Healthy Heart

Keeping the pumping organ of the body ship shape.

February is recognised as the ‘heart month’ and dissemination of information regarding the issues of the heart is of utmost importance and help during this time. It is time to remember the organ of the human body that never takes a moment’s rest during one’s lifetime! But some issues can affect its performance and lead to a heart attack knowing which would be of help to keep them at bay.

If blood is the lifeline carrying nutrients to all the cells of the body necessary for the vital functions, it is the heart which gives the pumping force for the blood to reach all the corners through the blood vessels. For the heart to achieve its function there are a few mechanisms. The ‘electrical mechanism’ imparts the heart chambers to contract on an average of 72-84 times per minute to see that blood gushes out into the vessels to all the tissues of the body. The muscles of the heart themselves are supplied by blood vessels called as the coronary arteries to nourish them to accomplish their function. When these functions are impaired it leads to a “heart attack”. The usual suspects are increased blood pressure, increased levels of types of fat or lipids in the circulation called hyperlipidaemias and disturbances of the rhythm of the heart beat termed as arrhythmias.

To keep the optimum blood flow through the blood vessels and reach the tissues the heart has to exert a force but on some occasions this could increase and put a tensile force on the walls of the blood vessels leading to impairment in the elastic function of the vessels and the resistance could increase further. There is also an enlargement of the chambers of the heart consequent to the demand and these factors could precipitate into an issue of the health of the heart muscle and thereby the working partners around like the lungs etc. For this reason it is imperative that the normal range of blood pressure is maintained.

The inner layer of the blood vessels especially the coronaries that supply the heart itself are patent all the time to have a normal blood flow. But the lipids or various kinds of fats; cholesterol, triglycerides, dense lipids etc. which flow through the circulation can increase in concentration and the lining of the vessel may become a ground to collect and form a plaque which can impede the normal requirements to the muscles of the heart and cause insufficient function and after a certain stage lead to a heart attack.

The world we live in today is conducive for such developments. Improved socio-economic factors have only lead to sedentary habits with lack of exercise and increased intake of saturated fatty foods.

Adopting a heart-healthy nutrition is the need of the hour. The most powerful strategy of preventing heart disease is improving intake of fruits, green leafy vegetables and whole grains the beautiful and delicious wonders of nature and limiting intake of fat rich foods like butter, margarine, fried foods, snacks, sweets and desserts. When choosing proteins it is better to avoid meat and prefer chicken or vegetable sources. Salt intake when controlled will prevent rise of blood pressure. Exercise is ideal as it reduces high blood pressure, strengthens heart muscles, improves blood flow, raises good cholesterol levels and controls blood sugar and body weight.

Homoeopathic medicine has good remedies to retain and restore heart health. Bartya carb, Aurum met, Calc carb, are known to improve the health of the blood vessels and help elastic tissue making them less prone to high blood pressure. Arjuna, Crataegus, Allium sativa have been helpful in maintaining healthy levels of lipids in the circulation. Convallaria, Strophanthus have been found to improve the heart muscle strength. To improve heart health homoeopathic medicine either independently or complementarily is the best bet.