Padang, W Sumatra (ANTARA) - A cardiologist at Semen Padang Hospital, dr. Eka Fithra Elfi Sp advises people with heart disease to regulate and maintain a diet while observing fasting.
"When fasting, people with heart disease are asked to avoid foods that contain high fat, oily food, and high cholesterol food," he said here on Sunday.
In addition, people with heart disease are also advised to exercise while fasting. Being active and exercising regularly can also strengthen the heart muscle, maintain an ideal body weight, and prevent arterial damage.
"Heart sufferers are advised to keep exercising, both when fasting and when not fasting, but it is not a strenuous activity. If you are fasting, the recommended exercise is taking a walk or cycling with a duration of 15 to 30 minutes," he said.
"Do this exercise at least three times a week. So they are required to exercise in one week for 150 minutes," he added.
He explained that the causes of heart disease include high levels of total cholesterol and bad cholesterol LDL (low-density lipoprotein), while level of HDL cholesterol (High Density Lipoprotein), which is good cholesterol, is lower.
Hypertension, diabetes, unhealthy lifestyles, cigarette consumption, obesity, lack of exercise, and heredity also increase the risk of developing heart disease.
"If you feel that your lifestyle is unhealthy and there are indications leading to heart disease, do a check up immediately before it is too late," he pointed out.
Symptoms of heart disease include chest pain, fatigue, shortness of breath, leg pain when walking, chills and numbness in the feet, and sores on the feet that don't heal quickly.
"Heart disease has various symptoms, depending on the type of heart disease itself, such as narrowing of blood vessels in the heart, coronary heart disease, or heart failure," he said.
"So, if you already feel these general symptoms, (sufferers) need to be checked out for prevention. Especially if (these symptoms) are often experienced by people over 50 years old," he added.
Furthermore, the heart specialist also suggested the need for people with hypertension and diabetes to adjust their diet because the two diseases can cause heart disease.
He explained that hypertension is a risk factor for coronary heart disease. High blood pressure can cause the coronary arteries or blood vessels that supply blood to the heart to experience atherosclerosis, a disease of the arteries characterized by the deposition of plaques of fatty material on their inner walls.
Then, people with type 2 diabetes are also at risk of having a heart attack if their blood sugar levels are uncontrolled.
"Excess glucose flowing in the blood can damage blood vessels and ultimately trigger a heart attack. The excess glucose can cause fat buildup due to cholesterol or plaque, which is called atherosclerosis," the cardiologist remarked.
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