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TIPS FOR A HEALTHY HEART
 

Eat a heart-healthy diet
You can eat a heart-healthy diet by:

  • Eating a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet. This means eating fewer animal products such as red meat, eggs, and diary products, using skim milk products as well as monosaturated oils such as canola and olive oil, and eating more fresh fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes.
  • Reducing the amount of salt in your diet as salt increases the amount of circulating fluid in the body. This in turn increases your blood pressure.

Stay active
The heart is a muscle. Like the muscles of your arms and legs, it needs regular exercise to keep it strong and working its best. The benefits of a regular exercise programme include a positive effect on cholesterol levels, weight and stress management. Exercise is also a good way to maintain your energy level and stamina for daily activities. Picking an activity that you enjoy, such as, walking, biking, or swimming, will help to ensure that you continue with your exercise programme.

Stop smoking
Smoking is directly related to an increased risk of heart attack and its complications as it :

  • increases the rate of fatty deposits in the arteries, including those in the heart.
  • limits the amount of oxygen carried in your heart.
  • causes the blood vessels to become narrower, forcing the heart to work harder

There are many ways to end your smoking habit, including participating in stop-smoking clinics, and using new prescription aids such as patches. Ask your doctor for information on the various stop-smoking aids available.

Control your stress level
Uncontrolled stress or anger has been linked to an increase in heart disease risk. If you feel your stress level is out of control, it is time to make changes in the way you manage your stress.

 
HEARTWARE FOR A NEW LEASE OF LIFE

Looking at the hale and hearty Mr Chong Ching now, one would hardly suspect that the 60-year-old had undergone a heart operation about a year ago.

It was ten years ago that a sudden sharp pain gripped the ex-teacher's heart. Dismissing it to be a result of tiredness, he went to see a doctor only to be told he had to be hospitalised at once. That was the first time Mr Chong suffered a heart attack.

For more than 10 years after that, Mr Chong lived with the pain and fear of sudden seizure gripping his chest. The pain would come suddenly, many times startling him from his sleep, only to subside after resting and medication.

But last year, medication could no longer contain Mr Chong's heart condition. The lack of exercise and an unhealthy diet had taken its toil on him. "I was scared and did not want to go for the operation," he confided, adding that it was a "major" operation after all.

Finally, the 60-year-old took a leap of faith and went for a heart bypass last year.

"I could not cross the road without feeling the pain in my heart before the operation", he said, adding that now he no longer takes his health for granted.

Now he faithfully does his rehabilitative therapy, including working out on the treadmill, legpress, stepper and cycling once a week at the hospital's gymnasium.

"I watch my diet closely and cut down on red meat ," Mr Chong said.

"I am conscious of how food is cooked and I no longer eat food fried in recycled oil", he said.

He takes time to visit his old neighbours and friends in Toa Payoh and has cultivated the hobby of gardening at home, pottering over his Jasmine plants and Japanese bamboo.

"More importantly, I now relax and take things easy in life," a beaming Mr Chong said.