Soon, smartphones to warn you of impending heart attack

Image via CrunchBase

A new smartphone being developed is set to revolutionize the way we manage healthcare by warning people of impending heart attack. Nano-thin silicon heart-and blood-monitoring "tattoos" on people's arms, which will send a signal to a smartphone if the data indicates a health problem are the basis of the new technology.

Zak Holdsworth, a Silicon Valley digital entrepreneur, and Kiwi is helping bring such technology to market.
He reckons that heart patients will be sporting the "tattoos" on their arms within five years, and in 10 years of time people could be sporting the technology inside their hearts.

MC10 is the Boston-based technology company behind the tattoos and is now investigating the potential of microchips that are being inserted via catheter on to the heart's inner lining from where a signal will be sent to the patient's phone.

Source:Internet

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A chat with Dr.Devi Shetty (Heart Specialist), Narayana Hrudayalaya, Bangalore

One of the best & most renowned Heart surgeons we have in India today.

A chat with Dr.Devi Shetty (Heart Specialist),
Narayana Hrudayalaya, Bangalore was arranged by IT Company for its employees .
The transcript of the chat is given below. Useful for everyone.


Qn: 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 blood pressure and sugar

Qn: Is eating non-veg food (fish) good for the heart?

Ans: No

Qn: 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.

Qn: Are heart diseases hereditary?

Ans: Yes

Qn: 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.

Qn: 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

Qn: You have done so much for the poor and needy. What has inspired you to do so?

Ans: Mother Theresa , who was my patient

Qn: Can people with low blood pressure suffer heart diseases?

Ans: Extremely rare

Qn: 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.

Qn: 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.

Qn: How can I control cholesterol content without using medicines?

Ans: Control diet, walk and eat walnut.

Qn: Can yoga prevent heart ailments?

Ans: Yoga helps.

Qn: Which is the best and worst food for the heart?

Ans: Fruits and vegetables are the best and the worst is oil.

Qn: Which oil is better - groundnut, sunflower, olive?

Ans: All oils are bad .

Qn: 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.

Qn: 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.

Qn: How do you differentiate between pain caused by a heart attack and that caused due to gastric trouble?

Ans: Extremely difficult without ECG.

Qn: 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.

Qn: Is it possible for a person to have BP outside the normal range of 120/80 and yet be perfectly healthy?

Ans: Yes.

Qn: 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

Qn: Many 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 you grow older, respect the biological clock.

Qn: Will taking anti-hypertensive drugs cause some other complications (short / long term)?

Ans : Yes, most drugs have some side effects. However, modern anti- hypertensive drugs are extremely safe.

Qn: Will consuming more coffee/tea lead to heart attacks?

Ans : No.

Qn: Are asthma patients more prone to heart disease?

Ans : No.

Qn: How would you define junk food?

Ans : Fried food like Kentucky , McDonalds , samosas, and even masala dosas..

Qn: 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.

Qn: Does consuming bananas help reduce hypertension?

Ans : No.

Qn: Can a person help himself during a heart attack (Because we see a lot of forwarded emails on this)?

Ans : 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.

Qn: 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.

Qn: 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.

Qn: 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.

Qn: What are the things one needs to take care of after a heart operation?

Ans : Diet, exercise, drugs on time , Control cholesterol, BP, weight.

Qn: Are people working on night shifts more vulnerable to heart disease when compared to day shift workers?
i
Ans : No.

Qn: What are the modern anti- hypertensive 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 drugs and go for natural ways of controlling blood pressure by walk, diet to
reduce weight and changing attitudes towards lifestyles.

Qn: Does dispirin or similar headache pills increase the risk of heart attacks?

Ans : No.

Qn: Why is the rate of heart attacks more in men than in women?

Ans : Nature protects women till the age of 45.

Qn: 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 checkup s if you are past the age of 30 ( once in six months recommended) ..

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Corporate Yoga: Workplace Health Can Be Improved With Office Yoga

Can corporate yoga increase the office productivity?

First, let’s define corporate fitness. This could also be termed as ‘health in the workplace’ or ‘workplace health’

We have seen that in all industries, the working environment has changed. The number of workers in all offices has increased, and there is more competition for promotions as well as to meet deadlines, leading to increased stress levels. Physically too, working long hours on the computer, lengthy use of the phone, frequent traveling, irregular eating hours and odd working hours have also introduced various health hazards.

The use of the personal computer has spawned a whole new range of physical problems, because working long hours and incorrect sitting postures combined with faulty ergonomics of chairs, leads to pains in the neck, shoulder, back, hip and wrists.

Sitting at work for long hours also puts the workers at other risks. For example they may develop blood clots, which can ultimately prove fatal as they can cause heart attacks, chest pains or strokes.

The emotional and physical problems lead to increasing medical leave, frequent job-changing, decreased efficiency and low morale. With an attitudinal change towards workers, companies have begun to realize that looking after health and wellness could actually have a direct benefit on office atmosphere and hence on productivity. With this in mind, many offices have introduced yoga on its premises, for their workers.

Office Yoga has been found to have many benefits. Not only is it a wonderful stress-buster, it also raises morale and leads to more positive thinking. The exercises of yoga also help to release muscle pain and tension caused by long hours of sitting, thereby improving general health.

Yoga with its scientific approach offers a complete mind-body health system, and along with increasing flexibility and strength, it also increases energy levels and reduces fatigue, all of which enriches the corporate environment, and increase productivity.

Corporate yoga can be used effectively for all levels – from base employees to senior management. Any quiet spacious place – the boardroom, lunchroom, gym, garden or spare room – is suitable. And the only equipments required are yoga mats and comfortable clothes.

Corporate yoga has been found to be effective because of these benefits, leading to increased productivity:

• Increases physical fitness and flexibility
• Improves overall health and posture
• Reduces risks for developing other stress-related diseases
• De-stresses and relaxes mind and body
• Improves concentration, memory and focus
• Refreshes the mind and tackles boredom
• Rekindles motivation in working hard and meeting targets
• Decreases depression and negative outlook
• Increases fitness and happiness
• Increases levels of personal confidence
• Creates a positive attitude and increases team bonding
• Creates a sense of harmony in the workplace
• Creates a higher level of job satisfaction
• Creates higher morale
• Reduces excessive absenteeism of employees
• Reduces frequent staff turnover

All this results in increased productivity and output.

Source:Internet

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