Sunday, 27 January 2013

Change your drinking habits to stay safe from Hypertension!

Hypertension has emerged as one of the biggest health problems that modern day people are facing. The fact that lifestyles have become highly sedentary and physical activity has become negligible has further aggravated this problem. However, apart from all the above mentioned factors, the major contributors behind this severe health trouble is unhealthy food and drinking habits. Wondering how? Let us discuss that in detail.

Alcohol consumption can be good for your health, but only if taken in controlled amounts. Research has shown that if taken regularly and in low amounts, alcohol could even lower the blood pressure to a certain degree (2 to 4 mm of Hg). On the other hand, if taken in uncontrolled amounts, it can prove to be the biggest evil for heart and may contribute to congestive heart failure.

In fact, people (men and women) who are younger than 65 years of age should take 2 drinks per day, while for people one drink per day can be enough to reduce the chances of high blood pressure, as recommended by a heart doctor in NYC. But if you are a heavy drinker, then you must take these steps in order to monitor your blood pressure:
  • Taper off your drinking habits- tapering off means to reduce the alcohol consumption under the supervision of a heart care specialist, rather than quitting it instantly.
  • Track your drinking pattern – if you are a heavy drinker, the first thing a cardiologist in NYCwill do is ask you to track your drinking pattern. If we talk in technical terms, then you must keep this on the back of your mind that I drink is equal to 12 ounces of beer. So consult the doctor to know whether you should cut back on the drinks or not.
  • Do you binge? If you are a party lover and usually consume more than 4 drinks at parties, then you need to cut it down, as this much alcohol will lead to a sudden rise in the blood pressure and could be distressing to your health.
These are some of the major changes, in the drinking habits, which you must make to ensure a safe health for your heart. At the same time, if you are also obese (overweight), then the doctor would advise you to bring changes in your diet as well. These changes may include cutting down on the sodium content, reducing the amount of processed food you take, as well as eating more raw vegetables. However, remember just like alcohol, do not bring drastic changes in your diet instantly, rather ease into it and see how effective it can be for you.

Well, with all the above mentioned changes concerning your drinking patterns you could make sure that you stay safe from high blood pressure. However, you must keep in touch with a heart care specialist to be on the safer side.

Tuesday, 22 January 2013

Questions you need to ask your cardiologist in NYC while getting the treatment

For people who are facing a serious heart condition, it becomes important to be aware about the various aspects concerning the health of their heart. Although these experts will always offer you great advice and suitable treatment to treat the health problem, still there might be a few questions that you would want to ask your heart experts in NYC in order to ensure that you are on the right track to diagnose and treat heart trouble. These questions are:
  • Is there any blockage in the blood vessels? Heart problems are associated with arterial blockage (blocking of arteries, the blood vessels that carry blood to different organs of the body), most of the time. In case you are visiting a cardiology specialist, you need to ask about the blockage in the vessels. With the help of some regular scans, the doctor will be able to detect whether the arteries are blocked or not.
  • Do you need to make any changes in your diet? In case there is any blockage in the arteries, the first thing that you must ask the doctor is regarding what changes you need to make in your diet, if needed (as many times unhealthy food habits & an increase in weight are the most common causes of heart trouble). The cardiologist might advise you to add fibrous food to your diet as well as cut down on the sodium content in the food intake.
  • Are the medications suitable to use with other medications? If you are already suffering from a medical problem, then you need to make sure that you discuss with the cardiologist the type of medication you are using. There is a possibility that the medications may produce unfavorable results called side effects.
  • Do you need to adopt any changes in lifestyle? Well, another important thing you need to ask your medical professional is what sort of lifestyle changes you need to make, in order to avoid any future risks of serious heart trouble. There is a possibility that the cardiologist may ask you to add some light exercise to your daily schedule.
Apart from these, a number of other questions have come to you while interacting with the cardiologist, so make sure you note them down and get answers for them. After all, this can be a matter of life and death for you.

Thursday, 10 January 2013

Coronary heart disease is the major reason for seeking a cardiologist in NYC


Heart Troubles are one of the major reasons for clinical deaths all across the world. Heart attacks, hypertension, and coronary heart diseases can prove to be nightmares for any individual. The fact that these heart conditions are now common in people from younger age groups, has made it even more important to keep track of your health. Of all these, coronary heart disease is regarded as the most dangerous one, as it is the root cause of other troubles related to this organ. Let us discuss about these in detail.

What is this medical condition? 

 
Well, to begin with, Coronary heart disease or CHD is a term that is associated with blockage of blood vessels that supply blood to the heart. The reason for the blockage could be anything from the deposition of fatty tissue within the vessels to the loss in the elasticity of arteries (usually associated with people from higher age groups).

The deposition of tissue in the lumen (the cavity) of blood vessels is termed atherosclerosis and is the biggest reason behind angina (chest pain related to heart trouble). This is also a major contributor to high blood pressure as well as stroke.

Reasons behind this problem

 
There are a number of factors that can lead to CHD and these can be categorised into genetic and lifestyle factors. The genetic factors include family history, if there was incidence of this disease in any of the blood relatives in the family, and then the individual is at a higher risk of suffering from this medical condition. At the same time, the second factor includes the poor eating and drinking habits of people. When you go for
high blood pressure to a doctor, the first thing the professional would do is to ask you for your lifestyle habits. If required, you would also be advised to make some changes in the diet as well as living patterns. In fact, obese people are at a higher risk of facing serious medical conditions related to this. So, you might also need to adopt a healthy and vigorous lifestyle by adding regular exercise to your daily schedule.

Treatments


Though this medical condition has been causing trouble to the people since long ago, and the medications, changes in lifestyle and some other surgical procedures have been used for treating this disease, some of the innovative ways that have been brought forward for the treatment of this disease are –

  1. EECP– this is the short form for Enhanced External Counterpulsation, and is an experimental treatment for treating those patients who have chronic angina.

  2. Angiogenesis – this is the most advanced form of experimental therapy that a cardiologist in NYC can eventually perform. The technique makes use of stem cells that are injected directly into the damaged part that will lead to the budding of newer blood vessels and restore the damaged tissue of the organ.

Thursday, 3 January 2013

3 major health conditions when Heart Care Doctors in NYC can prove to be a lifesaver

Heart attack is a silent killer in the field of medical science, simply because of the fact that there are no clear cut diagnostic symptoms of this medical condition it. It has emerged as the biggest health concern amongst people from all across the globe. In fact, many of the troubles related to the heart can prove to be life threatening.

Some of the most important cardiac troubles where heart care doctors in NYC can prove to be potential life savers, include –
  • Congenital Diseases – well, contrary to the belief that most of the problems related to poor cardiac condition, occur due to lifestyle habits, the majority of these troubles have a genetic background and people are born with them. People born with these congenital (present at the time of birth) defects need specialized cardiac diagnostic evalutation. The factors behind these by birth defects are yet to be understood clearly, however, most of the researchers consider chromosomal abnormalities behind them. Commonly occurring congenital defects include defective valves, blockage, or abnormality in the structure of the blood vessels, and poor signal conductivity in the heart tissue due to birth defects.
  • Mitral Valve Prolapse – if you are not aware about the structure of human heart, then the first thing you need to know is that it possesses certain valves in its structure. These valves perform the most critical task of regulating the blood flow pumped to arteries and veins. In case there is any deformity or damage of these cardiac valves, the life of the person could be at stake. Studies have shown that people, especially men, who keep extra weight on the upper portion of the body like chest and shoulders, have greater chances of suffering from poor arterial health. This affects the valves present that regulate the blood flow in them. One condition is called ‘mitral valve prolapse’ and may lead to severe fatigue, as well as cardiac palpitations.
  • Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) – as the name implies, this disease is related to the blood vessels. One thing that needs to be mentioned here is that the lumen (the cavity of arteries) is very narrow and any obstruction in them can lead to serious health troubles such as ‘Hypertension’, ‘Arrhythmia’, ‘Arterial Blockage’ as well as ‘Cardiac Arrest’. The most common symptom related to CAD is regular chest pain, which doctors refer to as ‘Angina’. Obese people are at higher risk of developing CAD, as cholesterol is a major deposit in the arterial cavities. People who are overweight generally have increased cholesterol levels. This is the reason; the moment you visit a cardiologist in NYC for heart related issues, they will ask you to get you get your cholesterol levels checked.
All these conditions can prove to be life threatening if you do not monitor your cardiac health on a regular basis. Visiting heart doctors New York is necessary for you, if you feel that you are at a risk of any of the above mentioned health troubles.