This time is such that we need to be extra cautious of our health and wellbeing. The most prone are heart patients who often find it difficult to react in emergencies, especially when it comes to taking self-care in case of chest pain, heart attack symptoms, etc. In lot many cases, heart patients may be living alone, requiring extra care of taking self-care to avoid irreversible situations. The most important is to be aware of what is essential, what needs to be done for heart attack symptoms and on essentials that a heart patient needs to stock up on! To ensure complete safety for heart patients, Dr Tilak Suvarna, Senior Interventional Cardiologist, Asian Heart Institute, explains various essential checkpoints of safety for heart patients.
Self-Care/First Aid For Heart Patients
Symptoms of heart attack take time to intensity. It is that time when a heart patient can take immediate care tips to ensure proper management. Follow these tips to if experiencing heart attack symptoms for timely management:
- First and foremost, if you have Disprin at home, take one tablet, dissolve in a glass of water and drink the water.
- Call for help, either a neighbour or your family doctor or an ambulance.
- Do not exert or move till help arrives.
- Do not try to go to a hospital on your own.
- If you have a digital BP instrument at home, check your BP. If your BP is low, lie down flat on your bed. If your BP is very high, you may take 5 mg of Sorbitrate under your tongue.
- If you feel like passing out, start coughing vigorously.
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Essentials For Heart Patients
If you are heart patient, especially staying alone, make sure that you have these following essentials that can be required during emergencies, especially if any discomfort experienced:
- A BP instrument would be beneficial to check your BP
- Disprin tablet --- to be dissolved and had with a glass of water, if symptoms are suggestive of a heart attack.
- Sorbitrate tablet --- to be kept under the tongue, if symptoms are of angina
- These days there are apps on the smartphone or smartwatch, which can record an ECG and which can be transmitted to the doctor.
Care Tips For Heart Patients
This time is such that we do not know when will things fall back to normal. With heart patients already having a compromised immunity and health, it is essential to keep a check on necessary checkpoints. These pandemic times can bring in anxiety and discomfort in various forms. Hence, these care tips for heart patients can come in handy:
- If you are a heart patient and if you also have diabetes or hypertension and above all, if you are a senior citizen (above 60 years of age), then your risk of having severe complications if you get the coronavirus infection, is very high. Therefore, you should take all precautions to avoid getting the infection, staying at home and avoiding contacts with outsiders as much as possible.
- Due to lockdown and restriction of going out, it is difficult for most patients to continue their exercise regimen, either outdoors or at the gym. They should, however, continue to walk and exercise at home.
- Diet control has to be stricter since the level of physical activity is going to be less. When you are at home all the time, you tend to overeat leading to weight gain.
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- Staying locked up at home for a long time and the uncertainty around the coronavirus pandemic can be a reason for people to get stressed and start having negative thoughts, which is not good for the heart. It is essential to stay calm and be positive and believe that this too, would pass. Talking to friends and family would help in dealing with this stress. Yoga also would help to destress.
- It is also important to continue taking all your medications as advised, making sure that you do not run out of stock.
- Avoid going to the doctor’s clinic for a routine follow-up or if there is no urgent matter. You can always consult your doctor on the phone.
With inputs from Dr Tilak Suvarna, Senior Interventional Cardiologist, Asian Heart Institute
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