CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – As the holidays arrive, it’s the time to celebrate and maybe indulge a little – but cardiologist Dr. Antony Anandaraj says the secret to maintaining heart health is mindfulness.
“You know that hey, Christmas is around the corner, I’m going to have my family visiting now, I will eat a lot, I’m going to drink more, I’m going to be excited, but at the same time, I’m not going to walk around much. So, get it all in good balance,” said Dr. Anandaraj.
Iowa ranks 16th in the nation for the rate of heart disease deaths – with 176.3 deaths per 100,000 people in 2023 according to CDC data.
Dr. Anandaraj, a cardiologist with UnityPoint St. Luke’s, explained one way to take control of your health around the holidays is to minimize salt consumption.
“Your maximum allowance if you have heart disease – especially if you have high blood pressure, heart failure – your allowance of salt intake is less than two grams a day. So, ration it,” said Dr. Anandaraj. “Perhaps try and stay within that limit, that will prevent heart failures and hospitalization because of that. I want you to spend more time with family and not in the hospital on Christmas Day.”
Although a ‘White Christmas’ isn’t in the forecast, Dr. Anandaraj says people with heart conditions should avoid shoveling snow.
That exertion brings up the blood pressure – and that is when heart attacks strike. Instead, Dr. Anandaraj recommends a walk after the holiday dinner and working your way up to more brisk exercise in the spring.
Another warning from the doctor: go easy on the eggnog.
“Having a drink or two on Christmas Day is not going to hurt you as much sure, you’ve earned it, spend time with family, drink, good, have a merry time, but if you empty out an entire bottle of whiskey, it predisposes you to all sorts of arrhythmias,” said Dr. Anandaraj.
Drinking too much triggers atrial fibrillation, which makes the heart beat quickly and the upper chambers quiver. It is part of a condition called “holiday heart syndrome” when it occurs around Christmas.
“By doing that, if someone already has some blocked artery disease, guess what, they are giving themselves a stress test. Thereby we [move that] stable situation into a heart attack situation,” said Dr. Anandaraj.
Dr. Anandaraj also recommended looking out for the women in your family as they’re less likely to report signs of chest pain and heart attacks.
“Atypical symptoms, you have to take them very seriously because unfortunately, women’s chest pain presents very atypically,” said Dr. Anandaraj. “Mom, Grandma, we should be more aware of looking out for them. I personally feel women are more strong-headed. They don’t want us to worry. It’s vacation time and we don’t want a hospitalization.”
Overall, it’s a matter of looking out for relatives who deal with heart conditions – to ensure a healthy and safe Christmas.
“It’s very important… to catch it very, very early,” said Dr. Anandaraj. “The biggest enemy of heart attacks is really the time… When someone gets a heart attack, they just sit on it forever, because there are some patients with [conditions like] diabetes, they won’t get classic chest pain symptoms. So they’ll just take a couple of Tums and just sleep it out. No. It’s too late. Once you pass the six-hour barrier… the heart cells have already undergone irreversible damage.”
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