Heart ailments across India are on the increase. One of the reasons for heart disease is High Blood Pressure. Medically, high blood pressure is called “Hyper tension”. High blood pressure has become a very common malady these days. Only 50% of the patients know about it and only 25% are being treated. Before we discuss further about high B.P., let us first know about our Heart.

Heart is a very hard working organ of out body. Human heart is a hollow, muscular, cone shaped organ. Stretch out your hand and make a fist. The heart is about the same size as your closed fist. It slightly tilts to the left of our body and may weigh about 800 gms

What does the heart do?

Imagine a water pump that lifts water to the over head tank of your house. Heart is similar but it pumps blood. It achieves its pumping action by contraction and expansion. The rhythmic contraction and relaxation is called a “heart beat”. Every time your heart beats, it pumps blood containing oxygen and other nutrients, continuously through the circulatory system to all the parts, nook and corner of your body.

Amazing heart facts

Heart beats about 100,000 times a days (as said above) and 35 million times a year, your heart will beat 2.5 to 3 billion times in your life time. Heart began to form when you were 4 weeks old in the mother’s womb. Your body has about 5.6 litres of blood. These 5.6 litres of blood circulates through the body 3 times every minute. In one day, the blood travels a total of 19,000 km. The heart pumps about 1 million barrels of blood during your lifetime. The rate of heart beat in men is 80 per minute that is heart beats in every 0.8 second. The pulse you feel, by placing two fingers at the throbbing pulse points on your wrist, is the blood as it moves through your arteries. As a kid, your pulse may range from 90 to 120 beats per minute. As an adult your pulse rate could be 72 beats per minute. Even at rest, the heart works twice as hard as the leg muscles of a person sprinting.

Functions of the heart

Heart circulates oxygen and nutrient rich blood to all organs of the body. All the organs, cells, tissues receive oxygen and return carbon-di-oxide, which is carried back to heart. Heart sends blood to lungs to be purified and gets back oxygenated blood.

Requirement of the blood

Like any other part of the body, heart also needs pure, oxygenated blood, to function properly. The coronary arteries that rise from the aorta supply oxygen rich blood to the heart muscles.

Anatomy of the Heart

Heart is a four chambered muscular “pump” located in the chest cavity. There are two chambers on top and two, below. The upper chambers are called Auricles (also Atria – Each chamber is called Atrium)
The lower chambers are called “Ventricles”. There are fibrous muscle partitions, called “septa” (plural for the word “septum) separating the left and right auricles and the left and right ventricles.

Blood flows in the heart

The impure blood from rest of the body is brought to the right auricle and then passes into right ventricle. The right ventricle contracts and blood is pumped into pulmonary artery.

This blood travels through the lungs where it is purified and oxygenated. This returns to the heart at the left auricle through which it flows into left ventricle. This ventricle contracts and the blood goes rushing into aorta and to other parts of the body.

Heart diseases

One of the prime reasons for the heart diseases is is High Blood Pressure. It increases the heart’s work load. The heart thickens and becomes stiff. B.P. increases risk of stroke, heart attack, kidney failure. If the high B.P. patient has also obesity, smoking habit, diabetes, high cholesterol levels, then the danger increases several times.

What is Blood Pressure:-

The period of cardiac cycle during which the heart contracts is called “Systole”. The term usually refers to ventricular systole, which last about 0.3 seconds. Auricle systole lasts about 0.1 seconds.

The period between two contractions of the heart, when the muscle of the heart relaxes and allows the chambers to fill with blood is called “diastole”. This term usually refers to ventricular diastole which lasts about 0.5 seconds. During exertion this period reduces, allowing the heart rate to increase.

Blood pressure is the lateral pressure that the blood exerts against the walls of the main arteries. Pressure is high during systole (when ventricles contract) and lower during diastole (when ventricles are relaxing and refilling). In other words your blood pressure is the pressure your heart and arteries apply, in order to supply and circulate blood around your body. It goes up when you exert or get angry or excited. It returns to normal when these moments pass.

For clinical purposes the blood pressure is measured at the large brachial artery of the arm. Here the pressure is most similar to that of blood leaving heart. The doctor uses a B.P, instrument. It is measured in millimeters of mercury. The normal range is – systalic 120 mm/ hg and diastolic – 80 mm hg. This is written as 120/80.

To get the proper reading of B.P. follow the following precautions:- High blood pressure – (Hyper tension)
Generally any B.P. consistently above 140 mm Hg (systolic) and / or 90 mm Hg (diastolic) is considered High blood pressure.

The risks of hyper tension:-

High blood pressure is a silent killer. It is one of the major causes of disability and death all over the world. If it is not controlled it will cause the following diseases: Heart attack, stroke, Enlargement of heart, High B.P. makes heart work faster and harder. Congestive Heart failure or damage may occur, Blood vessels may shrink, Kidney problems and Eyes may be affected.

The causes for high B.P.
In Ayurveda hypertension is called ‘Rakta capa vriddhi’. It is caused by imbalance of the three doshas (vata, pitta and kapha). In ‘Vata’ type the patient has gas problems, nervousness, anxiety and insomnia. The B.P. and pulse will be irregular. Pitta type patients have headaches, nose bleeds. Red eyes, irritability, anger. The kapha type has obesity, lethargy, high cholesterol etc. Some of the causes could be:- Stress and hectic life style, Vitiation of vata, Smoking and drinking, Obesity, hardening of arteries, Metabolic disorder, Excessive intake of salts and Overloading of ‘junk’ foods.

The symptoms of hyper tension could be Pain in the back of the head and neck while waking up which soon disappears, Palpitations, difficulty in breathing, Head ache, frequently getting angry, Vertigo, dizziness, Frequent urination and Fatigue.

The remedies

Low fat, low salt vegetarian diet is to be taken. Avoid meat and eggs. Include dairy products, garlic, lemon, parsley and fruits like Grape, gooseberry, water melons in your diet. Potassium and calcium have been found to be useful in reducing high B.P. These two nutrients help body to secrete excess sodium and control vascular system. Potassium is available in fruits and vegetable and calcium in dairy products. Eat more of Anti oxidant foods. Give up coffee. It enhances action of adrenaline which in turn, raises the B.P. Smoking must be stopped Drinking also is prohibited. Regular exercise improves the body, helps in reduction of weight. Watch your weight and avoid obesity. Be cool and avoid stress and tension. Laugh away your worries. Meditation & yoga help to achieve a calm mind.

Ayurveda has a long history of treating High Blood pressure. The first anti – hyper tension medicine was an Ayurvedic herb, “Sarpagandha” ( Rauwolfia serpentine). Ayurveda has wonderful medicines and tonics for treating high B. P and cardiac problems.

Certain useful herbs are:
Sarpa Gandha, Jatamansi, Terminalia Arjuna, Brahmi (Bacopa monnieri), Shanka pushpi (Evolvulus Alsinoides), Ashwagandha (Withania Somnifera), Pushkar mool (Inula Racemosus), Pippali (Piper longum), Rose (Gulab – Rosa Damascence), Ginger (Zingiber officinale),

Vegetables and fruits helpful in containing high B.P. are,
Garlic: Garlic reduces formation of gas, modifies heart rhythm, relives shortness of breath and slows down pulse rate.
Indian Gooseberry: A tablespoon of fresh juice of Gooseberry with honey, taken every morning brings down high B.P.

Lemon: The vitamins in lemon prevents capillary fragility. Hence lemon is used in treating high B.P.
Watermelon: The seeds of this fruit, dried and roasted should be taken in liberal quantities because a substance extracted from the seeds, is said to have a definite action is dilating blood vessels, which results in lowering the B.P.
Grapes Ayurveda advises that when a man complains of chest pain, he may be given a glass of orange or Grape juice. Grape juice regulates heart beat. Grape juice helps in producing blood. French people who consume more of ‘Red’ wine made of grapes, have been found to be resistant to heart attacks.
Rice:- Rice is a beneficial food for hyper tense persons because of its low – fat, low cholesterol content. Brown rice, in particular, has calcium that sooths the nervous system.
Potato: Potatoes boiled with their skin, lower blood pressure. They are rich in potassium but have low sodium salts. The magnesium content in this vegetable is beneficial.

Summing up, the foods suitable for a high B.P. patient are:-

What, rice, Ragi, sprouted cereals, Fish, Greens, Fruits, Sun – flower oil, Gingelly oil, Soya seed oil, fibre fruits like apple, orange, banana vegetables like carrots cabbage, Potatoes, Tomato, Beans etc.

Avoid:-

Fried, oily food, Dalda (Vanaspathi), Milk cream, Ghee, Butter, Pickles, Chips, Palm oil, Coconut oil, Chicken, Meat, Pappads, Sauce, Chocolate, Cake, soft drinks, icecream etc. Do not starve your self. Eat properly at the proper time. Physical exercises and yoga are very beneficial. These must be done on the advice of your doctor. Walking is a simple but highly beneficial exercise. Whenever possible walk daily. Do not use lift. Try to climb steps. Salt is detrimental to health, particularly for High B.P. patients. You must avoid salt. Avoid Sugar. Anti – oxidant foods protect your body against “Free radicals”. These free radicals are like “Thieves” who wait for an opportunity to rob you off good cells & tissues. So take more of anti oxidants.

One of the most common problems facing mankind is heart disease. Because of the high tension life style of today's world, heart diseases are now attacking even teenagers.

One of the main reasons for heart diseases is high level of cholesterol in the blood.

What is cholesterol?

It is a soft, waxy substance found in all body's cells and among the lipids in the blood stream. Cholesterol and other fats can not dissolve in blood.

Level of cholesterol in the blood

High blood level of cholesterol (240 mg / dl. and higher) greatly increases an individual's risk of heart attack.

How does the body get cholesterol?

From two sources. Our own bodies - It is synthesised in the body from Acetate, mainly in the liver. The other source is - animal products such as meat (beef, chicken, fish) egg yolks, cheese and other whole milk products.

Because the body can easily make all the cholesterol it needs, it does not really need any additimal cholesterol from foods. Just like oil and water cholesterol and blood do not mix. Therefore cholesterols have to be transported to and from the cells by special carriers called lipoproteins.

Check your cholesterol level (Total cholesterol)

160 mg / dl	Optimal for people with a history of heart disease
200 mg / dl	Desirable for general population
200 mg / dl	to Borderline high blood
239 mg / dl	cholesterol
240 mg / dl	High Blood cholesterol or greater

Excess cholesterol, actually the low - density lipoprotein, part of cholesterol deposited in the artery walls coat the wall linings causing the hardening of the walls. Blood flow gets restricted, and the heart has to do more pumping. The hardened arteries can rupture, bleed, haemorrage or clot. If the clot blocks the arteries completely, halting blood supply to the heart or brain, heart attacks and strokes occur. That's why LDL cholesterol is often called "bad" cholesterol. Lower levels of LDL cholesterol reflect a lower risk of heart disease.

Decrease 'bad' cholesterol (Low density lipoprotein)

Avoid animal and hydrogenated fats. Use moderate amounts of vegetable oils. Eat more un - refined foods (whole wheat, bread, cereals, etc,.). Have fruits, vegetables and legumes (peas, beans, soya beans).

Increase 'Good' cholesterol (High density lipoprotein)

Increase your physical activities. Loose weight or maintain a healthy weight. Stop smoking. Replace saturated fats with poly - unsaturated or mono saturated fats. Things That Affect Blood Cholesterol.

Your blood cholesterol level is influenced by many factors. These include.

What you eat: High intake of saturated fat, dietary cholesterol, and excess calories leading to overweight can increase blood cholesterol levels. The average daily intake of dietary cholesterol is 220-260 mg for women and 360 mg for men.

Over weight: Being overweight can make your LDL - cholesterol level go up and you're HDL - cholesterol level goes down.

Physical activity: Increased physical activity lowers LDL - cholesterol and raises HDL - cholesterol levels.

Heredity: Your genes partly influence how your body makes and handles cholesterol.

Age and sex: Blood cholesterol levels in both men and women begin to go up around age 20. Women before menopause have levels that are lower than men of the same age. After menopause, a woman's LDL - cholesterol level goes up - and so her risk for heart disease increases.

Other measures

Consume soluble fibres - which flush out extra cholesterol (cooked dry beans, oats & whole grains). This helps lowering both total cholesterol & LDL. Eat chicken rather than mutton wherever possible. Chicken fat is mainly in the skin, so be sure to remove it. Eat more fish. Moderate your consumption of eggs and dairy products such as cheese, whole milk, cream and butter. Choose low fat varieties wherever possible.

Ayurvedic Remedies for Perfect Cholesterol Levels

Garlic - Report and researches on garlic are suggestive of its cholesterol lowering effects. It has been found that garlic can reduce cholesterol levels by an average of 9 to 12% over a period of 4 months.

Onion - Onion assist the functioning of the heart by correcting thrombosis and reducing cholesterol. Eat onions with the outer skin as the skin has potent fat lowering properties.

Turmeric also lowers cholesterol level.

Channa: Cicer arietinum - Germinating seeds contain a hormone known as Isoflavone Biochanin A which not only lowers cholesterol levels but also excretes the already deposited cholesterol from the arteries - Atherosclerosis.

Other Herbs useful in lowering cholesterol levels are Guggul -(commiphora mukul), Tinospora cordifolia Saussurea lappa, Terminalia arjuna etc.