Atrial fibrillation is a condition that causes an irregular heartbeat and raises the risk for well-known serious cardiac ailments. But what you may not be aware of is Atrial fibrillation causing a stroke. Through this article, you will get to know more about AF and brain stroke or ischemic stroke in detail.
Ischemic stroke usually occurs when a blood clot or thrombus, blocks an artery supplying blood to the brain or heart. Another reason behind ischemic stroke is the leakage of blood froma vessel which is known as hemorrhagic stroke. Clot formation can take place in any vessel of the body; be it the carotid, cerebral, striate (brain), or coronary (heart) artery -a clot in the brain that initiates a stroke which could lead to a silent and sudden onset. A stroke resulting from clot in the heart is more serious with long-term effects.
Clot formation is majorly associated with modern diets laden with saturated fats, simple carbohydrates, and a sedentary lifestyle. Here are a few diet and exercise tips on how one can maintain their heart health.
For Vegetarians-
- One should include the complex carbohydrate over simple carbohydrates in the daily diet such as whole grains, millet, and whole pulses.
- 1 bowl of low-fat curd(dahi) on a daily basis would do wonders. Probiotics help to keep your gut healthy.
- Green leafy vegetables are heart-friendly. Make sure that you are including 100g of green leafy vegetables thrice a week or 50g every day.
- 150g salad cucumber(kheera), onions(pyaz), tomato(tamatar) etc.) 15 mins before lunch and dinner can be very helpful to avoid overeating. A fibrous diet and liberal water intake is also essential to keep the gut clean.
- 1 handful unsalted nuts10almonds(badaam), 10pistachio(pista), 2walnuts(akhrot) every day is advisable.
- 1 tsp (5g) of flax seeds(tisi/alsi) and chia(sabza/tukmalanga) seeds should also be taken daily.
- Saturated fats like ghee and butter have some very deleterious health effects. Try to stick with 5:2 rule, i.e. in a week, 0 saturated fat for 5 days and 2 tsp. ghee/ butter in a day for 2 days.
- Recommended Cooking oils- olive, mustard, rice bran and canola (30ml/day).
For Non-vegetarians-
- Eggs (6 eggs per week) are advisable except in the condition of a de-arranged lipid profile- high cholesterol, high triglyceride, or compromised heart function.
- Low-fat poultry (150 grams) at least 2 servings (150 grams each) per week). Freshwater fish- salmon, mackerel, trout, tuna, Katla (at least 2-4 servings) (150 grams each) per week are recommended.
Foods to be avoided:
- Sugar, jaggery, sugarcane, maple syrup (used in pancakes/desserts), honey and glucose, Jams, jellies, and marmalade.
- High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is used in sweetened breakfast cereals, sweetened milk, chocolate, fudge, toffees
- Sweetened bread spread and caramel
- Sweet bakery items – cakes, biscuits, sweet bread, cookies
- Aerated drinks, fruit juices, syrup used on pancakes, canned fruits, etc.
- Saturated fats [ghee, butter, coconut oil, palm oil] and trans fats (reheating oil, majority
- of outside fried foods)
- Saturated fat containing nonveg. Food (red and processed meat) – strictly avoid mutton, pork, and bacon.
- Alcohol intake is prohibited.
Advice on exercise (Total time: 60 minutes)
A good way to start is, with 15 minutes of normally paced walking daily. Increase by 5 minutes weekly till you reach 30-45 minutes daily. If you have no unusual shortness of breath or chest pain, increase the pace gradually. Make sure the first five minutes are slow; to warm you up and the last five minutes are for cooling down.
- 10 minutes of Resistance Exercise daily (3-5 times a week) with dumbbells and ankle weights with 5 minutes of warming up and cooling down (women;1 kg/ men;1.5 kg with the gradual escalation of weight with increasing strength).
Regular Monitoring with SanketLife 2.0
Research studies have shown that AF makes you 5 times more susceptible to stroke. Nowadays atrial fibrillation is a common phenomenon experienced by almost all age groups. Even rural communities are not untouched by these irregular heart rhythms.
Known cases of atrial fibrillation can have an individual brain stroke assessment for further prevention. But, unknown cases of AF are more serious as they are not covered by any prophylaxis. Being silent in nature, these abnormalities are creating a scenario of uncertainty and emergency apart from an unplanned financial burden.
Regular cardiac check-ups are expensive and time-consuming, this is also a reason why people avoid going to hospitals. Agatsa’s Portable ECG Devices present a concrete solution to such questions. SanketLife2.0 by Agatsa is one of its amazing pocketsize, power-packed, touch-based devices which can check those harmful irregular beats any time anywhere! With these devices, one can get a detailed report of their heart health. SanketLife2.0 can give you 12-lead ECG with extended readings and their explanations if any abnormality gets detected.
Not just that, it has other amazing features like Heart Rate Variability(HRV), which is a true measure of fitness. HRV can determine the level of fitness within a minute. This amazing quality of the device makes it even more suitable for sports community. A pocket size, power packed mobile ECG device – SanketLife2.0 is not only good for people’s physical health but also for their financial health. At an affordable price, one can get the benefit of many ECG reports anytime anywhere!