What are the rules of thumb for a layman to take care of his heart? Diet - Less of carbohydrate, more of protein, less oil. Exercise - Half an hour's walk, at least five days a week; avoid lifts and avoid sitting for a longtime. Quit smoking Control weight Control blood pressure and sugar. It's still a grave shock to hear that an apparently healthy person underwent a cardiac arrest. How do we understand it in perspective? This is called silent attack; that is why we recommend everyone past the age of 30 to undergo routine health checkups. Is walking better than jogging or is more intensive exercise required to keep a healthy heart? Walking is better than jogging since jogging leads to early fatigue and injury to joints. Why is the rate of heart attacks more in men than in women? Nature protects women till the age of 45. Can people with low blood pressure suffer heart diseases? Extremely rare. Does cholesterol accumulates right from an early age? I'm currently only 22. Do I have to worry about it only after I am above 30 years of age? Cholesterol accumulates from childhood. How do irregular eating habits affect the heart? You tend to eat junk food when the habits are irregular and your body's enzyme release for digestion gets confused. How can I control cholesterol content without using medicines? Control diet, walk and eat walnut. Can yoga prevent heart ailments? Yoga helps. Which is the best and worst food for the heart? Fruits and vegetables are the best and the worst is oil. What are the first aid steps in case of a heart attack? Help the person into a sleeping position, place an aspirin tablet under the tongue with a sorbitrate tablet if available, and rush him to a coronary care unit since the maximum casualty takes place within the first hour. People of about 30-40 years of age are having heart attacks and serious heart problems. What is the main cause of a steep increase in heart problems amongst youngsters? Increased awareness has increased incidents that are reported. The causes for this increase are sedentary lifestyles, smoking, junk food, lack of exercise in a country where people are genetically three times more vulnerable for heart attacks than Europeans and Americans. Can a person help himself during a heart attack (Because we see a lot of forwarded emails on this)? Yes. Lie down comfortably and put an aspirin tablet of any description under the tongue and ask someone to take you to the nearest coronary care unit without any delay and do not wait for the ambulance since most of the time, the ambulance does not turn up. Sometimes, due to the hectic schedule we are not able to exercise. So, does walking while doing daily chores at home or climbing the stairs in the house, work as a substitute for exercise? Certainly. Avoid sitting continuously for more than half an hour and even the act of getting out of the chair and going to another chair and sitting helps a lot. Is there a relation between heart problems and blood sugar? Yes. A strong relationship, since diabetics are more vulnerable to heart attacks than non-diabetics. What are the things one needs to take care of after a heart operation? Diet, exercise, drugs on time, and control cholesterol, BP and weight.