Importance of adherence to medication schedule, precautions in heart patients

Incidence of cardiovascular diseases is increasing among the Indian population, making it important to raise awareness on importance of leading a healthy lifestyle. One can do this by consuming a balanced diet, avoiding smoking and drinking, staying active and keeping check on vital signs such as cholesterol, blood pressure, and sugar.

With Covid-19 pandemic spreading across the globe, it is also imperative for people with existing heart conditions to take extra precautions and build immunity. Because, when this virus enters a body, it causes inflammation of the airways leading to irritation of the nerves and cough.

As the infection worsens, it can lead to lung damage and reduction in their capacity to distribute oxygen supply to the bloodstream. Eventually, oxygen levels in blood go down and the heart needs to beat harder and faster to ensure oxygen supply to the organs. Blood pressure starts going down and that again puts added stress on the heart.

Heart patients should adhere to medication schedule and stay in touch with their doctors. It is important to not stop medication without advice. Make sure to eat healthy, engage in light physical activity, and take all precautions including maintaining a safe distance from anyone with flu-like symptoms, etc. Make sure to seek timely treatment in case of symptoms such as breathlessness, chest pain, etc. In people with existing heart diseases or complications such as sudden cardiac arrest, immediate treatment must be provided. The most effective way to treat SCA is through defibrillation. This involves delivering an electrical shock to your heart to restore a normal heartbeat. An implantable defibrillator, or ICD, is a device implanted under the skin to treat fast, irregular rhythms.

The ICD monitors your heart rhythm 24 hours a day. If your heart is beating too fast or irregularly, it will first send small painless electrical signals to correct your heart rate. If this continues, the defibrillator will deliver a shock to restore your heart to a normal rate.

Another effective treatment is combining a bi-ventricular pacemaker with an ICD (CRT). Cardiac re-synchronisation therapy (CRT) is the insertion

of electrodes in the left and right ventricles of the heart, as well as the right atrium, to treat heart failure by coordinating the function of the left and right ventricles.

Disclaimer: The veracity of any health claim made in the above article is the responsibility of the hospital/doctor concerned.