ALL ABOUT HEART DISEASE: HERE’S WHAT YOU MUST KNOW - KINGSWAY HOSPITALS

The Centre of Excellence in Cardiac Sciences at Kingsway Hospital Nagpur

In the present scenario of stressful, busy and sedentary lifestyle, and unhealthy dietary habits which
leave little or no time for exercise, it is not surprising that heart diseases are becoming alarmingly
common not just among the elderly, but also among the relatively younger generation. This worrying
trend, fortunately, has an easy solution that can be implemented by anyone; a healthy and an active life,
regular exercise and eating nutritious food. This forms the bulwark in cardiovascular disease treatment
and prevention.
Heart attacks account for a significant proportion of cardiac ailments among people. The statistics
available with the Indian Heart Association paint a worrying picture: 50% of all the heart attacks in
Indians occur under 50 years of age and 25% of all the heart attacks in Indians occur under 40 years of
age, with the urban population being three times more susceptible than people living in villages.
Therefore, it is only prudent that we learn to recognize the signs and symptoms of heart attack in order
to be better prepared to tackle this emergency, should the need ever arise.
The common tell-tale heart attack symptoms in women and men, in general, are as follows:
• Shortness of breath
• Chest pain
• Intermittent pain extending towards shoulder, arms, neck, jaw, back and the stomach
• Cold sweats
• Nausea or vomiting
• Lightheadedness, dizziness and/or fainting
• Anxiety
• Feeling restless or panicky
• Unexplained fatigue, especially in women and the elderly
• Numbness, aching or tingling sensation, usually in the left arm, but may occur in the right arm
too in some cases
• Breathlessness or wheezing or coughing

Some of the life-saving measures that come in handy in saving a person’s life in case of this emergency
are:

• Call your local emergency number: This is the most important thing to do as heart attacks are a
serious, life-threatening situation which demands immediate medical intervention.
• Aspirin: An aspirin along with water can help ease or prevent blood clots, unless of course, the
person is allergic to it or the doctor has recommended against it.
• Loosen the clothing: Make the person lie down and loosen any tight clothing to ease the flow of
blood.

• CPR: Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation is an important first aid treatment worth knowing about.
The steps involved in CPR are:
◦ Make the person lie down on his/her back on a firm surface.
◦ Place the heel of your one hand over the breastbone, in the center of the person’s chest and
place your other hand on top of the first hand.
◦ Use your body weight to press down or compress the person’s chest by about 5-6 cm while
keeping your elbows straight.
◦ Continue the compressions till the emergency medical personnel arrive.
• Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation: This should be done after CPR. Close the person’s nostrils and
cover his/her mouth with your own and give some breaths into the person. Repeat this process till
help arrives or the person recovers.
• Medications: Nitroglycerine tablets can also be administered as per the doctor’s directives.

Cardiovascular Disease
This term describes all the issues, disorders and deformities in the heart, including the defects related to
its structure and function. Some of the various types of heart diseases are:
• Arrhytmia: This is a condition characterized by an irregular heart beat, including tachycardia
(very fast heart beats) and bradycardia (very slow heart beats).
• Coronary Artery Disease: This is the most common type of heart disease in which the blood
vessels that carry blood, oxygen and nutrients to and from the heart become damaged. The most
common cause of this condition is smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes and a sedentary
lifestyle.
• Congenital Heart Diseases: This is an umbrella term describing various deformities that are
present in the heart since birth. These include obstruction of blood flow through the heart’s
chambers, septal defect (hole between the two chambers of the heart).
• Cardiomyopathy: In this, the heart muscle is damaged to an extent that the heart becomes
incapable of pumping blood to all the parts of the body.
• Heart Valve Disease: There are many types of valve diseases, such as valvular stenosis(heart
valve doesn’t open fully leading to heart failure), valvular Insufficiency(a valve doesn’t close
tightly) etc.
The cutting-edge facilities as well as a dedicated team of expert cardiologists and cardiac surgeons
addresses the entire gamut of heart treatments at Kingsway Hospital Nagpur for all cardiovascular
ailments. A few examples of the procedures performed at our hospital are:
• Coronary Angiography
• Angioplasty
• Endovascular Aneurysm Repair
• Atrial and ventricular septal defects
• Peripheral Vascular Disease Intervention
• Minimal access aortic arch replacement
• Keyhole bypass surgery, and many others.
Kingsway Hospital is one of the best cardiology hospitals in Nagpur, and our Department of Cardiology
synergizes qualified, skilled and experienced manpower with advanced facilities to offer the best and
most comprehensive cardiac care to the patients.