The Heart ANd Technology

The heart is central to our ability to live and live well. Often taken for granted until too late, heart health should be an important focus in our daily lives. It is a daily issue in my life and a key driver to what I eat, how I exercise and how I live due to the fact that my father passed away aged 63 due to a heart attack. He was fit and well. Didn’t drink or smoke but didn’t really exercise. To look at, you would think he was healthy (certainly by 1990’s standards), but little did we know what was going on inside. 

Heart health has various aspects and it is important to break them down to get an understanding of what you can focus on.

Prevention

Diet

Anyone who has a passing interest in health will know about the role of diet in health. Today there is plenty of focus on fats (good vs bad) and well as the role of carbohydrates, (large amounts of bad carbohydrates in your diet will increase your risk of diabetes which in turn increases your risk of heart problems). There are plenty of food tracker apps and health coaches that can guide you to maintain a healthy diet and looking through our website will identify a few that should be considered.

​Exercise

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“Cardio” is the type of exercise we need to focus on when we are talking about heart health. What do we mean by this? It is any exercise that gets your heart rate up and makes you sweaty and slightly short of breath for 30 mins, 5 times a week. It is a lot of exercise and take it from me, life often makes it hard to meet this target. What is important is that you find something you enjoy that you can easily incorporate into your life for the next 30, 40 or 50 years of your life, (I really mean this!). We are talking about sustainable lifestyle changes. It can be anything, running, swimming, ballroom dancing, it doesn’t matter. As long as you enjoy it and can do it often, then that will work. Many of my patients have busy lives, kids and long commutes and often state because of this, they can’t exercise. It is however, important to think out of the box. For example, if you have a long commute on the train, then take a pair of running shoes to work. On the journey back, jump off the train a few stops early and do a fast pace walk or run home. Do this Monday to Friday and then forget about it, your exercise is done. Technology in the form of apps and wearables can track your levels of activity and motivate you to keep doing more, (see our health and wellness section for more information).

​Health Checks

When I was young, I remember my father going to see his friend who was in the hospital as he had just had a heart attack. I remember asking Dad, how old his friend was, to which my Dad said “36 years old”. That seemed really old to me at the time but now I realise it was very young. Today, heart disease in 36 year olds is rare, so what has changed? Health checks have been introduced where your cholesterol and blood pressure are checked and lifestyle changes are advised to prevent a problem in the future. Currently people are having heart issues in their 60s to 70s rather than their 30s. 

Let’s look at the various health readings that your doctor would focus on that are relevant to heart health:

• Blood Pressure: 
  • You have a series of pipes that lead out from the heart. "Blood pressure" is the pressure in those pipes. When the heart squeezes the pressure goes up to a high number. When the heart relaxes, the pressure goes down to a lower number, (these are the 2 numbers displayed on your blood pressure machine). If the pressure gets too high for too long, the pipes burst and oxygen and nutrients cannot get to the organ the pipe supplies (eg eyes or kidneys), causing damage.  (Why you get high blood pressure is a discussion for another time.)
  • Another issue is that having high blood pressure for long periods means the heart has to work harder to do its job, squeezing hard for every beat to pump blood along. Eventually it will struggle to work at this intense level and will fail to pump blood properly. 

 

• Heart Rate:
  • ​The heart receives blood for itself via pipes called coronary arteries during the short period of time when the heart relaxes. So if you are unfit and have a fast heart rate, there is not so much time for the heart to relax and obtain oxygen and nutrients for itself.

 

• Cholesterol:
  • This is a type of fat. There are good fats and bad fats. Often the bad fats are found in the nice things in life such as cakes, cheese or biscuits. Too much bad fats in the blood causes them to line the inside of the pipes that come out the heart, making them narrow. If they block those pipes, then the organ the pipe supplies cannot get oxygen and becomes damaged. If this is the heart it is called heart disease, if it is the brain, it is called a stroke. Technology has not reached the point where we can check our cholesterol at home (yet!), so keeping in contact with your doctor on a regular basis is important to monitor your cholesterol trend and make any changes if necessary.

• Oxygen Levels:
  • ​The heart pumps blood lacking in oxygen to the lungs, where they pick up oxygen. From there, the heart pumps the oxygen  around the body to the organs that need it eg brain, kidneys, liver, muscles, gut etc. This ultimately is the main function of the heart. We can easily measure your oxygen levels to see if they are normal or not.

• ECG/EKG:
  • ​Your heart beats as a result of electricity flowing through the heart, co-ordinating the pumping of the heart. The electricity starts at the top of the heart and flows down. As it flows down it tells the muscle of the heart to contract. The heart has 4 chambers. Two at the top and two at the bottom. The top 2 chambers contract first and then the bottom chambers contract second. This co-ordinated contraction will enable blood to flow smoothly through the heart and out to the rest of the body. An ECG/EKG measures the electrical flow through the heart.
    

Health Technology In Heart Health

In the digital health revolution, you can get access to health where and when you need it. If you are worried about your heart, what you can do is have the tools to provide the information for the doctor to make a safe and quick decision (note, many of these tools overlap and are useful for other conditions). From a heart point of view, the tools considered should be as follows:

• A blood pressure machine.  If there is a problem with your heart, it may affect its ability to pump and therefore affect your blood pressure. Having an accurate reading will help  making a decision whether the symptoms you are feeling are related to your heart or affecting your heart.

 

• An oxygen monitor. Your heart’s main role is to pump oxygen around the body. If there is a problem with your heart and it is failing to do this, then your oxygen levels will drop. Having an oxygen monitor provides valuable information to your doctor.

 

• A digital stethoscope. When a doctor listens to your heart, they are listening for specific noises as the heart beats, how often the heart beats (the rate), the rhythm of the beat and a few other parameters beyond the scope of this blog. Being able to listen to your heart remotely can provide huge amounts of information. I am a firm believer that the digital stethoscope will revolutionise healthcare and improve health access globally to those who need it.

 

• An ECG/EKG machine.  Changes in the way the electricity flows can affect the way the heart pumps and can cause a variety of symptoms. Also a blockage of the blood flow around the heart can change the way the electricity flows. So a reading of the electricity flowing through the heart is an essential part of assessing anyone's heart health. Until recently this was only possible in a clinic or hospital, however now this can be done, accurately, on your mobile phone.

 

• Finally, knowing what to do in an emergency can save someone's life. Access to information about what to do in an emergency, such as how to perform resuscitation can be stored on your phone. The Australian first aid app should be part of everyone’s first aid kit.

Many people fear problems with the heart. Understanding what to do to prevent a problem and tracking whether what you are doing is effective, is what we are trying to empower people with at HealthAide. In addition, if a problem develops, how can you access health quickly and provide the doctor with the right information for him or her to diagnose you accurately, (remember, if in doubt call the emergency services).

Many years later, my father’s untimely death remains an internal driver that motivates me to live healthily and promote healthy living habits in those who I look after. With technology, I am trying to spread this ethos globally. Finding your internal driver is important in making a change in your life. Consider what has happened in your life that has hit a raw nerve. Learn about what you can do to make a change and act to prevent history from repeating itself.

Blog post written by Dr Khurram Akhter.

Khurram is an experienced primary care physician and a thought leader 
​in the field of digital health.​

Disclaimer: This text does not serve as medical advice and if you have any questions, seek advice from your doctor.

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