An Interview on Cardio-Respiratory Diseases
Question: What are the main complains of the patients, when a doctor suspects for heart or lung diseases?
Answer: There are mainly 2 types of symptoms, when a doctor thinks of heart or lung diseases:
1. pain in chest &
Question: What are the causes of chest pain?
Answer:
1. HEART DISEASES: ischaemic heart disease (usually at above 40 yrs. Of age)
2. LUNG DISEASES: inflammation of pleura, a covering layer of lung (pleuritis) – in microbial infection of respiratory tract, pneumonia etc.
3. Intercostal muscle pain, which are between the ribs.
Question: What is an ischaemic heart disease?
Answer: Ischemic Heart Disease is a condition that hampers the blood supply to the heart. The blood vessels (esp. Coronary vessels) are obstructed due to the deposition of cholesterol on their walls. This can cause a sudden lack of oxygen supply to heart muscle in a particular area resulting in the death of heart tissue in that area (heart attack / myocardial infarction), preventing proper functioning of the heart.
As the heart is the pump that supplies oxygenated blood to the various organs, any damage in the heart affects the supply of oxygen to the vital organs like the brain, kidneys, liver, etc. This leads to the death of tissue in these organs.
As the heart is the pump that supplies oxygenated blood to the various organs, any damage in the heart affects the supply of oxygen to the vital organs like the brain, kidneys, liver, etc. This leads to the death of tissue in these organs.
Question: What are the Risk Factors of Ischaemic Heart Disease?
Answer: Risk Factors may include: -
1. Obesity and high cholesterol level in blood
2. High blood pressure (Hypertension / H.T.N.)
4. Genetic and hereditary factors
5. Stress
6. Smoking, alcoholism etc.
Question: What are the symptoms of ischaemic heart disease?
Answer: The symptoms are:
1. Acute pain in chest, known as Anginal pain (Angina Pectoris). Nature of pain:
I. location- left side of chest at heart region
II.extend- to left hand, right side of chest or right hand, abdomen, back, face & neck etc.
III.sensation- constrictive sensation; as if there is no space for the heart to beat.
(N.B. – the anxious look of face and position of both hands pressing on left side of chest by the patient is characteristic).
2. In case of Heart muscle damage -difficulty in breathing (esp. during exertion, hard work, going upstairs etc.) or swelling of the extremities due to weakness of the heart muscle.
Question: What is the normal blood pressure? When it is said that, a person is suffering from high blood pressure?
Answer: Normal blood pressure is considered as 120/80 mm. of Hg (± 20).
When the pressure is more than 140/90 mm. of Hg, it is called high blood pressure (H.T.N.).
Question: What are the causes of high blood pressure?
Answer: The main causes are:
3. Hyperthyroidism and Hypothyroidism,
4. Hyperparathyroidism,
5. Obesity,
6. Pregnancy,
7. Stress , mental anxiety etc.,
8. Smoking,
9. Alcoholism,
10.Greater intake of dietary salt,
11.Family history etc.
Question: What are the diseases of lung, which may cause breathlessness?
Answer: Usually the Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases (C.O.P.D. /C.O.L.D.) cause breathlessness. They are:
1. Emphysema ,
2. Chronic bronchitis ,
3. Bronchiectasis ,
4. Bronchial Asthma.
Question: What are the symptoms of C.O.P.D.?
Answer: Symptoms are usually worse at night and in the early morning or during exertion or in cold air. Symptoms may include:
1. Breathlessness / breathing with much effort (worse on exertion of a prolonged duration and worsens over time, but in the advanced stages, it occurs during rest and may be always present. Due to breathing with effort, fast breathing, a fast heart rate, sweating are seen. )
2. Productive cough (i.e. cough with phlegm , increased sputum production, a change in the colour of the sputum from clear to green or yellow). N.B. blood in sputum may present in Emphysema.
3. Chest tightness
4. During breathing , crackles / a whistling sound in chest
5. Bulging neck veins etc.
Question: What are the causes of C.O.P.D.?
Answer: The main causes are:
1. Tobacco smoking ,
2. Environmental-Air pollution, Seasonal changes or change of temperature,
3. Occupational exposures to workplace dusts, chemicals and fumes. e.g. - coal mining, gold mining,
cotton textile industry, occupations involving welding , Silica dust in lungs of stone cutters , resulting in silicosis etc.
4. Allergens - common indoor allergens like dust, pollens, cockroaches, fur or feathers of animals and birds etc. Asthma occurring at a much greater rate in persons, who have allergetic manifestations, eczema or hay fever .
5. Obesity ,
6. Microbial infections of the upper respiratory tract can worsen the disease,
7. Stress may alter the immune system .So it can increase the airway inflammatory response to allergens and irritants resulting in C.O.P.D.
Question: What are the tests, suggested to identify heart diseases?
Answer: The usual tests to determine the cardiac diseases are:
CHEST X-RAY ( AP ) , ECG-12 LID , ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY , TREADMILL TEST ( TMT ) , COLOUR DOPPLER STUDY , LIPID PROFILE ( to determine high cholesterol level ) , FBS / PPBS / HBA1C ( for Diabetes Mellitus ) etc.
Question: What tests are advised for respiratory diseases?
Answer: The common tests are:
1. CHEST X-RAY ( AP & LAT )
2. SPUTUM CULTURE
3. COMPLETE HAEMOGRAM
4. PULMONARY FUNCTION TEST ( PFT )
5. BRONCHOSCOPY
6. ALLERGY BLOOD TEST (called RAST or radioallergosorbent test) - to determine allergetic respiratory diseases. etc.
Question: Does Homeopathy effective in treatment of cardio-vascular and respiratory diseases?
Answer: Homoeopathic treatment is very much effective for cardio-vascular and respiratory diseases. Unfortunately, patients suffering from these diseases, go to a Homoeopathic doctor very late; after trying different types of other system of medicines, without any good effect or when the symptoms become more complicated.
But if they come early, in time, a good Homoeopathic physician can offer very good results to them. Firstly he tries to identify the underlying causes of the disease and tries to uproot them, so that he can cure the disease in its whole extent.
E.g. in Ischaemic Heart disease, if high cholesterol level or high blood sugar is found, then these are treated. Advices are given , not to take alcohol , excess dietary salt , to stop smoking , to do certain exercises regularly , to do meditation/pranayama for some times every day to get relief from mental stress etc. Beside these, certain Homoeopathic drugs are given to regulate the heart function properly, so that oxygen supply to different vital organs including heart itself becomes sufficient. In this way the anginal pain reduces and the chances of heart attack and cerebral stroke can be avoided.
Similarly, in case of high blood pressure, the underlying causes are identified first. They may be CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASES, DIABETES MELLITUS, THYROID DISEASES, HIGH CHOLESTEROL IN BLOOD, and MENTAL STRESS etc. When these are treated successfully by Homoeopathic drugs, the problems automatically subsided.
In case of respiratory diseases, patients are advised to avoid the provoking factors, e.g. smoking, allergens, indwelling in polluted area etc. Patients with dust allergy are advised to use mask. Along with this Homoeopathic drugs are administered to prevent the existing troublesome symptoms such as breathlessness, chest tightness, cough with phlegm etc. Some drugs act to dilate the airways to reduce the breathlessness and some drugs act as expectorant (helps to expectorate the phlegm, reducing the cough and chest tightness).
But a good Homoeopathic physician should not stop the treatment in this stage. After the acute episode is over, he must administer anti-miasmatic constitutional Homoeopathic treatment, according to the rules of classical Homoeopathy, so that the tendency of the person of being affected by that disease in future is reduced.
