Ways to keep your heart healthy – Expert

Choosing a healthy eating plan is one of the ways of keeping your heart healthy . “The food you eat can decrease your risk of heart disease and stroke,” said Dr Basem Duwederi , Head and Specialist of the Open-Heart Surgery Department at the Saudi German Hospital, Dubai. He advised people to choose foods low […]

Choosing a healthy eating plan is one of the ways of keeping your heart healthy .

“The food you eat can decrease your risk of heart disease and stroke,” said Dr Basem Duwederi , Head and Specialist of the Open-Heart Surgery Department at the Saudi German Hospital, Dubai.

He advised people to choose foods low in saturated fat, trans fat, and sodium.  

He said: “As part of a healthy diet, eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, fiber-rich whole grains, fish (preferably oily fish-at least twice per week), nuts, legumes and seeds and try eating some meals without meat.  Select lower fat dairy products and poultry skinless.  Limit sugar-sweetened beverages and red meat. If you choose to eat meat, select the leanest cuts available.

Duwederi who was a key note speaker at Nigerian Cardiac Society annual Summit in September also advised people to be physically active, adding, “you can slowly work up to at least 2½ hours (150 minutes) of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity (e.g., brisk walking) every week or 1 hour and 15 minutes (75 minutes) of vigorous intensity aerobic physical activity (e.g., jogging, running) or a combination of both every week.”

In addition, he said on two or more days a week one needs muscle-strengthening activities that work all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest shoulders, and arms). Children should get at least 60 minutes of activity every day, he said.

It is never too early or too late to learn the warning signs of a heart attack and stroke. Not everyone experiences sudden numbness with a stroke or severe chest pain with a heart attack. And heart attack symptoms in women can be different than men.

In a related development, a successful valve replacement surgery has been done for 39- year-old Nigerian man at the Saudi German Hospital Dubai.

A statement from the hospital said he man who has been transferred to Dubai, was treated for severe pneumonia and was placed on a ventilator-assisted treatment as a result.

“Tests revealed the presence of a mitral stenosisat 0.8 cm, causing narrowness and reduced functionality of the aortic valve. Based on their professional opinion, the patient was transferred to the Saudi German Hospital, where doctors discussed the patient’s need to replace two valves, stressing that failure to perform the surgery may lead to a heart failure and death,” the statement said.

According to Dr Basem Duwederi, who has performed surgery on many Nigerians, the surgery lasted nearly four hours, and  upon completion of the necessary tests protocol and general improvement of the patient’s general condition, the patient was monitored in intensive care unit (ICU) for two days, and was discharged from the hospital after eight days from the date of the surgery. 

The specialist pointed out that the biggest challenge in the patient’s condition was to replace two valves, right after a case of severe pneumonia, as this leads to higher risk factors, most importantly: endocarditis, which has a 20% possibility of occurrence.