Matters of the heart (HEATH +VE)

The human heart is truly a remarkable organ—it beats around 35 million times a year and in average lifetime, it helps pump about 1 million barrels of blood into your body. It's no wonder then that this organ, the size of a closed fist, can dictate your long-term health and wellbeing. “A hundred people die of heart attacks in India every hour,” says Dr Pratiksha Gandhi, founder and chairperson of IPC Heartcare, Mumbai, (India's largest chain of preventive and non-invasive heart care). “Ignorance, not genetics, is the biggest cause of heart issues. I always tell my patients that if you have a heart, you're at risk for heart disease, so don't think that it can't happen to you.”
The good news however, is that by making these simple changes to your lifestyle today, you can even reverse heart disease and prevent a potentially painful, life threatening attack. Understanding Heart Disease: Many people believe that heart disease is something that creeps up on them without warning. However, the fat that clogs the arteries of your heart builds up over a lifetime. And surprisingly, it starts right from the cradle. “Accumulation of fats in the arteries begins in infancy. Heart attack risk can be modified by encouraging physical activity, (developing) healthy food habits and avoiding junk food from early childhood,” says Dr KM Cherian, Chairman & CEO, International Centre for Cardio Thoracic & Vascular Diseases, (a unit of Frontier Lifeline & Dr. K.M. Cherian Heart Foundation), Chennai.
Remember, serving up unhealthy fare regularly is akin to planting a time-bomb in your chest. Sleep to save your life: “Seven to eight hours of sleep every night is essential for keeping your hormones in working order and preventing harmful toxins from building up in your body. Or else, these toxins can later go on to clog your arteries and cause thickening that make you vulnerable to heart disease,” says Dr Pratiksha. Constant sleep deprivation will not only adversely affect your functioning and your cognitive ability, but the efficiency of your heart as well. So if you intend to live long, its more power to your pillow! Deal with heartbreak: Heightened stress levels can quite literally break your heart. When you experience a stressful situation in your life—the death of a loved one, breaking away from a long-term relationship, recovering from a tragedy or facing intense failure, your heart takes a beating, flooded as it with stress inducing hormones. “Learning to deal with stress, even the minor irritants that clutter our daily lives is crucial,” says Dr Pratiksha. “Have some sort of outlet to release stress and to help yourself relax.