Ever since the pandemic set in over two years ago, many people have been faced with the challenge of exercising less, not being able to eat healthy and not being able to go outdoors much. Doctors are of the opinion that this could be taking a toll as many individuals have gained excess weight, resulting in poor mental health as well. They urge everyone, particularly those who are at risk Heart Disease, to follow a few of the below tips to keep stroke, heart attacks and even Covid-19 at bay.
Exercise
Experts say that the best heart care you can give yourself is to be physically fit. It will help you bring down the risks of heart disease and Covid-19 or its side effects. Because travel and commute were severely restricted during the initial stages of the pandemic, many people have said they were faced with feelings of anxiety, loneliness, stress, depression and insomnia. Doctors and experts can help you with techniques that can help improve emotional and mental wellness, and thereby improve heart health. Simple acts of cleaning house, dancing, home exercising or walking about will get a person moving and this can certainly do some good to a heart patient. It’s also crucial to stay positive and have an optimistic outlook, while continuing to do things that bring them joy.
Immunity
A healthy and fit body, when maintained through a balanced diet and regular exercise is bound to have stronger immunity. Adding foods such as turmeric, ginger, honey, garlic or pepper to your meals will help boost your body’s immunity. If your body can fight a foreign body such as the coronavirus and recover quickly, you will probably not need a covid 19 health insurance!
Healthy diet
If you are trying to improve your heart health, along with exercise you also need to focus on the foods you eat. It is important to eat a balanced diet, rich with nutrients and low on sugars. Try to eat foods that are high on protein (like lean meat, egg whites, sprouts and legumes) and low in fat content, especially trans-fat. Vegetables, especially leafy greens, must be had in plenty, and fruits in moderation. It is advised to cut down alcohol to nothing more than one drink a day, and cut out smoking completely.
What Covid-19 do to your heart?
The coronavirus can impact your heart by causing clotting along with an inflammatory response and thereby disturbing its functions. If your symptoms are severe enough to warrant hospitalisation, your heart could be working doubly hard to fight the virus. This increases the chances of future pulmonary embolisms, heart attacks, myocarditis or heart failure. But even if you don’t need to be hospitalized, the virus can cause complications such as hypertension. Rhythm disorders and chest pains that make you feel like you are having a heart attack. Cardiologists are of the opinion that all COVID-19 survivors, irrespective of whether they had any cardiac symptoms or not, to get themselves checked roughly 3 weeks after they have recovered.
As part of heart care, a COVID-19 survivor with new heart issues should wait a few weeks before exercising as they may need a physician’s approval before beginning. And if you had heart disease prior to being infected with the coronavirus. Then you should definitely get a stress test done before attempting any cardio workouts.
High-risk category
Everyone and anyone is at risk of getting diseases of the heart. But, certain cardiovascular factors make one individual more susceptible than the other. Some of these factors include high cholesterol, high blood pressure, using tobacco and being overweight. You could also be genetically prone to heart disease. And if you are a man above 55 years or a woman above 65 years, then heart disease can hit you easily. A characteristic for heart disease, ignored very often, is sleeping less than six hours every night. Your diet, lifestyle or even socio-economic factors could put you or your community at greater risk of heart care. But simple changes towards living healthy can help you easily get over that.
Take the Vaccination for Covid-19
So far, no cure has been discovered for Covid-19. So the only protection available from this nasty virus are the vaccines. Heart patients as well as all those people who fall in the high risk category. Are strongly advised to take the vaccination. Against Covid-19 as it is the only way to stay safe. While the vaccination will not prevent you from catching the virus, it will certainly reduce the effect of the symptoms. And this can be crucial for those aiming at heart care. Most vaccinations are being administered to people with comorbidities, so you actually have nothing to fear. Before getting your shot, you may just need to inform the health authorities. If you have heart disease, allergies or any other comorbidities so that you can be monitor. Properly before being told to leave the vaccination centre premises.
