A chat with Dr. Abdullahi Oluwalogbon (Heart and Utility Specialist)

The transcript of the
chat is given below. Useful for
everyone.
Qn1. What are the thumb rules
for a layman to take care of his
heart?
Ans:
1. Diet - Less of carbohydrate,
more of protein, less oil
2. Exercise - Half an hour's walk,
at least five days a week;
avoid lifts and
avoid sitting for a longtime
3. Quit smoking
4. Control weight
5. Control BP - Blood pressure
and Sugar
Qn2. Can we convert fat into
muscles?
Ans: It is a dangerous myth. Fat
and muscles are made of two
different tissues, fat is fat ... Ugly
and harmful... Muscle is muscle.
Fat can never be converted into a
muscle.
Qn3. It's still a grave shock to
hear that some apparently
healthy person
gets a cardiac arrest. How do we
understand it in perspective?
Ans: This is called silent attack;
that is why we recommend
everyone past the age of 30 to
undergo routine health
checkups.
Qn4. Are heart diseases
hereditary?
Ans: Yes
Qn5. What are the ways in which
the heart is stressed? What
practices do you suggest to de-
stress?
Ans: Change your attitude
towards life. Do not look for
perfection in everything in life.
Qn6. Is walking better than
jogging or is more intensive
exercise required to keep a
healthy heart?
Ans: Walking is better than
jogging, since jogging leads to
early fatigue and injury to joints
Qn7. You have done so much for
the poor and needy. What has
inspired you to do so?
Ans: Mother Theresa, who was
my patient.
Qn8. Can people with low blood
pressure suffer heart diseases?
Ans: Extremely rare.
Qn9. Does cholesterol
accumulates right from an early
age (I'm currently only 22) or do
you have to worry about it only
after you are above 30 years of
age?
Ans: Cholesterol accumulates
from childhood.
Qn10. How do irregular eating
habits affect the heart ?
Ans: You tend to eat junk food
when the habits are irregular
and your body's enzyme release
for digestion gets confused.
Qn11. How can I control
cholesterol content without
using medicines?
Ans: Control diet, walk and eat
walnut.
Qn12. Which is the best and
worst food for the heart?
Ans: Fruits and vegetables are
the best and oilis the worst.
Qn13. Which oil is better -
groundnut, sunflower, olive?
Ans: All oils are bad.
Qn14. What is the routine
checkup one should go through?
Is there any specific test?
Ans: Routine blood test to ensure
sugar, cholesterol is ok. Check BP,
Treadmill test after an echo.
Qn15. What are the first aid steps
to be taken on a heart attack?
Ans: 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.
Qn16. How do you differentiate
between pain caused by a heart
attack and that caused due to
gastric trouble?
Ans: Extremely difficult without
ECG.
Qn17. What is the main cause of
a steep increase in heart
problems amongst youngsters? I
see people of about 30-40 yrs of
age having heart attacks and
serious heart problems.
Ans: Increased awareness has
increased incidents. Also,
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.
Qn18. Is it possible for a person
to have BP outside the normal
range of 120/80 and yet be
perfectly healthy?
Ans: Yes.
Qn19. Marriages within close
relatives can lead to heart
problems for the child. Is it true?
Ans : Yes, co-sanguinity leads to
congenital abnormalities and you
may NOT have a software
engineer as a child
Qn20. LMany of us have an
irregular daily routine and many
a times we have to stay late
nights in office. Does this affect
our heart? What precautions
would you recommend?
Ans : When you are young,
nature protects you against all
these irregularities. However, as
yougrow older, respect the
biological clock.
Qn21. Will taking anti-hypertensi
ve drugs cause some other
complications (short/long term)?
Ans : Yes, most drugs have some
side effects. However, modern
anti-hypertensi ve drugs are
extremely safe.
Qn22. Will consuming more
coffee/tea lead to heart attacks?
Ans : No.
Qn23. Are asthma patients more
prone to heart disease?
Ans : No.
Qn24. How would you define
junk food?
Ans : Fried food like Kentucky ,
McDonalds , Samosas, and even
Masala Dosas.
Qn25. You mentioned that
Indians are three times more
vulnerable. What is the reason for
this, as Europeans and Americans
also eat a lot of junk food?
Ans: Every race is vulnerable to
some disease and unfortunately,
Indians are vulnerable for the
most expensive disease.
Qn26. Does consuming bananas
help reduce hypertension?
Ans: No.
Qn27. Can a person help himself
during a heart attack (Because
we see a lot of forwarded e-mails
on this)?
Ans: Yes. Lie down comfortably
and put anaspirin 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.
Qn28. Do, in any way, low white
blood cells and low hemoglobin
count lead to heart problems?
Ans: No. But it is ideal to have
normal hemoglobin level to
increase your exercise capacity.
Qn29. 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?
Ans : 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.
Qn30. Is there a relation between
heart problems and blood sugar?
Ans: Yes. A strong relationship
since diabetics are more
vulnerable to heart attacks than
non-diabetics.
Qn31. What are the things one
needs to take care of after a
heart operation?
Ans : Diet, exercise, drugs on
time , Control cholesterol, BP,
weight.
Qn32. Are people working on
night shifts more vulnerable to
heart disease when compared to
day shift workers?
Ans : No.
Qn33. What are the modern anti-
hypertensi ve drugs?
Ans: There are hundreds of
drugs and your doctor will chose
the right combination for your
problem, but my suggestion is to
avoid the drugsand go for
natural ways of controlling blood
pressure by walk, diet to reduce
weight and changing attitudes
towards lifestyles.
Qn34. Does dispirin or similar
headache pills increase the risk
of heart attacks?
Ans : No.
Qn35. Why is the rate of heart
attacks more in men than in
women?
Ans: Nature protects women till
the age of 45. (Present Global
census show that the Percentage
of heart disease in women has
increased than in men )
Qn36. How can one keep the
heart in a good condition?
Ans: Eat a healthy diet, avoid junk
food, exercise everyday, do not
smoke and, go for health
checkups if you are past the age
of 30 ( once in six months
recommended) ....
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