Life with Atrial fibrillation ( A Fib)

What is atrial fibrillation?

 Atrial fibrillation is common problem of the heart beat or heart rhythm. Atrial fibrillation is commonly mentioned by doctors as A-Fib. This is due abnormal electrical activity that controls the heart beat. There are four chambers in the heart.  Like a synchronized swimmers for every beat of the top chamber bottom chamber responds appropriately. But in A-fib top chamber beats fast and irregular and therefore bottom chamber also beats irregularly. As you age, the risk of having atrial fibrillation increases and some individuals can feel the irregular and fast heart beat.

Is A-fib dangerous?

When heart beats irregularly due to A-fib, blood can pool in the top chambers and can form blood clot. This blood clot can travel to your brain and put you at a risk of stroke. 

How can I reduce the chance of getting A-fib?

There are many reasons for atrial fibrillation. Although aging cannot be reversed but there are ways to decrease the chance of atrial fibrillation

- Treating hormonal conditions such as thyroid issues

- Keeping weight under-control

- Regular exercise

- Decreasing intake of stimulants such as coffee, energy drinks and alcohol

- Blood pressure management

What are the causes of atrial fibrillation?
As we discussed mostly the cause is unknown and aging population have increased prevalence of A-fib.  Other causes are
- If you snore or have tiredness everday - check if you have sleep apnea
- Hormonal issues such as hyperthyroidism
- Smoking or other causes that leads to COPD
- Alcoholism increases the risk
- Heart attack and Heart surgery

- Uncontrolled high blood pressure

- Some medications and stimulants such as caffeine

What are the symptoms of atrial fibrillation?

May patients do not have any symptoms. Some may report
- Heart racing
- Lightheaded or dizziness
- Difficulty in catching the breath
- Chest tightness or skipped beats

How to check fo atrial fibrillation? 
Usually feeling a pulse or listening to heart by your doctor for an irregular pulse or heart beat.
In the medical office electrocardiogram or ECG is done to check for atrial fibrillation.
Another test called echocardiogram is done to check the size of the heart chambers.

How can you treat atrial fibrillation?
Treating atrial fibrillation is mainly to prevent stroke. There are ways to make irregular heart rate to beat regular by medications or by minimally invasive treatment.
Tackling Afib is by

- Decrease the rate of heart beat or making the heart beat to normal
- Blood thinner to decrease formation of clot and preventing stroke
- To make the heart beat normal - sometimes an electrical jolt may be done by the doctor under anesthesia or destroy the abnormal electrical signals using minimally invasive procedure called ablation.

Copyright © 2017 by Radhakrishnan Ramaraj 

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Vitamin supplement do they really help heart health?

Vitamins and Health

Walking around in a drug store, convenience store, or even grocery story, you are bound to come across an aisle - maybe even two - of supplements and vitamins.  There are vitamins for general health, vitamins to make you smarter, vitamins for iron deficiency.  There are also vitamins for heart problems, to strengthen your heart and increase blood flow.  But do these vitamins, and their components, actually work?  While some have been proven to have good effects, others are almost completely worthless.

Sunshine Vitamin

Vitamin D is most commonly known as the vitamin obtained from spending time out in the sunshine.  Although too much time in the sun can result in sunburn and the increased risk of skin cancer, a little bit of time spent each day soaking up the sun’s rays is beneficial to your health.  People who suffer winter depression are even advised to buy a special light that mimics the sun’s effects, meant to lift their spirits and make them happier.

It has been proven that low levels of vitamin D may increase your risk of heart disease.  Vitamin D deficiency may also increase your blood pressure, leading to an increased risk of heart attack.  Although the easiest way to get vitamin D is to spend some time outside in the sun, vitamin D also comes in supplements, and is found in food such as fish, milk, soy, oranges, and eggs.  Spending time in the sun or eating these nutritious foods is a simple way to keep your heart healthy and lower your risk for heart disease.

Bone Vitamin, Calcium

Calcium is also linked to heart disease, though maybe not in the ways that you might think.  Some studies link calcium supplements - not necessarily the calcium naturally found in foods such as milk or yogurt - to an increased risk of heart attack and death from heart disease.  However, other studies have found no such connection; it is best to keep in mind that data on heart health may be skewed by participants’ lifestyles.  If someone eats extremely healthily and exercises regularly, for instance, they would have a healthier heart than someone who doesn’t.

Calcium helps lower blood pressure as well as lower risk of hypertension, which is a cause of heart disease.  Rather than take a supplement, it is better to get calcium from your food.  Dairy, such as milk, cheese, and yogurt, is an excellent way to get all the calcium you need.

Although it is healthy for you, calcium, along with plaque, builds up in blood vessels with age, causing hardening of the arteries and reduced blood flow, which may lead to heart problems.  Because of this, getting a calcium scan of the arteries around your heart can help predict if you’re at risk for heart disease.  The test looks at how much calcium you have built up in your blood vessels; in this way, doctors are able to tell whether you’re at risk.

The B vitamins and heart

It is also thought that a deficiency of vitamin B6 can cause heart disease, among other sicknesses.  Decrease in both vitamin B6 and B12 are linked to depression, which can contribute negatively to heart health by causing unhealthy habits, unhappy moods, and lack of sleep or exercise.  Green, leafy foods, as well as seeds and nuts, contain vitamin B6.  The combination of vitamins B6 and B12 results in a natural relief from depression, as well as lowering the levels of homocysteine, an amino acid that is found in the blood and is related to the development of heart disease.

Folic acid, another B vitamin, also helps to break down homocysteine.  However, a recent study at Oxford University concluded that taking folic acid, as a supplement does not have a large -or significant - effect on reducing your risk for heart disease.  A similar discovery has been made about niacin (vitamin B3).  Almost all studies to see if niacin actually helps heart health have failed, in fact revealing that those taking niacin as a supplement or pill are at higher risk for infections, bleeding, and diabetes.  However, niacin does increase good cholesterol.

Vitamin E, the antioxidant

Another vitamin that may not have any affect on the health of your heart is vitamin E.  Vitamin E is an antioxidant, helping to heal and prevent oxidation of certain fats in the body caused by smoking.  Without a supplement of vitamin E, it can take ten years or more before the heart of someone who has quit smoking begins to resemble the heart of a non-smoker.  However, there is some trepidation as to whether or not vitamin E supplements can really help prevent heart disease.

Vitamins is not the answer

Vitamins are not the end-all answer to good heart health, or even good health in general.  You can’t rely on vitamins as a crutch, but rather must maintain a healthy lifestyle as well.  Good nutrition and regular exercise are necessary for a healthy heart and a healthy body; this should not be forgotten.  People who are relatively healthy don’t even really need to take vitamins or supplements; they’re already getting the nutrients they need.

Sources:

http://news.ku.dk/all_news/2012/2012.9/vitamin-d-deficiency-increases-risk-of-heart-disease/

http://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/prevention/alternative/vitamindandheartdisease.aspx

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/08/thinking-twice-about-calcium-supplements-2/?_r=0

http://healthland.time.com/2012/08/22/predicting-heart-attack-risk-a-calcium-test-may-help/

http://www.naturalnews.com/036448_vitamin_B6_deficiency_inflammation.html

http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/25/how-vitamin-e-may-spur-better-heart-health-in-smokers-who-quit/

http://www.ox.ac.uk/media/news_stories/2012/120222.html

http://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2013/03/11/some-experts-defend-niacin-for-heart-disease-after-failed-study/

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/09/niacin-heart-risk/1974385/

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/prevent-heart-attack/AN01980-

Copyright © 2015 by Radhakrishnan Ramaraj 

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Don't be moody, your Heart does not like it

Depression after a heart attack

Have you or a loved one ever suffered from a heart attack or heart disease?  Have you ever suffered from depression?  Well, it just may be that depression and such heart problems are related.  For instance, it’s three times as likely that you’ll get depression after a heart attack than you would normally.  Fifteen to twenty percent of those who have suffered a heart attack are later diagnosed with depression; larger numbers also exhibit some symptoms of depression that does not meet the cut off for a diagnosis as such.

How do you feel?

Depression affects your mood and perceptions, which can increase your lack of confidence and inhibit the recovery process after a heart attack.  Do you have continuous feelings of emptiness, sadness, or anxiousness?  How about trouble staying asleep, insomnia, or sleeping too much?  Are you overeating or losing your appetite?  Being unable to concentrate, remember things accurately, or having a hard time making decisions?  These are all signs and symptoms of depression.  Depression can be extreme or a little lighter, but its symptoms can encourage negative thinking, uncertainty, and worry, leading to thoughts of death or attempted suicide.

Heart and mind are connected

It’s not only common for those who have suffered a heart attack or have heart disease to be diagnosed with depression, but it’s common for those who have depression to be diagnosed with heart disease or suffer a heart attack.  Depression reduces mental and physical health, which can increase the risk of heart-related problems or make such problems worse.  Lack of proper nutrition and exercise especially increases the risk of heart disease or heart attack.

Good mental and physical health is necessary for a healthy heart.  This makes depression especially dangerous, as it lowers your self-confidence and inspires unhealthy habits such as lack of sleep, lack of exercise, and over or under-eating.  

Yoga and Meditation

Yoga can also help with depression.  In doing yoga, your body releases endorphins, which make you feel happier and increases your sense of well-being.  Yoga works by using exercises that put pressure on certain organs or glands, triggering the release of a chemical balance that induces feelings of well-being and relieves stress.  The movements required in yoga - stretching, bending, and reaching - also work to expel toxins from the body.  Meditation is sometimes used as a supplement to yoga or other depression treatments, as it reduces stress and calms the mind and body.

Friends and Family Support

Other strategies to combat depression include social support.  Depression can cause you to withdraw from your family and friends, making you feel isolated and alone.  Talking with your family, friends, or a therapist about your feelings and your problems can help alleviate some of your stress and make you feel better.  Support from people who know and care about you may be that extra boost you need to fight depression.

Exercise is your ally

As depression can increase your lack of motivation and unhealthy eating habits, exercise is also encouraged.  Exercise is good for your heart, making you healthier and reducing your risk of heart attack or heart disease.  Exercise can also be calming, reducing stress and making you feel better overall.  Other healthy habits, such as healthy eating, reduction in alcohol consumption and smoking, are also good for your heart in addition to helping you fight depression.

Cognitive behavior therapy

There are several ways to treat depression.  One of the commonest is cognitive behavioral therapy.  Cognitive behavioral therapy is a talk therapy that focuses on helping the patient change negative thoughts and behaviors that could be contributing to their depression.  By changing the way you think and act in a more positive direction, cognitive behavioral therapy can help alleviate depression.

Medications to control the mood

Another common treatment is medication such as Prozac or Cymbalta.  Such medication acts as reuptake inhibitors, preventing neurotransmitters from being absorbed back into the brain.  High levels of certain neurotransmitters are thought to improve nerve cells’ communication with each other, strengthening the brain circuits that control your mood and correct the chemical imbalance that might cause depression in the first place.  Most reuptake inhibitors inhibit the reuptake of serotonin and norepinephrin, two neurotransmitters that have a strong effect on your mood.

Don’t be afraid

If you have depression, don’t be afraid to ask for help.  Most people describe depression as a chemical imbalance in the brain.  This does not mean that you’re crazy, or that you’re destined to feel empty and lonely and worthless forever.  What it does mean is that your depression is not your fault. It is a health issue like the ones affecting any other part of your body that deserves attention and help sooner rather than later. Seeking help, whether through therapy or medication, will only benefit you.  Although seeking help for your depression is the first step, in doing so you are starting on a long road to recovery.  Don’t expect to be cured instantly; it will take time and dedication.  However, know that by starting treatment for your depression, you are on your way to a healthier heart, happier life, and happier you.

Sources:

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/depression-and-heart-disease/index.shtml

http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/123/25/e639.full

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/heart_vascular_institute/clinical_services/centers_excellence/womens_cardiovascular_health_center/patient_information/health_topics/depression_heart_disease.html

http://www.helpguide.org/mental/treatment_strategies_depression.htm

http://www.webmd.com/depression/symptoms-depressed-anxiety-12/treating-depression

http://www.finddepressiontreatment.com/depression-yoga-meditation.html

Copyright © 2013 by Radhakrishnan Ramaraj 

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Sex and Heart

Testosterone, balding and heart

Men get heart disease ten years before women normally do.  Why is this?  Some suggest that men’s higher level of testosterone is the cause; some doctors suspect that there is a link between testosterone and heart disease.

For instance, testosterone is what causes men to go bald.  Although the connection between baldness and heart disease is a little shaky, studies have shown that men with severe baldness have a bigger chance of getting heart disease than men with a full head of hair.  Going bald doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get heart disease, but it’s a sign that you should start checking things like your blood pressure and cholesterol.  Perhaps testosterone is the link between baldness and heart disease; it’s certain that too much of it can damage the heart and your metabolism.

Are you a playboy?

Surprisingly, promiscuity in sex can also increase risk of heart disease or heart attack.  Promiscuity increases risk of getting a sexually transmitted disease, or STD.  Some STDs, such as human papillomavirus, one of the top causes of cervical cancer, may also increase your risk of heart attack.  So, before you choose your next sexual partner, think wisely.

Erectile dysfunction is an indirect sign

Erectile dysfunction may also be a sign that you have heart problems.  Erectile dysfunction is caused by lack of blood flow - or not enough blood - to the penis.  In turn, this poor circulation is caused by atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries.  Hardening of the arteries in the penis is a warning sign to look for hardening of the arteries around the heart and other organs.  Hardening of the arteries also puts you at risk of having a stroke, peripheral artery disease, or an aneurysm.

However, not all erectile dysfunction signals heart problems.  Men whose erectile dysfunction could be a sign of heart disease are younger than fifty, depressed, overweight, have diabetes, high cholesterol, or high blood pressure, or have a history of heart disease in the family.  In the mean time, exercise and healthy eating are good ways to keep your heart healthy as well.

Sexual activity and heart attack

The worry among many couples in old age: could sexual activity cause a heart attack?  Although physical activity is good for your heart, strenuous activity can cause a heart attack.  The risk of having a heart attack while engaged in physical activity is 3.5 times higher than while you’re not doing anything physical.  During sex, that risk is nearly 2.7 times higher.

However, the benefits of exercise are worth the risk.  The more in shape you are, the less risk you have of causing a heart attack by exercising.  Exercise leads to healthier, stronger muscles, your heart included.  However, you shouldn’t over exert yourself.  If you can’t climb a set of stairs without feeling too winded and out of breath, you probably shouldn’t be engaging in sex.  Although sexual activity isn’t too strenuous, it is possible if you aren’t in shape enough that it could trigger a heart attack.

Estrogen – can it stop heart attack?

While testosterone in men seems to be linked to the cause of heart disease, estrogen in women seems to be linked to the prevention of heart disease.  Estrogen largely affects your organs and circulatory system, giving it a direct link to the heart and surrounding blood vessels.  Estrogen helps the heart by increasing good cholesterol (HDL) and lowering bad cholesterol (LDL).  Estrogen also encourages formation of blood clots where needed, and increases blood flow by relaxing, smoothing and enlarging blood vessels.  This increases blood flow to the heart, fighting hardening arteries and increasing heart health.

Unlike testosterone, which may be harmful or helpful, estrogen is mainly helpful.  It even absorbs particles in the blood that can cause harm to the arteries.  Scientists believe that estrogen may be the reason that women become at risk for heart disease ten years after men.  At the age of sixty-five, women’s estrogen levels go down, taking away much of the helpful effects that strengthen the heart.

Although you may not exhibit any of the symptoms listed in the article above for heart disease, as you grow older you should still take precautions.  Make sure you exercise regularly - though not too strenuously - and maintain a healthy diet.  Drinking less alcohol and quitting smoking will help keep your heart healthy too.  If you think you are exhibiting any of the warning signs of heart disease, make sure you go see a doctor.  At the same time, it is a good idea to keep in mind that some of the signs - baldness, erectile dysfunction - are not necessarily major indicators of heart problems.  Make sure you keep your body healthy, and your heart will be healthy as well.

Sources:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/erectile-dysfunction/HB00074

http://www.aarp.org/home-family/sex-intimacy/info-01-2013/can-sex-give-me-a-heart-attack.2.html

http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/promiscuous-sex-may-do-more-than-break-your-heart-study-finds-hpv-heart-att/

http://www.everydayhealth.com/longevity/can-promiscuity-threaten-longevity.aspx

http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/2013/04/07/should-male-baldness-new-heart-disease-risk-factor/s6irhhAygRcprtXxfxFcEO/story.html

http://www.health.harvard.edu/fhg/updates/testosterone-and-the-heart.shtml

http://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/prevention/estrogen-hormones/default.aspx

Copyright © 2013 by Radhakrishnan Ramaraj 

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher.