{"id":12796,"date":"2024-09-28T14:05:49","date_gmt":"2024-09-28T14:05:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/?p=12796"},"modified":"2024-09-28T14:05:49","modified_gmt":"2024-09-28T14:05:49","slug":"what-is-good-heart-health-and-how-can-you-monitor-it-at-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/?p=12796","title":{"rendered":"What is good heart health \u2014 and how can you monitor it at home?"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Heart health includes checking over all functioning of the heart. Many steps can be taken to ensure heart health at home.<\/p>\n

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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.<\/p>\n

What is heart health?<\/h2>\n

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. \u201cThese 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,\u201d explains Interventional Cardiologist Dr Chirag D<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Also Read:<\/strong> World Heart Day: Keep your heart young post-30s in these 4 simple and effective ways<\/a><\/p>\n

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Hypertension and cholesterol can affect heart health. Image courtesy: Adobe Stock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What are the various tests one can monitor at home?<\/h2>\n

There are some home-based tests that one can take to measure heart health at home.<\/p>\n

1. Heart rate and blood pressure<\/h3>\n

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\u2019s NHS<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You can use blood pressure monitors<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

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2. Monitor chest pain or breathing difficulty<\/h3>\n

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<\/a>, any pain, pressure, tightness, and discomfort, which starts or radiating to the chest can be an important indicator of potentially serious cardiac ailment.<\/p>\n

What are the risk factors affecting the heart?<\/h2>\n

Heart health can be affected by several factors. Here are some conditions that need to be treated affectively to avoid deteriorating heart health:<\/p>\n

1. Hypertension<\/h3>\n

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 \u2018silent killer\u2019 as there are no symptoms that are evident, until its too late. Check out the causes of hypertension<\/a>, and how to avoid it.<\/p>\n

2. Diabetes and cholesterol<\/h3>\n

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<\/a> states that people with diabetes are at a higher risk of heart failure.<\/p>\n

What are heart blockages?<\/h2>\n

When we talk about heart blockages<\/a>, it refers to the thickening or arteries. \u201cWhen there is a buildup of plaque in these arteries, the arteries undergo narrowing. This narrowing, in general terms, is called a blockage,\u201d explains Dr Chirag.<\/p>\n

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. \u201cThis happens when the narrowing in the artery is more than 70 to 80 percent. During exercise, these high grade blockages cause symptoms,\u201d says Dr Chirag.<\/p>\n

Another form of presentation is an unstable presentation where in the patient\u2019s 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<\/a> and how to treat this.<\/p>\n

Also Read:<\/strong> Keep your heart healthy with these 10 fitness tips<\/a><\/p>\n

How to treat heart-related problems?<\/h2>\n

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. \u201cWe 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,\u201d says Dr Chirag.<\/p>\n

As far as treatment goes, It all depends upon the presentation of the patient. \u201cIf 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,\u201d says Dr Chirag.<\/p>\n

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Blood pressure must be monitored at home. Image courtesy: Adobe Stock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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.<\/p>\n

How to keep your heart health in check?<\/h2>\n

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