Don’t panic, take simple precautions; cardiovascular surgeon

Mohali: “Patients with pre-existing heart diseases do not need to panic over COVID-19. They just need to take simple precautions that will help them to keep the infection at bay.”
 
This was stated by Dr. Harinder Singh Bedi, director of cardiovascular sciences at Ivy Hospital, Mohali during a webinar on ‘Being heart & vascular health smart during COVID times’ on Saturday. The webinar was organized Thind Dental Clinic.
 
Comparing the infection to an arrow attacking a fort, Dr. Bedi stressed that we need to strengthen the fort as at present methods of destroying the arrow (virus) are still being developed.
 
He said further that this can be done by increasing our immunity and by de-stress, doing exercise, taking healthy food, avoidance of tobacco, alcohol, and control of high blood pressure and diabetes.
 
Presently the challenge is not to  panic but  take precautions that are not too difficult to follow, he maintained.
 
Talking about how can COVID-19 can impact heart, Dr Bedi informed that viruses  can  attack the heart and  cause viral cardiomyopathies in which the pumping chambers of the heart get weak and may fail to pump effectively. The virus also sets up an inflammatory response which can be the trigger for a heart attack, he pointed out
 
The patients who have pre-existing heart abnormalities are in fact more susceptible to heart failure, if they become infected with COVID-19, he opined.
 
The presence of underlying diseases of heart, lungs or any other major organs, diabetes and hypertension, and age over 65-years predispose patients to more complications as well as increasing the risk of death, he informed.
 
However that does not mean that people with heart diseases are more likely to contract the COVID-19. It just means that those are more likely to have complications once they do get it, he asserted.
 
Simple ways to keep the heart healthy in these stressful times are organized yourself, control your environment, love yourself, reward yourself, exercise regularly, meditate, take adequate rest,  avoid getting angry at trivial matters, eat a balanced diet, avoid smoking, excessive tea, coffee intake, alcohol and be happy, he added.