A heart attack is quite common in India. According to reports, more than 10 million cases reported every year. To talk about this lifestyle disease and how we can prevent ourselves from it, journalist Anurag Sason has an in-depth conversation with a cardiologist from Allahabad and the owner of Gupta Polyclinic, Dr VK Gupta.
Here are important excerpts from the exclusive interview: (Scroll down to watch the complete interview)
Q1) In a layman‘s language, what exactly is a heart attack?
Dr VK Gupta: Heart attack means the stoppage of blood flow in a part of the human heart. This happens because of the blockage of blood vessels. A timely action through medication or bypass surgery can solve this problem. A heart attack doesn’t mean that the heart has stopped working altogether.
Q2) What is the difference between heart attack and cardiac arrest?
Dr VK Gupta: In cardiac arrest, the heart stops abruptly. If we do not revive the heart within one or one-and-half minutes, the patient dies.
In a heart attack, as I said earlier, the heart does not stop working. Only a part of it stops or works poorly due to the stoppage of blood supply which in turn is due to blockage of one of the blood vessels which carries blood to the heart.
Q3) What is the most common cause of a heart attack?
Dr VK Gupta: The most common cause of heart attack is blockage of a blood vessel. For an increasing number of heart attack cases, the present lifestyle is to be blamed. A heart attack occurs due to a large number of risk factors like smoking, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, alcoholism, dyslipidemia, etc.
Q4) What are trans fats? Are they harmful to the human body?
Dr VK Gupta: Trans fats are those fats that have a very high boiling point. Any fat which has a high boiling point is very injurious to health. One example of trans fat is vanaspati ghee. It banned in most countries.
Q5) What kind of exercises one should do to avoid a heart attack?
Dr VK Gupta: Aerobic exercises are the best. Aerobic exercises are those exercises that can be done in open-air like cycling, swimming, jogging, walking, etc. We must do at least 30 minutes of exercise per day, five days a week.
Q6) What are the indications body gives before the heart attack?
Dr VK Gupta: Indications include chest pain while doing some work, choking sensation in the throat, pain over the shoulders (most commonly the left one), breathlessness while exertion and excessive sweating.
Q7) Are the heart patients at more risk from Coronavirus?
Dr VK Gupta: It is both ways. If a person has a heart problem most likely he will also have problems in the other organs of the body. Such a person is more likely to get affected by Coronavirus. Likewise, if a person has a severe form of Coronavirus, it can involve all organs of the body including the heart.
Q8) What is the cost of the treatment of a heart attack?
Dr VK Gupta: If a person is taking treatment from the private set up, it depends on what kind of facilities he is choosing. The cost also depends on the stage of the disease.
WATCH FULL INTERVIEW:
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About the author: Anurag Sason is journalist with more than 7 years of experience in mainstream journalism. He has worked in newspaper, news agency, TV and digital media. Presently, he is working as Senior Editor-News in Likee app. He tweets at @AnuragSason
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