To Keep Your Heart in Top Condition, You Need to Follow a Heart-Healthy Diet

 We all know that we must take care of our heart health if we want to avoid cardiovascular diseases. But there are also other reasons for keeping our heart in a good condition. For example, you must maintain a healthy heart to reduce the feelings of depression, to reduce the risk of dementia, and to keep blood pressure and cholesterol in check. When heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in the US, it is essential we make heart health a chief priority in the coming year. You can take care of your heart by staying active, avoiding smoking, visiting your doctor at fixed intervals, and following a heart-healthy diet. In this blog, we will tell you what are the things you need to do in order to a follow heart-healthy diet. Let’s get started.

Keep The Portion Size in Mind

When it comes to following a diet that is healthy for your heart, you need to understand that eating healthy food is not enough. You also need to control how much you eat. You shouldn’t feel stuffed after your meals. To control your portions, you can use a small plate or bowl. In addition to that, keep track of the number of servings you eat.

Incorporate Fruits and Vegetables into Your Diet

Since fruits and vegetables do not contain a lot of calories and are full of dietary fibers, vitamins and minerals, they are considered excellent for preventing cardiovascular issues. And it is easy to add fruits and vegetables into your diet. You can wash the vegetables, cut them, and keep them in the refrigerator for quick snacks. You can wash the fruits and keep them in a bowl in your kitchen so that you do not forget to eat them.

Go for Whole Grains

Whole grains are also rich in fiber and nutrients that help control your blood pressure and heart health. It would be great if you start consuming whole grains instead of refined grain products. You can also consider trying whole grain farro, quinoa, or barley. Try to avoid refined flour, white bread, biscuits, quick breads, cornbread, cakes, etc. Eat more of whole wheat flour, whole grain bread, high fiber cereal, oatmeal, whole grain pasta, etc.

Apart from doing the above-mentioned things, you should stop eating unhealthy fats such as unsaturated fats and trans fats as they increase your risk of coronary artery disease and high blood cholesterol. Also, stop using too much sodium in your food and go for low-fat protein sources such as eggs, fish, skinless poultry, lean ground meats, etc. Before the commencement of year 2022, promise to yourself you will follow a heart healthy diet and visit a medical professional to monitor your heart health. With the help of portable EKG machines, a medical professional will be able to check the electrical signals in your heart and detect if there’s any heart problem or not.

Popular Diagnosis Methods to Detect the Causes of Sudden Cardiac Arrest

 Sudden cardiac arrest is among the leading causes of death worldwide. As per an NCBI report, more than 400,000 Americans succumb to sudden cardiac death every year. You see, the count is staggering! The only way to prevent such unfortunate death is timely diagnosis and treatment. Tests like EKG and Holter monitoring can help detect the condition and pave the way for treatment.

What is sudden cardiac arrest?

According to the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology, “SCA is the sudden cessation of cardiac activity so that the victim becomes unresponsive, with no normal breathing and no signs of circulation. If corrective measures are not taken rapidly, this condition progresses to sudden death.”

Diagnosis methods

People who survive SCA are diagnosed to prevent future episodes using various diagnosis methods, including:

Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) 

It is the most popular sudden cardiac arrest diagnosis method in which electrodes are attached to the person’s chest (sometimes limbs as well) to detect their heart’s electrical activity. The test can detect unusual electrical patterns and reveal disturbances in the patient’s heart rhythm.

Holter monitoring

Sometimes, doctors suggest Holter monitoring after EKG if they need to track the patient’s heart health over a couple of days. A Holter monitor is a compact, portable device used to continuously record a person’s heart rhythm and help doctors determine whether their heart condition is stable.

Imaging tests 

Imaging tests such as chest x-ray, echocardiogram, coronary catheterization, and nuclear scan can help identify blood flow problems, heart failure, inadequate pumping capacity, and other problems that may lead to SCA.

Blood tests

Your heart health depends on the levels of magnesium, potassium, hormones, and several other chemicals present in your blood. Blood tests can help detect a recent heart injury.

The bottom line

SCA is a life-threatening condition that affects people around the world. Timely diagnosis and treatment are the only ways to reduce the death rate and promote recovery. You’re born in a technological era where leading a healthy life is possible. Thanks to tests like EKG and Holter monitoring that help doctors better respond to the situation.

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The Correlation between Childhood Obesity, Cardiac Health, and Body Mass Index

 Childhood obesity may have several adverse effects on an individual’s well-being later in the years. As it is national childhood obesity awareness month, it is essential to discuss the impact of childhood obesity on a person’s cardiac output and heart health.

The correlation between BMI and cardiac output

Healthcare practitioners depend on cardiology diagnostic tests, such as Cardiac Telemetry, echocardiogram,  Pulmonary artery catheterization, and others, to evaluate their patients’ heart health. According to an NCBI study, hemodynamic monitoring in obese patients shows the impact of body mass index (BMI) on cardiac output and stroke volume. The study was focused on evaluating the reliability of cardiac hemodynamics in normal and obese patients.

The researchers found that BMI was positively correlated with cardiac output and stroke volume. “Each 1 kg/m increase in BMI was associated with a 0.08 L/min (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.06-0.10; p < .001) increase in CO and 1.35 mL (95% CI, 0.96-1.74; p < .001) increase in SV.”

The study further emphasizes the importance of maintaining a healthy body mass index among patients. While medical practitioners usually rely on cardiology diagnostic tests, such as cardiac telemetry, to get accurate cardiac output results, it is equally important to promote an active lifestyle among patients. Childhood obesity may invite serious heart problems that can be prevented by:

Healthy eating habits

The first rule of eating right is not skipping meals. Children should be taught to eat on time instead of overeating later. In addition, they should be given balanced meals and kept away from unhealthy junk food.

Changing cooking habits

Children love to eat different foods instead of repeating a few meals. Alternative cooking techniques like baking, broiling, roasting, stewing, and steaming will help keep them interested and healthy.

Physical activity

The biggest reason behind childhood obesity is the lack of physical activity. So, it is always better to send children to a park than to keep them indulged in video games.

The bottom line

Healthcare professionals can use cardiology diagnostic tests, such as ECGs, Stress Tests, Holter Monitoring, Cardiac Telemetry monitoring, and others, to determine cardiac health among children with obesity by checking, measuring, and monitoring their blood pressure, stress levels, and vital signs, such as pulse rate and respiration rate.

It is also important to educate children on ways to reduce the risk of developing obesity and heart disease. Preventing childhood obesity can be a significant step towards ensuring better heart health among them in adulthood.

 

 

People with Heart Disease Should not Miss the Annual flu Vaccine

 

Even though vaccinations are known for preventing serious and deadly diseases, there are still groups of people who do not fully know the importance of vaccinations and therefore, avoid or forget getting vaccinated at the right time. Since August is National Immunization Awareness Month, it is essential that all of us educate ourselves about vaccinations as much as we can so that outbreaks do not occur and people of all ages remain safe.

In this blog, our focus will be on flu shots and why flu shots are necessary for people with heart disease. Risk of serious flu complications goes up for people with cardiovascular problems if they do not get a flu shot. How? Let’s find out.

 

Dangers for people with heart problems

As we all know, the flu, also known as influenza, is a viral infection of the nose, throat, and lungs that spreads easily from one person to another. The reason why a lot of stress is placed on getting people with heart disease vaccinated for the flu is, its complications especially prove dangerous for them. What are those complications? If you have heart disease and you do not get vaccinated, you may become susceptible to serious medical problems such as pneumonia, lung failure, bronchitis, heart attack, and even death. That is why healthcare professionals recommend everyone, especially older adults and other risk groups, to get an annual flu vaccine.

When to get vaccinated

As per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, anyone above the age of 6 months can get vaccinated for the flu every year. People who are 65 and older, they can go for a high dose flu vaccine. According to healthcare professionals, September and October are the best months for getting vaccinated. However, if you do not get vaccinated in those months for some reason, you can still get the shot until January or sometimes later.

 

Heart patients should take special care of their health as they are more prone to other health complications. It is advised you regularly meet a healthcare professional so that he/she can examine your heart health. Many heart problems are noticeable when you engage in certain activities such as sleeping, exercising, eating, etc. To monitor the electrical activity of your heart during these activities, the medical professional may use Ambulatory ECG.

Control Your Emotions to Keep Your Cardiovascular Health in Top Condition

 

Every year, mental health awareness month is recognized in order to motivate people to talk about their mental health and seek help if they need it. It has been found that as many as 20 percent of the people in the US are dealing with some sort of mental illness. The goal of mental health awareness month is to let people know that there are resources and treatments available. If you continue to ignore your deteriorating mental health, your emotional, behavioral, and physical health can suffer.

It has been found that how you feel and think has a strong bearing on the health of your heart. For instance, patients who discover that they have a heart disease and become depressed as a result of the news, increase their chances of experiencing a serious heart-related event within that year. Emotions such as anger, sadness, fear, etc., all can lead to irregular heart rhythms which is not good for your heart. That is why we have listed some ways of controlling negative emotions. Let’s take a look at them.

 

l  Engage In Exercise - We will advise you to engage in physical activities or exercises at least three times a week for about an hour. Aerobic exercises are famous for their heart and brain benefits. So, make sure do light jogging, walking, and cycling to keep your mind free of stressful thoughts.

l  Meditate - Countless number of people all around the world have benefited from practicing mindfulness. As we mentioned above, the goal is to free your body of stress. Doing meditation and some yoga can prove very effective for calming your mind.

l  Socialize - The more you remain secluded, the more depressed you will become. Staying in isolation can make your already depressed state of mind even more depressed. What should you do? Get out of your house, talk to your neighbors, stay active, and make new connections. Listening to others and sharing your experiences with them will make you feel lighter and happier.

 

Apart from these, try maintaining a journal, find reasons to laugh, and seek help from a professional therapist. If you do all of these, you will surely notice a difference in your mental state. Once you’ve made the aforesaid practices a daily part of your life, visit a doctor for ambulatory ECG monitoring. With the help of this monitoring, a doctor will be able to see how your heart is performing throughout the day while you engage in your daily activities.

How To Celebrate The Family Health And Fitness Day In 2021?

 

Most families are struggling mentally, emotionally, and physically while adjusting to the new change due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This unprecedented shit has made it even more crucial for families to develop healthy eating habits, establish a fitness routine, and make healthy lifestyle changes.

As the second Saturday in June is celebrated as Family Health And Fitness Awareness Day each year, we have mentioned a few ways that promote health and physical activity between family members living in the same household. Here, they are:

Walk to a nearby park

An activity, like a walk in the park, is an incredible way to engage each member of the family in a fitness drive. After days of self-quarantine, children will like stepping out of their homes, witnessing the local wildlife, and feeling a bit closer to mother nature. Ensure everyone wears their masks while walking in the park and maintains a safe distance from passersby.

Play a sport together

Create a list of all sports your family plays together and choose the one with maximum votes to go out and play. You can also invite other families or friends for a friendly match in your backyard. You can pick any sport - from soccer to baseball to basketball - for the fun family activity as long as all members participate and move. If playing sports is not possible, go for a ride on your bikes to the nearest bike path for a low-impact yet effective exercise.

Enroll in a virtual fitness class

With restrictions imposed across the nation, most people have inclined themselves towards the digital world. Take advantage of this virtual world and enroll in online fitness classes. While some are available at no cost, others are paid as they have dedicated instructors to teach you at-home exercises in real-time. You can choose from aerobics to yoga - whatever your family enjoys the most.

If your family is partaking in a fitness drive for the first time together, we suggest making it a part of your daily routine. Participating in fun family activities not only brings all family members together but also maintains overall health and well-being. It’s also an excellent decision to invest in Holter EKG that helps you keep track of your cardiovascular health, especially if any family member is suffering from cardiovascular disease.

Cardiac Telemetry: Benefits Of Monitoring Cardiac Health

 

Our heart functions with about 2.5 billion beats over a lifetime and 100,000 each day. An organ that works rigorously should be looked after.

 

High Blood Pressure and Stroke Awareness Month - MAY 2021

The month of May sheds light on cardiac health with its National Stroke Awareness Month, National High Blood Pressure Education Month, and Women’s Health Week. Heart health is an essential topic among most of the population, given that stroke is common these days. As a preventative measure against stroke, you should understand the importance of cardiac telemetry monitoring and controlling blood pressure.

 

Facts For Knowledge

●       Stroke is a preventable cause of disability.

●      In the United States, someone has a stroke every 40 seconds, and every four minutes, someone dies suffering from it.

●   Stroke is the 5th leading cause of death for adults in the US, resulting in more than 130,000 deaths each year.

 

Importance Of Cardiac Telemetry Monitoring

Healthcare providers use cardiac telemetry by connecting electrodes to specific areas on the skin around the chest, stomach, and even limbs. Each following wire from the electrodes is attached to a recording device that tracks and monitors your heart’s activity. Further, it sends information to a monitoring device in another location where a doctor accesses the data.

 

Using cardiac telemetry has several advantages-

1. Early Detection: Several heart diseases exist; some are to the extent that they may kill any person. That’s why it’s essential to monitor cardiac health and look out for required prevention if any. Telemetry allows the detection of potential risks and diseases related to the heart early on.
2. Saves Money: Every telemetry system type saves financial resources. Meaning, it eliminates the requirement for employing extra staff on hourly pay. Additionally, cardiac telemetry saves a great deal of money for both the insurance providers and the customers. This technology enables the users to monitor their health at the convenience of their homes, cutting out on the cost of unnecessary hospital stays and frequent visits.
3. Saves Healthcare Worker’s Time: Cardiac telemetry allows practitioners to examine patients’ health without needing to sit with them. So, professionals can delegate their time to other patients on the premises. The monitor built into the system alerts when something unusual is detected in their heart’s electrical waves. In this way, nurses and doctors can pay attention to the patients who need urgent medical care.

 

Conclusion

Sometimes we put our heart’s health to risk unknowingly. It’s essential to monitor a patient’s heart health from time to time. Get to know more about our Nasiff CardioCard™ Telemetry and CardioCard™ Mobile Resting PC Based ECG System. Get in touch with us today!

 

Shedding Light on Stress and Heart Health

 

April - National Stress Awareness Month - focuses on both the causes and cures of the modern stress epidemic. It has been running since 1992 to increase public awareness for the same; however, we still have a long way to go. Stress can be enervating, causing, or putting out health problems, but it's also a common part of our lives. Quite often, stress is linked with heart health. "Chronic stress is connected with aggravated cardiovascular events," Schiffrin stated, pointing to a 2017 study in The Lancet. While your heart is a vital organ, it's essential to understand the ugly effects of stress on it. Below we throw some light on how stress harms your heart.

Harms of Stress on our Heart

When you're stressed, a hormone named cortisol produces in response to stress. High cortisol levels may increase blood pressure and blood cholesterol triglycerides - traditional heart disease risk factors. Taking the cases of minor stresses may trigger heart problems, and Chronic stress may affect the way your blood clots. Chronic stress may also pose physiological changes directly that direct to atherosclerosis - the gradual buildup of plaque deposits in the arteries. Your heart's functioning and condition can be detected with the help of a Holter monitor system. It is a portable electrocardiogram [ECG], records the heart's electrical activity - excellent to use while you're away from your doctor.

Stressing about Stress? Don't!

National Stress Awareness Month recognizes the importance of coping up with stress. Fortunately, you can deal with and decrease the effects of stress on your mind and body. The first step that goes along is identifying triggering situations that lead to stress and learn to control your body and mind's reaction to these situations. Adopting essential lifestyle habits is one such way that might help you feel less vulnerable to stress and its effects on your heart.

Tips for Stress Relief

• Exercise: Regular workouts may counteract the effects of stress. You should perform moderately intense physical activity for at least 30 minutes a day. It has been seen that people who exercise tend to respond better to potentially stressful situations. Their heart rates and blood pressure are maintained and do not go as high as people under stress who do not exercise.
• Get Support: A solid social support network has positive effects on how you feel - physically and emotionally. Moreover, having someone to talk to and trust helps you feel better and take care of yourself.
• Seek Professional Treatment: Anxiety and depression may increase the risk of heart problems. Hence, it is best to consult a professional or physician about proper stress-reduction techniques and stress management strategies.

 

Stress relief is heart relief. Closely monitor your heart's health with a high-quality Holter monitor system from a reputed provider. Nasiff's Holter Monitoring ECG System provides reliable and accurate data. It has a feature-rich monitoring system that is compact and comprehensive.

 

 

 

National Nutrition Awareness Month: Healthy Food Choices You Should Make

 Every year, March is celebrated as National Nutrition Awareness Month By the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The campaign majorly focuses on healthy nutritional choices, creating a sound eating pattern, and partaking in physical activities to reduce the risk of chronic disease, maintain a healthy weight, and promote overall health. 

 Here are some healthy food choices you must consider to start eating right on this National Nutrition Awareness Month.

Start with breakfast

Grabbing an apple for breakfast isn’t a healthy way to start your mornings. Your breakfast should include fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein. A breakfast wrap or burrito is an excellent choice to fulfill your body’s nutritional needs. You can also consider scrambled eggs, whole-grain cereal, and low-fat plain yogurt. 

Eat healthy snacks

Snacks provide energy between meals or after physical activities. Healthy snacks, such as raw veggies with peanut butter or low-fat cottage cheese and apple or banana, decrease hunger pangs and keep you from overeating at mealtime. 

Add colors to your plate

Make a healthier choice by adding fruits and vegetables to your plate. If your current diet includes zero fruits or greens, start with just one fruit a day. Include a vegetable to the dinner menu, strawberries to yogurt or cereal, or plan a day without meat once a week.

Drink more water

Drink plenty of water throughout the day. Avoid quenching thirst with drinks with added sugars. Stay hydrated, especially if you are active or live in hot climates.

Following a restrictive diet for thirty days isn’t a way to create a healthy lifestyle. However, small but consistent changes to a diet over time have a beneficial effect on health, especially heart health. Apart from making informed food choices and developing physical activity habits, keep the health of your heart in check with cardiac telemetry. 

American Heart Health Awareness Month: How Stress and Heart Health Are Linked?

February is recognized as American Heart Health Awareness Month across the nation to raise awareness about heart health in communities. In hospitals and healthcare settings, health workers and staff members wear red while volunteers crochet or knit red hats for newborns to bring awareness that heart disease, which is the leading cause of death in America,is preventable. Today, we are bringing your attention to stress and how it is linked to heart health.

Stress is normal in today’s hectic lifestyle. But it affects many factors and behaviors that increase the risk of heart disease - including high blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Many individuals choose alcohol and smoke to deal with every chronic stress, which leads to health conditions like damaged artery walls and an increase in blood pressure. 

Headache, stomach, and back strain are common body’s responses to stress. Other ways include feeling low, insomnia, forgetfulness, and out of control anger. Generally, a chain of stressful events results in adrenaline release in the body, which speeds up the heart rate and breathing, resulting in rising blood pressure. These reactions help you prepare for a ‘fight or flight’ response in stressful situations.

When stress is constant, it harms you in many ways. High-levels of cortisol released by the body due to long-term stress increase blood cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar, and triglycerides. Even minor stress for prolonged periods triggers heart problems, including poor blood flow to heart muscles. When the heart does not receive enough blood or oxygen, the risk of blood clots and stroke substantially increases. 

Managing stress is the best way to improve overall wellbeing. Maintaining a positive attitude, a healthy diet, and a healthy weight are a few ways to deal with chronic stress. Apart from daily exercise, quitting smoking, drinking, and too much coffee is a smart decision. Learning stress management techniques is a brilliant way to manage stress. It is best to take care of your heart and health with a Stress ECG to monitor your heart's response to the stress. 

5 New Year Resolutions To Keep Your Heart Healthy

 

New Year begins with new resolutions. From being productive to beating procrastination to eating healthy and exercising, people make all sorts of commitments to make their new year better and more satisfying than the previous year. However, seldom do they realize that making heart-healthy resolutions is also vital to lead a healthy and fulfilling life.

Studies suggest that people with health problems experience a host of emotional and physical symptoms, such as depression, anxiety, insomnia, sleep troubles, and others, all of which can significantly affect the quality of life. It turns out that keeping cardiovascular health in good shape and preventing heart problems is as crucial as focusing on physical health and other aspects of life this new year.

Here are a few New Year resolutions you should make to keep your heart healthy:

Regularly check heart health: first thing first. Keep your heart health in check taking a Resting ECG test.If there are issues in the test, you may be referred to do a Stress test or wear a 24- hour Holter monitor.

Quit Smoking: smokers are twice as likely to develop heart problems and experience a heart attack than those who don’t smoke. Smoking damages the lining of your arteries and raises blood pressure, both of which are enough to trigger heart disease.

Consume less sugar: too much sugar in your diet can cause weight gain, which can raise blood pressure and result in heart disease and diabetes. Control your sugar intake.

Eat more green veggies and fruits: Vegetables and fruits are a powerful source of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, and other essential nutrients that keep the heart in tip-top shape. Make sure you don’t overlook their importance.

Cut back on alcohol: alcohol use not only damages your liver but also causes high blood pressure, arrhythmia, and other heart problems. If you are dependent on alcohol or any other drug, it’s time to seek help.

Besides making these resolutions, consume a diet low in salt and saturated fats and high in essential nutrients to boost your heart health. Don’t forget to exercise three to five times a week to strengthen your heart muscles. Once you make these resolutions and stay true to them, you will notice a significant improvement in your heart on your Resting, Stress Test or Holter Monitoring test.