5 Secrets Heart Doctors want you to know this Year

By Faisal Rafique

During my summer internship at Dow University Hospital Karachi, I learnt how cardiac doctors were more than heart specialists. They were rather more of a lifestyle advocate for so many of their patients and maybe this is why a heart doctor is one of the most trusted in their profession.

Turns out cardiologists have their own set of health secrets which are important if you are in this line of the field.

Here is what they want you to know

Cardiologists are human too

This is an interesting point as I have myself worked this out so many times. In hurried OPDs and emergency cases, it often gets hard to remember each and every minute of the day. In my own personal experience, I have once come across an incident where one of my patients read on why his heart health is deteriorating and it made the diagnosis and case study all the more fun to discuss with him. So here is the number one thing we want you to know, we might not always be the all-rounders everyone thinks of us as and may forget a thing or two from time to time. Rather it is always a healthy practice to read a little on your own, it saves so much of misconceptions and extra queries from us.

You need to discuss EVERYTHING!

Oftentimes, people, I’ll skip on small ‘subtle’ details which may happen to be important for heart doctors. For example, if your BMI tells you you are slightly overweight even if you do not look that way. You need to tell your cardiologist right away. Keeping anything away from your heart doctor can actually backfire and may even make your heart doctor run an extra test on you to see whether or not you are being truthful to them.

SUGAR is your enemy, not the fat

Oftentimes people associate fat with heart health issues. Now that may be correct to some degree however, research tells that it’s the high levels of blood sugar that is damaging to the cardiovascular system of the body. When you consume refined sugar, and insulin response is generated that is way beyond toxic to blood vessel linings. Even if you are not diabetic, high levels of blood sugar level can be very dangerous for your heart health at the end of the day. So rather than skipping on food fat diets, make sure you are deliberately skipping on as much refined sugar as possible.

Most supplements do not really improve your heart Health

As ironic as it may sound, certain supplements do not really play a big role in improving your heart health. If you find a heart doctor who is strongly recommending you certain supplements, chances are they are the ones who are selling them in their office. The best supplements for the heart are only Vitamin D and Omega-3 Fat which you can consume through fish and sunlight. Again, you do not have to spend hundreds of bucks to get the right amount of nutrition only because a heart specialist told you so.

Stay away from Red-wine

You will be surprised at how many patients are rolled into a heart specialists office just because they started consuming red-wine and thought it was good for their heart health. A little red wine can help your heart, yes, but anything that is slightly excessive can cause serious damage to your heart health instead. I learnt this through a hard way from a heart specialist in Karachi so believe me when I say this, red wine isn’t a good way of making yourself better in any way.

The Bottom Line

There are many things a heart doctor wants you to know this year. However, these are some of the op things your heart doctor wants you to know. And while you are at the edge of understanding what other secrets we may hold back make sure to stay stress-free and happy as it isn’t a secret at all!