Heart to Heart Talk
Facts or fiction about heart disease
By Dr. Philip S. Chua
Cebu Daily News
First Posted 16:38:00 06/30/2008
Herbals are better for the heart.
This is fiction. Scientifically untested herbals may even be dangerous for any disease or condition one is trying to prevent or cure. While a few herbals appear to have potentials and are now being studied, the dozens of unproven others commonly advertised as “effective and safe” are not scientifically confirmed to be efficacious and not serious side-effects. The thousands of medications we now have, which had undergone repeated laboratory and clinical testing, are still the better option. Before taking any drugs, herbals or proprietary, check with your physician first, just to be on the safe side.
Useless to undergo surgery
Here is another myth. Heart bypass and angioplasty/stent have been extensively performed around the world and have been beyond any doubt that they do work effectively and well in relieving symptoms, increasing work and exercise tolerance, and in maximizing longevity, other factors considered. For patients who need these procedures, not having them done is foolhardy and unwise. The death rates of heart attack victims and potential heart attack victims have gone down consistently over the past 4 decades, thanks to these life-saving surgeries.
Surgery worsens heart disease.
False. Surgery does not worsen heart disease. Hardening of the artery is systemic (involves the arteries all over the body), and its speed in blocking arteries depends on the lifestyle of the patient. After angioplasty or bypass, the hardening continues because that is the nature of that disease, not because of surgery. If the patient continues living an unhealthy lifestyle after surgery (like smoking, no exercise, eating high cholesterol foods, no relaxation activities, etc), then the heart disease will continue in a fast rate as before surgery. Only a healthy lifestyle, and some medications (for high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, etc.), will slow down hardening of the arteries, heart disease, and stroke.
Heart attack victims should be sedentary.
Nothing is farther from the truth. Heart attack patients who have recovered should resume normal activities as prescribed by their physicians. It is most essential for these people to be active again as soon as they are medically allowed to. A sedentary life for these patients would only lead to deterioration of the heart and to vegetation. Those who bounce back to as normal a life as possible following a heart attack will fare much better physically and mentally than those who resign themselves to invalidism.
Longevity is shortened by heart bypass.
This is another myth. Coronary bypass surgery, not only improves the quality of life by eliminating chest pains but also increases the life span of patients, whose life will otherwise be reduced by heart attack. More and more clinical studies are showing this to be the case.
Heart bypass patients are unable to work.
Wrong. One of the goals of coronary bypass surgery is to allow the patient to go back to the main stream of society. After adequate recovery, patients who were working prior to surgery can usually go back to their original job, with some initial restrictions. Very rarely are post-bypass patients unable to resume previous work activities. These exceptions are among those with severe and neglected coronary artery disease where the heart muscles have already been damaged before the patients agreed to have bypass surgery.
Red meats and eggs are good for children.
A dangerous myth! High cholesterol diet is bad for children as it is unhealthy for adults. It has been shown on autopsies performed on children (victims of various accidents and illnesses), ages 4 to 6, that the inner walls of their arteries were already lined with a thin layer of cholesterol plaques (fatty deposits). Therefore, it is clear that hardening of the arteries starts even earlier than that tender age.
Since red meats (like pork and beef and anything made of them) and eggs (particularly the yolk) are high in cholesterol, these foods are detrimental to children and to all of us. They cause arteriosclerosis (hardening of our arteries) which leads to heart attack (and/or stroke), which kills one person every 60 seconds in the United States alone. Indeed, not only an epidemic, even here in the Philippines, but a pandemic, worldwide.
Fish, on the other hand, contains Omega 3 fatty acids that is cardio-protective (good for our heart), the reason why it is highly recommended for all of us (together with the other healthy life style regimen we discussed above), and most especially for our toddlers and children, where prevention of cardiovascular diseases could be maximized.
Unwittingly and without malice, we, the parents, are “killing” our children with love by giving them whatever food they want and allowing them to live the same undisciplined, unhealthy, and dangerous lifestyle we have, which, in essence, cheats them of good health and well-being, and shortens their lives.
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