnormal level of lipids and high cholesterol levels. This plaque build up in the artery can be unstable. These can rupture and get exposed to the blood, resulting in a heart attack. The US Centers or Disease Control and Prevention states that people with diabetes are at a higher risk of heart failure.

What are heart blockages?

When we talk about heart blockages, it refers to the thickening or arteries. “When there is a buildup of plaque in these arteries, the arteries undergo narrowing. This narrowing, in general terms, is called a blockage,” explains Dr Chirag.

Blockages can result in two kinds of symptoms; one is stable coronary artery disease wherein the patient, when he exerts too much, such as climbing a flight of stairs, walking briskly or running, may develop chest pain or breathing difficulty. “This happens when the narrowing in the artery is more than 70 to 80 percent. During exercise, these high grade blockages cause symptoms,” says Dr Chirag.

Another form of presentation is an unstable presentation where in the patient’s present with pain at rest. This is called as unstable angina. Here, the block is very severe and is linked with heart attacks. Check out the warning signs of blocked arteries and how to treat this.

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How to treat heart-related problems?

The first step is to to head to the hospital immediately. To diagnose and treat heart blockages, tests like ECG and an echo are done. “We proceed with a stress test which can be a treadmill test or a stress echo or a stress thallium scan. If these tests show high-risk features, we straight away go ahead with the angiogram to see the nature and extent of the block,” says Dr Chirag.

As far as treatment goes, It all depends upon the presentation of the patient. “If a patient has stable symptoms and if the blockage is in one or two arteries and the nature of the blockage is simple, they undergo a procedure called angioplasty which is ballooning of the blockages and then followed by placing of the stent,” says Dr Chirag.

Angioplasty is also the procedure of choice when they present with acute heart attack wherein the blocked artery will be opened and a stent will be placed so that the flow is re-established. The other way to treat blockages is coronary artery bypass surgery which is also called a CABG.

How to keep your heart health in check?

There are many ways that you can prevent heart problems, and keep your heart health in check. The World Health Organization states that some lifestyle changes can contribute to a healthy heart in more ways than we imagine. Here is what we can do:

• Eating a healthy diet is primary when it comes to heart health. Including a variety of fruits and vegetables, and cutting down processed foods is ideal. Getting the right supplements can also help. Check out the best supplements for heart health, and how to consume them.
• Keeping your weight in check, can help your heart as well. Keeping your daily calories in check and preventing obesity is the first step to a healthy heart. Obesity can put your risk at heart. Check out exercises to prevent obesity if you are a heart patient.
• Increasing your physical activity can also help making sure your heart is working fine. Physical activity can help with blood pressure, as well as keeping your weight in check. Your daily workout does not have to be elaborate. Simple stretches to strengthen the heart are enough.
• Avoid smoking and alcohol to make sure that your heart is fine. Both smoking and alcohol consumption is related to poor heart health.
• Getting your heart, blood pressure, and cholesterol regularly can also help you detect anything at an early stage.

FAQs

Can walking reduce heart blockage?

Yes, walking can help with heart conditions. It helps to make the heart muscles stronger and can even decrease the risk of death due to a heart problem.

What foods prevent heart attack?

Consuming a low fat diet, with foods that have a lot of fibre can help reduce the chance of heart attack. Seasonal fruits and vegetables can also help with blood pressure.

How to clear a heart blockage naturally?

While you must show yourself to a doctor, there are some ways of naturally helping a heart blockage that you can try at home. An active lifestyle, and a good diet can help.