Yoga for Reversal of Heart Disease

By Dr. Bimal Chhajer

Heart disease kills more people than any other disease in the world. It is a lifestyle disease -the causes of the disease are known and most of heart attacks can be prevented by lifestyle changes. Yoga based lifestyle has been used very successfully to prevent and reverse coronary heart disease. Dr. Chhajer presents the details of the lifestyle and Yoga based techniques that can be followed by the heart patients to reverse this common and fatal disease. Postures, Asanas, Pranayama and Meditation has been used by Saaol to successfully treat more than 60000 heart patients in India and abroad - has been explained lucidly in this book. The author also explains about heart disease, the diet, walking and the medical part of the non-invasive way of treating heart disease. This is the best way to avoid Bypass Surgery or Angioplasty and Heart attacks. This book will be a boon for heart patients, physicians, Yoga experts and common people who want to adopt Yoga to prevent heart disease

• Language: English
• Publisher: Diamond Books
• Release date: Apr 15, 2021
• ISBN: 9789351653110

Book preview

Meditation

Chapter - 1

Knowledge about Heart Disease,

its Medical Treatment & Role of Saaol

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What is heart and what is the function of the heart?

Heart is a small pump made of muscles – which keep on pumping blood - supplying oxygen and food to each and every organ of the body. It is situated in the middle of the chest (little towards the left) and its size is that of a middle sized apple weighing about 300 grams. At rest the heart beats at a speed of 72 times in a minute. This is equivalent to 100 thousand (1 lac) times in a day.

Heart not only supplies oxygen to the body through blood but also collects the same blood from the body after it gives away the oxygen; sends this blood to the lungs for refilling oxygen and then bring it back. Now it again sends the oxygen filled blood to the body again. Heart has four chambers to complete the job.

When the heart supplies blood to the whole body – it takes three small tubes to supply blood to its own muscles. These tubes give oxygen and food to the heart muscles – which it needs continuously. These tubes are called Coronary tubes or Coronary arteries.

What is heart disease?

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Heart disease is the gradual built up of excess fats inside the (blood flowing) tubes to the heart muscles. These tubes are called coronary arteries. These blocks built up very slowly and when close more than 70-80% of the tubes - heart muscles can not get adequate blood, leading to chest pain, choking, suffocation or breathlessness. These symptoms happen especially when the heart requires more blood while walking or running. These symptoms are called Angina.

How many heart disease patients are there in India?

There are more than 10 crore (100 million) heart patients in India – out of them 98% of heart disease fall into this category. Two percent of the heart patients have valve defects, hole in the heart.

When does the patient come to know about heart disease?

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The tubes which take blood to the heart muscles (called Coronary arteries – the LAD, the RCA and LCX) have 70-80% extra blood than the heart’s need. Heart needs only 10-30% but the supply is 100%. This 70-80% is in reserve. So, the heart patient only will come to know about the shortage when the blocks cross 70-80% level. It usually takes 30-40 years to built up so much blockage, but some people with bad lifestyle can complete the job in 10-15 years.

SYMPTOMS OF ANGINA

Breathlessness

Uneasiness

Substernal chest pain on exertion/Heaviness

Burning Sensation

Perspiration

Sinking Feeling

The complaint of the heart patient after the blockage of 80% or so is called Angina. This can be chest pain or heaviness feeling on the left side of the chest – increasing while walking or on exertion and are relieved on taking rest. Some people with angina may not have pain but may complain of breathlessness, uneasiness, burning sensation in the middle of chest or just palpitation.

Many people come to know about heart disease when they have 100% blockage following rupture of the membrane covering the blockage. These people will have the sever angina symptoms even at rest. Perspiration, sinking feeling or even collapse may happen during severe heart attack.

What are the tests by which we can diagnose heart disease?

Many tests or investigations are available for diagnosing heart disease. The common tests that are generally done are ECG, TMT, Echocardiogram and Angiogram.

In ECG – electrocardiogram – electrical recording of the heart is done while the patient lies down. It would show problems/defects usually if there is chest pain/angina while lying down. It is useful when the patient has pain at rest. ECG reports can be normal even if the blocks are 90%. During heart attack, when the patient has pain at rest, ECG is most useful. Icon TMT or Exercise Stress Test is basically taking ECG while the patient increases the heart’s speed by walking. Heart’s usual requirement blood is 10%, 20% and 30% - when the patient is at rest, walking or running respectively. The machine is programmed in such way that the patient will slowly walk for sometime, then increase the speed and ultimately walk in almost running speed. The machine is stopped usually when the ECG shows change (when heart gets short of oxygen or blood). This test, thus can diagnose blocks only after 70% of the heart tubes. If the block is below 70% TMT may be normal. TMT cannot tell the exact location or percentage of blockages.

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Echocardiogram – is basically sonography or ultrasongraphy of the heart. It can not tell the blockages, but can detect past heart attacks and the extent of heart damage (minor or major heart attack). It gives the pumping power of the heart – EF or LVEF. It is usually 60% - but reduces after a heart attack. After minor heart attacks LVEF can reduce to 50-55% while after major heart attacks it goes down to below 45%.

Echocardiogram is the best tool to diagnose heart holes and valve defects.

To know the exact location and the rough percentage of the blockages two further tests are available – non invasive CT Coronary Angiogram and invasive Cather Angiogram. Both of the tests tell the blockages in approximate percentages like 70%, 80% or 90%.

What is CT angiography? Is it better than Catheter/conventional Angiogram?

CT Coronary angiography is the most important advancement that the medical science has got in the last two decades. Icon It can diagnose the percentage and location of the coronary blockages within one minute non invasively. Previously there was only one option – the catheter angiogram, where a one meter wire (catheter) needed to be introduced inside the body, hospitalise the patient (because of chances of death, numerous complications). The cost was more with catheter angiogram.

Now with the CT Coronary angiography it is very easy to correctly diagnose the extent of the blocks. The most important advantage is that it is non invasive. Reports are as good as conventional invasive, catheter angiogram. Another advantage of CT angiography is that it is done by the radiologists who just can give an unbiased report and have no interest in the future treatment. In catheter angiogram – the cardiologists not only over diagnose the disease but also force the admitted patient and relatives to agree for a bypass surgery or Angioplasty. This is one of the reasons heart hospital cardiologists do not give a good opinion – when patients enquire about the friendly CT angiogram.

What are the main causes of Heart disease?

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The two major items that cause the blockages are Cholesterol and Triglycerides. Increased blood level and increased consumption of both the items increase the speed of blockages. The blood cholesterol (Serum Cholesterol) levels above 150mg/dl and Triglyceride level of more than 130mg/dl would lead to speedy increase of blockages. These two kinds of fats can be called mafia – as they lead to death of millions of people by heart attacks every year in the whole world.

Despite this many cardiologists allow the Cholesterol levels above 180mg/l and Triglycerides above 160mg/dl.

How to bring down Cholesterol and Triglycerides in the blood?

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The first step is to stop or minimize the intake of foods that contain these two items. Cholesterol is present in animal foods and main foods that contain Triglycerides are oils. So, a heart patient should give up animal foods and cook the food without oil. Our liver may continue producing more Cholesterol and Triglycerides in some patients who have a genetic condition – called Hyper lipidemia. In such cases, some medical drugs can be used on daily basis to lower the blood levels of these two kinds of fat. Till now many people do not know that these two are different items – as they lack education of heart care.

Foods which contain high Cholesterol are organ meat, red meat, chicken, fish and eggs. These should be avoided completely. Milk is also an animal food and hence contain Cholesterol – but they can be removed by repeatedly heating and cooling the milk and removing the scum or cream every time. So, if one consumes about 300ml of skimmed milk per day and avoid all other animal foods it will be best for lowering Cholesterol. The ideal serum Cholesterol should be less than 130mg/dl.

On the other hand, all kinds of oils are Triglycerides. So, a heart patients have to learn to cook food without even a drop of oil. Ghee and butter also have huge amount of oil. Dry fruits like nuts have also huge amount of oil or triglycerides. So, cutting down all of these fatty foods will help to lower the blood levels of Triglycerides to below 100mg/dl. This is the best for keeping the heart healthy.

What is the concept of Zero oil cooking?

Oil is the other name of Triglycerides – which forms the blockages in the heart arteries causing heart problem. That means by adding oil we are killing ourselves. Fortunately oil have no taste (try to put one spoon in your mouth and confirm). But oil is added in the food to cook/season the spices – which can be easily done without a drop of oil. The taste of food is because of spices, but they must be seasoned/fried. We have developed more than 1000 kinds of recipes without oil and they are equally tasty.

For our basic requirement of fats the nature has packed some fats/triglycerides with every food – like rice, wheat, pulses, fruits and vegetables. God did not create oil factories. It is only after the oil factories that more and more people are dying from heart disease.

So many types of oils are available – which one is good?

All oils are similarly bad for the heart. The differences between olive oil or sun flower oil or corn oil or Vanaspati is very minor. It is like the difference between different kinds of mineral water – whether it is Bisleri, Aquafina or Kinley. The brands are different but the contents are same. All oils increase the triglyceride levels of blood. The difference between the oils are so minimum that you can not distinguish them if they are kept in different similarly looking containers. If the same vegetable is cooked with three different oils – you can not make the difference of taste, and identify the brand.

The pretext of oils being different by using the terms like saturated, poly unsaturated or mono unsaturated is filmsy and mainly serve the marketing strategy of oil companies. For heart patients all oils are same as they are triglycerides. One will do 90% harm and another will do 89% harm.

What about the Dry fruits?

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Dry fruits like Almond, Wall nuts, Cashew nuts and Pistachio have more than 50% oil in them. Coconut and Ground nuts have about 40% oil or triglycerides in them. However many cardiologists give a wrong advice to the patients – saying that they do not have fats. Some, allow them saying it will increase your HDL level or they contain omega 3 oil – but they never say that these nuts have 40-64% triglycerides and will increase the triglyceride levels of blood. So, all nuts are banned for the heart patients. Resins(kismis, munakka), figs(anjir), dates(khajur) and apricots(Khumani) have almost no oil and can be consumed, if a heart patient has no sugar problem.

What is HDL, LDL, VLDL?

They are members of the lipid family and can be considered brothers and sisters of Cholesterol and Triglycerides. All of them you will see in your lipid profile report.

Among them HDL is called good Cholesterol – as it can overpower removal of Cholesterol from the blocks if the concentration of it is more than 25% of Cholesterol level of blood. This is called Cholesterol HDL ratio. HDL in manufactured in the body and can be increased by walking, stress management and consumption of green vegetables. Blood level above 40mg/dl of HDL s desirable.

VLDL is just one fifth of Triglycerides and can be calculated easily by laboratories.

LDL is another member of lipid family who follow Cholesterol. They are also influenced by Triglycerides and HDL. It is calculated as (Cholesterol – Triglycerides/5 – HDL). Please try this formula in your blood report and confirm.

What other things influence and speed up the blockages in the heart?

Six more factors or conditions help the lipid family to build up the blockages – these are high blood pressure, high blood sugar, tobacco consumption (smoking or Zarda, Gutka etc), mental stress, alcohol and over weight (called Obesity). They all help Cholesterol and Triglycerides to get deposited faster.

Lack of three more factors also help in the built up of blockages – these are Exercise or walking, fiber and anti oxidants(vitamins and some more useful food items) in the food.

How to control High Blood Pressure and Blood Sugar?

The most ideal blood pressure for a heart patient is 120/80 mmHg and blood sugar is 100mg/dl fasting(and post prandial 140mg/dl and three months control HbA1c below 6.5%). Heart patients must try to go to these levels if they want to stop or reverse heart disease. Both the diseases, if not controlled help to built the blockages faster.

Fortunately the lifestyle treatment of both these common diseases are same as heart care – reduce weight, walk daily, reduce stress, avoid fats, eat high fiber food, do Yoga and meditation. In addition, high BP patients should cut salt in their diet and the sugar patients should avoid eating sugar or sweet foods(fruits, if they are sweet should also be avoided). If they are not controlled despite lifestyle changes – it is better to control them with allopathic medicines – but controlling them is very important by any means.

How Smoking/tobacco harms the heart?

Smoking or tobacco consumption (in the form of Zarda, Gutka, khaini, snuff, dental paste) makes the inner wall of the heart tubes sticky. So, the Cholesterol and Triglycerides stick to the walls and the blocks the tubes faster even if the fat levels in blood is low. The most practical way to leave smoking or tobacco is stopping instantly – as soon as you make up your mind. Gradual reduction and stopping does not practically happen. Our mind set should be changed.

Is Alcohol also bad for the heart?

Alcohol consumption increases the triglyceride level of blood and is not good for heart patients. Besides this alcohol has addictive possibility, it damages liver, stomach, brain; it leads to extra expenditure; disturbs the spouse, spoils the children; alters the behaviour and so on. Still, unfortunately, I have seen cardiologists and doctors allowing their patients alcohol. But if you ask them whether you will force your children and wife to drink alcohol as a healthy drink – the answer will be in negative. Hipocracy!

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To put alcohol in the human brain is like putting sand in the bearings of an engine.

– Thomas A. Edison

Health is like money, we never have a true idea of its value until we lose it.

–Josh Billings

Can stress be controlled completely? How does it help in the blocking process?

Stress is easy to control to a reasonable extent, but not totally. It should be cut to 50% level. If not controlled excess stress can work havoc for a heart patient and lead to an increase of blood pressure, sugar, cholesterol and triglycerides; it can increase smoking and alcohol consumption. It has become now most important reason of heart disease besides Cholesterol and triglyceride.

How to reduce stress in life?

Stress has a problem that it cannot be measured directly, but it can be felt. It is like air – we cannot see it but we can feel it. Icon The mind is pressured by stress and it effects the body badly, especially the heart. I have written 200 page books on stress management, but three important points that are most important, are as follows.

a. Change your mind set (what you want in every step of life) and understand the reality. Try to match them. We always try to match our mindset with the events or reality of life. If they match – we are happy and if they do not match we are stressed. We do this about 50,000 times daily – even in every small things. If we can modify our mindset and identify/accept the reality, stress can be grossly cut.

b. Do not insult others while you talk. Insulting others lead to bad interaction and stress. This also instigates others to insult you. Say what you feel, express yourself without criticising or insulting others.

c. Take care of the major sectors of life – money, family, work, health and spirituality. If these sectors are not taken care – they will lead to tremendous stress. Simple rules are there for management of all these sectors.

Money sector: Your income should be more than your expenditure. Either cut down your expenses or increase your income. To cut down expenses, try to spend for your needs and avoid nice (avoidable) items. Save money and 20% of the saved money can be utilised for enjoyment. Keep your money with you till you die – because in this material world money has become more important than relationships. If you do not have money people will not take care of you.

Family sector: You should know what are the interests of the other members of the family and take interest in their interest. The same can be said for your friends and colleagues.

Work sector: Whatever profession you are in you should love your work and enjoy doing it. Then the problems will come and you will enjoy solving them. It applies to all - doctors, engineers, housewives, employees, retired people, men, women or children.

Health sector: Without health all the sectors of life go waste. Money resources are drained out, work and family will suffer badly. For achieving good health one should have adequate information, should implement them in one’s life