Staying active is essential for the heart and overall health. Regular activity is one of the best ways to make a good recovery once diagnosed or treated for heart disease. But how, and how much?

A regular exercise is one of the most important things you can do for you heart. Being active helps you live longer and reduces the risk of heart disease by 50%. But once you are diagnosed with heart disease, you may be scared and feel uncertain as where do you start? And how much physical activity is healthy and safe?

In this blog we will try to explain why and how even people whose conditions put them at higher risk of cardiac arrest can exercise safely. Even in patients with damaged heart that are causing heart failure, exercise can be important for improving quality of life. But this has to be within reason and care should be taken to avoid worsening the underlying conditions.

What should people consider when exercising with a heart condition?

Most importantly the underlying heart condition should be considered while developing an exercise plan.

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If someone has coronary artery disease (blockage, of the arteries due to cholesterol), then overexercising may cause chest pain and increases the risk from the underlying conditions.

On the other hand, patient with heart rhythm problems, may exercise as much as they wish.

What type of exercise is usually advised? Does it exclude cardio?

Heart disease patients can do cardio exercise and is indeed good for the prognosis. But the intensity of cardio exercise must be tailored and planned by the cardiologist according the patient’s condition.

In general, if your health condition is negatively impacted by exercise, high-intensity or competitive sports should be avoided. Taking a personalized approach from your cardiologist is advised.

What are the warning signs to take care of while exercising?

Key to minimize the risk is to avoid excessively intense exercise or competitive sports. If you or the patients have breathlessness, chest pain, palpitations or dizziness during exercise, one should stop exercising immediately and seek medical from cardiologist nearby.

Wrapping Up…

Physical activity is good for everyone with heart disease and even small amounts are beneficial. The best way to know if you are doing an exercise properly is to “listen to your body” and notice any warning signs as mentioned above. We hope these guidelines & tips will help heart patients and their health professionals choose the best and most enjoyable activities for them.

Overview

Cholesterol is a waxy type of fat, or lipid, which moves throughout your body in your blood. Lipids are substances that do not dissolve in water, so they do not come apart in blood. Your body makes cholesterol, but you can also get it from foods. Cholesterol is only found in foods that come from animals.

It is known fact that we need some cholesterol to help building healthy cells, but an accumulation can be problematic, increasing the risk of atherosclerosis (the build-up of fats, cholesterol and other substances in and on the artery walls).

What are cholesterol levels?

The two major cholesterol-carrying lipoproteins are low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL):

LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) is often referred to as “bad” cholesterol because too much of it can build up in your arteries and form plaques, which increases the risk of heart disease.

HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) is often referred to as “good” cholesterol as it carries cholesterol to the liver to be broken down and excreted.

Your cholesterol level is the combination of LDL and HDL, so ideally you may want your LDL to be lower and HDL higher.

Why age is a factor that can influence your cholesterol

As people get older, cholesterol levels rise naturally. For example, people who have gone through menopause may have higher LDL and lower HDL cholesterol levels.

Further, children with risk factor of a family history, such as whose parents or grandparents have had heart attacks or been diagnosed with blocked arteries at the age of 55 or earlier in males and 65 or earlier in females, should be tested for cholesterol between ages 2 and 10.

Here’s a table indicating healthy cholesterol levels by age. The following table was adapted from the Cleveland Clinic (“mg/dL” means “milligrams per deciliter). [Source]

What other factors affect cholesterol level?

A variety of factors can affect cholesterol levels. Some risk factors are within your control, while others are not:

Genetics – a family history of heart disease.

Sex – males often have higher levels of LDL, while women’s LDL level increase after menopause.

Weight – obesity increase the cholesterol levels.

Sedentary lifestyle – lack of physical activities.

Unhealthy diet – eating too many saturated and trans fat & not enough fiber.

Smoking – increases your bad cholesterol and reduces good cholesterol level.

SEE ALSO: Five Facts to Know About Your Cholesterol

Ending note…

It is highly important to keep your cholesterol levels in normal range to prevent heart diseases. If you have been recently diagnosed with high cholesterol levels, there are many healthy lifestyle changes that can help to get back them in healthier range.

Healthy cholesterol levels change with age because as we get older, cholesterol levels rise naturally. If lifestyle changes cannot keep your cholesterol levels at a healthy level, consult your cardiologist for any medication and treatment recommendations.

An enlargement of the aorta, the main blood vessel that delivers blood to the body, at the level of the abdomen. An abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) can be life-threatening if it bursts.

What is an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA)?

The word “aneurysm” is borrowed from the Greek “aneurysma” meaning “a widening.” So basically, aortic aneurysm is a dilation or bulging of the aorta.

And it is called an Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) when it happens in the part of the aorta that’s in your abdomen. AAA doesn’t always cause problems but a ruptured aneurysm can be life-threatening.

If you are diagnosed with AAA, your doctor will probably want to monitor it closely even if it doesn’t intervene directly. Depending on the size of the aneurysm and its growth rate, the treatment option varies from watchful waiting to an emergency surgery.

Let us learn more about this condition in detail, from the causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment options.

Causes of abdominal aortic aneurysm

Exact cause of AAA is unknown but certain factors do increase the risk for them. They include:

Smoking – as it directly damages the artery and making them more likely to bulge.
Hypertension (high blood pressure) – as it weakens the walls of your aorta.
Vascular inflammation (vasculitis) – serious inflammation within the aorta and other arteries can occasionally cause AAAs.

Who is at risk for an AAA

Abdominal aortic aneurysm risk factors increases, if you:

• are male
• are obese
• are over age 60
• have a family history of heart conditions
• have high cholesterol
• live a sedentary lifestyle
• smoke tobacco products
• have had trauma to your abdomen

Symptoms of an abdominal aortic aneurysm

Most aneurysm has no symptoms unless they rupture. If it ruptures you may experience following symptoms:

• Deep, constant pain in the belly area or side of the belly (abdomen)
• Pain spreading from abdomen to your pelvis, legs and buttocks area
• Sweaty skin
• Increased heart rate
• Loss of consciousness
• A pulse near the bellybutton

How it is diagnosed

Unruptured AAs are often diagnosed when your doctor is examining your abdomen for other reasons. If your doctor suspects AAA, they may also check the blood flow in your legs or use one of the following tests:

• Abdominal ultrasound
• CT scan of the abdomen
• Chest X-ray
• MRI of the abdomen

Treatment for abdominal aortic aneurysm

As said earlier, depending on the size of the aneurysm and its growth rate, the treatment option varies from watchful waiting to an emergency surgery.

Depending on the exact location of the aortic aneurysm, your doctor may perform surgery to repair or remove the damaged tissue. Surgery may be done with:

Open abdominal surgery – a more invasive surgery & has a longer recovery time. It is necessary if the aneurysm is very large.

Endovascular surgery – a less invasive surgery & it uses a graft to stabilize the weekend walls of the aorta.

SEE MORE: EVAR (abdominar EndoVascular Aneurysm/Aortic Repair) and TEVAR (Thoracic EndoVascular Aneurysm/Aortic Repair)

Ending note…

AAA can be prevented by focusing on your heart health. Watch what you eat, do regular exercise and avoid every cardiovascular disease risk factors. Your doctor may suggest to screen you for an AAA when you turn 65 if you’re at a higher risk due to smoking and other factors.

More and more people are becoming obese which is not healthy. The prevalence of obesity continues to climb nationwide, as does the prevalence of heart diseases requiring heart surgery. Generally the BMI indicates if you are obese or overweight.

People who are obese and overweight are going to face severe chronic illness or stress. They are also at an increased risk for diabetes, kidney disease, heart diseases and heart failure. The fact is approximately, 35%-40% of patients requiring heart disease treatments or a heart attacks are suffering from obesity and overweight.

Moreover, excess body weight can pose risk not only before heart surgery, but it can pose additional problems even after a heart surgery or any cardiovascular disease (CVD) treatments.

SEE ALSO: What Happens After a Heart Attack?

How does excess body weight pose risk?

Obesity related medical conditions like kidney diseases, arthritis, heart diseases and conditions, sleep apnea, etc. limits your ability to engage in activities required before and after a major heart surgery. It also prolongs the recovery process and regaining the normal regular routines.

Moreover, most heart disease treatments are anecdotally more difficult and riskier to perform on patients with obesity. What affects is the life after a heart surgery for the patients with obesity and overweight.

Excessive weight is associated with number of complications after a heart conditions treatments and are worth discussing with your cardiologist. The complications may include:

• Prolonged time requiring mechanical ventilation (breathing machine)
• Pneumonia
• Reduced kidney function or kidney failure
• Poor wound healing
• Slow recovery
• Sternal (breastbone) wound infection

Collectively, these complications generally increase your hospital stay slightly.

What can be done about it?

The best strategy for any critical issues like these is prevention. You should have a clear understanding about these complications with your heart disease specialist, to guide you optimizing your health before and after any treatments. We have collected a few questions or concerns you should ask your cardiologist. Questions/concerns may include:

• What kind of exercise is safe for me before getting treatment for heart disease?
• Are there any specific activities or breathing exercises, I should prefer doing before surgery, to reduce any complications?
• Are there any unique things I should watch out for immediately after treatments or after I leave the hospital?
• When can I begin to exercise post heart surgery?
• What exercises I should do to reduce my weight, also good for your heart health?
• Being a diabetic or pre-diabetic, how can I control my blood sugar level?

If you have specific goals planned after your operation, don’t hesitate to discuss them with your cardiologist. Note down everything so that you can remember every important information that your consultant shares with you.

Ending Note…

Post-operative follow is very crucial for patients with obesity and overweight. This allows the medical team to ensure if you are healing appropriately and taking your medications correctly. It will also help them understand whether you are staying on the right track toward a healthier life.

Life after a major heart disease recovery could be physically and psychologically stressful, but setting up goals and following the advices properly can help you stay motivated toward progress. Your ultimate goal should be to reduce your weight.

Have any questions regarding, post heart disease treatments and care? Talk to us or drop us a message.

The human body is like a well-oiled machine. The heart has one of the most important functions in the machine — pumping blood throughout the body. This process is called circulation.

There are many different types of heart disease, and heart valve disease is one of the most common. Fortunately, valve disease is treatable — when found in its early stages.

The anatomy of the heart

In order to understand the heart valve disease, it is important to have a basic idea of different parts of the heart. Consider below image:

The heart has four chambers.  Atria – two small chambers at the top of the heart & Ventricles – larger chambers at the lower part of the heart. The bottom ventricles have valves with flaps that work like doors, opening and closing to allow blood flow throughout the heart and the rest of the body.

Valve disease can be sneaky
Valve disease can get worse over time if left untreated. It sometimes can be mistaken for something else. For example, a person with lung diseases can have a shortness of breath. However this might be a sign of valve disease as well.

Physicians can detect heart valve issues if they notice a heart murmur. Again not all murmurs are from valve disease. Echocardiography is the best way to detect the valve disease.

Types of valve disease

Regurgitation – Blood flows in the wrong direction, leaking backward through a valve.

Stenosis – A valve narrows and won’t open enough, not allowing enough blood to flow.

Valve prolapse – It occurs when the flaps are too weak and cannot close tightly. This type of disease only affects the mitral valve.

Who gets it

Some people are born with a predisposition having weak leaflets, which causes leakage of the valves. Stenosis is more to occur with age.

Problems that cause valve disease:

• Infection of the valves
• Calcium and other deposit can stiffen the flaps of valves
• Heart attack, heart failure or build-up of plaque (atherosclerosis) inside the arteries

Other risk factors include:

• coronary artery disease
• family history
• radiation therapy
• some diet medicines
• certain autoimmune disorders including lupus, rheumatoid arthritis

What it feels like

Many people with heart valve disease don’t have symptoms during the early stages. But early treatment is very important.

Common signs and symptoms include:

• a heart murmur
• shortness of breath, especially after being active or when lying flat in bed
• unusual fatigue
• dizziness or fainting
• heart palpitations
• swelling in ankles, feet or belly

Since early treatment is highly important for heart valve diseases, if you suspect there is something wrong, talk with your doctor.

Diagnosis and treatment of heart valve disease

Your cardiologist can tell if you have valve disease by taking certain physical exams such as:

• listening to your heart to hear the sounds the heart makes as the valves open and close – a murmur
• checking if the heart rhythm is irregular – arrhythmia
• listen to your lungs to hear if you are retaining fluid in your lungs, which shows your heart is not able to pump as well as it should

After physical examinations, the doctor may order diagnostic tests. These may include:

• Echocardiography
• Transesophageal echocardiography
• Cardiac catheterization (also called an angiogram)
• Radionuclide scans
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

Treatment for heart valve disease depends on the type and severity of valve disease. There are three goals of treatment for heart valve disease: protecting your valve from further damage; lessening symptoms; and repairing or replacing valves.

Medications. You may be prescribed medications to treat your symptoms and to lessen the chance of further valve damage.

Surgery and Other Procedures. Heart valves may also be repaired by other procedures such as percutaneous balloon valvuloplasty. Valves can be repaired or replaced with traditional heart valve surgery or a minimally invasive heart valve surgical procedure.

If you think you have heart valve disease, make an appointment to see your cardiologist.

Structural heart disease is a problem with the heart tissues or valves of the heart. Many, structural heart diseases are congenital heart disease, which means present at birth. Some structural heart disease will develop later in life.

THERE ARE MANY KINDS OF STRUCTURAL HEART DISEASES.

Aortic valve stenosis

Valvular stenosis occurs when a heart valve doesn’t fully open due to stiff or fused leaflets. The narrowed opening may make the heart work very hard to pump blood through it.

Heart valve disease

Heart valve disease is when one or more valves in the heart is damaged causing problems with blood flow.

Mitral valve regurgitation

In this condition, one of the valves in your heart, the mitral valve, lets blood leak backward into the heart.

Cardiomyopathy

This condition is described as changes in the heart muscle. In most cases, the muscle becomes stiff and enlarged.

Marfan syndrome

It can cause an aneurysm to form in the aorta or cause problems with the mitral valve.

Myocarditis

This is when the heart muscle becomes inflamed.

SYMPTOMS WITH STRUCTURAL HEART DISEASES

Most of the times symptoms will include:

• Mini strokes, also known as transient ischemic attack (TIA)
• Stroke
• Shortness of breath
• Chest pain
• A tight feeling in the chest
• High blood pressure
• Leg cramps – Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD)
• Kidney dysfunction
• Irregular heart beats
• Extreme tiredness (fatigue)
• Coronary artery disease

DIAGNOSIS & TESTS

Your cardiac surgeon will evaluate your signs and symptoms and may conduct a physical examination. Doctor will listen to your heart murmur as this can be a sign of a heart valve condition. There are several tests to diagnose this condition further. Tests may include:

• Echocardiography
• Electrocardiogram (ECG)
• Chest X-ray
• Cardiac MRI
• Exercise test or Stress test
• Cardiac Catheterization

STRUCTURAL HEART DISEASE TREATMENT

Sometimes, you don’t need any treatment for your structural heart disease, but your doctor will probably want you to get tested regularly to see if your disease changes or gets worse. If treatment is needed, some of the possible treatments might include:

• Prescribe and adjust medicine
• Open or bypass coronary arteries – CABG
• Repair or replace heart structures
• Implant cardiac devices
• Replace or assist your heart – heart transplant

Defective heart valves and other structural heart defects are often treated through traditional open-heart surgery. Several minimally invasive cardiac surgery to address these issues are becoming more common as well such as transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR).

“TAVR brings new hope for people with advanced heart disease, especially for older patients whose frailty or degree of heart damage make an open-heart procedure challenging. It’s easier on the patient, allows for quicker recovery and, ultimately, can improve our patients’ quality of life.”
–Dr. Matthew Jonovich | Part of expanded Henry Ford Center for Structural Heart Disease Program

CAN STRUCTURAL HEART DISEASE BE PREVENTED?

Most of the time, structural heart disease is something that you are born with, and there is nothing that you can do to prevent it. However, there are times that it may develop after birth. If this is the case, some things that can prevent structural heart disorder include:

• Prevent clogging of the arteries with lifestyle changes
• Keep habit of regular exercise
• Manage blood pressure
• Limit the use of alcohol & drugs

While the structure of your heart may not be completely in your control, living a heart-healthy lifestyle is. It ensures your heart is as strong as it can be. Do you have questions about structural heart disease?
Contact Dr. Tejas V. Patel – Cardiologist in Ahmedabad.

There is no denying the fact that obesity has been on the rise among today’s generation and has been proven making life uncomfortable. Nearly a third of adults and quarter of children today are overweight, according to a report by the global burden of disease study published in the Lancet Medical Journal.

However, obesity also comes with much more serious health issues including heart disease. The number of years spent obese or overweight contributes to higher likelihood of heart damage. For each 10 years that a person spent obese, their risk increased 1.25 times.

How does obesity contribute to heart disease?

In particular, there’s a clear link between obesity and heart disease. The obesity and heart disease correlation has been found in many areas, including that it can increase cholesterol levels, clog arteries, elevate blood pressure, and lead to diabetes, which is a factor in developing heart disease.

Heart diseases caused by obesity

Here are some of the diseases affecting your heart health due to obesity.

High Blood Pressure – Obese people require more blood to supply oxygen and nutrients to their bodies, which causes an increase in blood pressure because the heart has to beat with more force.

Heart Palpitations – Obesity increases the risk of irregular heart beat (arrhythmia). This condition, called atrial fibrillation, can cause blood clots to form, leading to heart failure, stroke, and other issues.

Increased Cholesterol Level – Most of us know that obesity can cause a spike in bad cholesterol and triglyceride levels, but what we don’t know is that it also lowers the good high-density lipoproteins (HDL) cholesterol.

Affects Heart Attack Recovery – Staying obese after a heart attack means, the person is at risk of getting another heart attack or any other heart related conditions. But treatment after heart attack often focuses on maintaining a healthier weight.

Lose weight, get healthy and reduce risk

Obesity is one of the very few conditions that have the cheapest treatment- a healthy lifestyle. This can be challenging, but there are a number of steps you can take to address obesity and heart disease, including:

• Eating a healthy diet
• Regular exercise
• Bariatric surgery

So considering these risks and heart conditions, let us take a few hours of the day or weekend to jot down how you can make your lifestyle better. It can be taking the stairs instead of the lift, walking to nearby shops instead of using vehicles, avoiding snacks in between meals, reducing the portion of meals etc.

We all know that over whole body depends on the heart, but we might not know if it’s in trouble. Consider your heart as an engine of the body. If the engine slows down, has a short circuit or gets clogged, the engine fails.

Don’t wait for heart disease or a heart attack to strike you. A cardiologist highly recommends to pay attention to the signs that your engine needs a checkup or tune-up for any heart issues like a blood clot. We have gathered six symptoms of an unhealthy heart to watch out for.

#1 You are dog tired

We often assume being tired is a part of our busy life and daily routine, but the problem may be from your heart. When the heart muscle begins to fail, it is considered as a slow failure and being fatigue is the symptoms that we first observe.

Further, if you are getting enough sleep and still feel fatigue, it’s a red flag obviously.

#2 Climbing stairs leaves you huffing and puffing

If you have to catch your breath while climbing stairs, could it be that you are out of shape? Could be but again it could be your heart.

If you find you can no longer tolerate exercises that once you did it easily (like climbing stairs), that’s a clue that your heart needs a checkup. So leave out any assumptions and get it checked.

#3 You feel anxious several times

OK, there’s been a lot to be anxious in 2020, but this can often be a symptom of underlying heart problems.

Stress, anxiety and panic attacks can cause palpitations, and anxiety disorders are also associated with cardiovascular problems. So even if you think it’s regular anxiety, you should still get your heart checked.

#4 You feel dizziness upon standing

Feeling dizzy is a result of poor blood circulation into your brain and inner ear. If your heart can not pump enough blood where it needs to go, you may feel lightheaded or dizzy upon standing.

#5 You have pain/burning sensation in your chest area

Could it be a heartburn? Yes, but it might not be as well. Because when the heart pumping is clogged, it may present vague pain around chest, arm, neck and back. Please pay attention to this and consult cardiologist immediately.

#6 Even your resting heart is higher than normal

If you have 60 to 100 bpm (and ideally below 90 bpm), it’s an indication that your heart muscle is working well. Anything higher than that (or much higher than normal for you) deserves a mention at your next checkup.

Bottom line…

Let us make a commitment that on noticing any of above mentioned symptoms, we get our heart checked. Timely checkup is what your heart love you for.

If your cardiologist or primary care doctor has ordered an echocardiogram, don’t get frightened – it’s not as intimidating as it might sound. Called an “echo test” for short, it’s a painless test that’s noninvasive and doesn’t use ionizing radiation.

This test help cardiologist to diagnose and treat the heart disease accurately. We have gathered few frequently asked questions.

Need consulting for echo test in Ahmedabad? Contact us.