Prevention of heart disease

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What does the prevention of heart disease mean?

Heart disease prevention is quite a challenging issue. Often people present with heart disease as their initial problem and you could argue that prevention is already too late.

Having a healthy balanced diet, getting regular exercise and not smoking is very important.

About prevention of heart disease

In this video, Dr Navin Chandra explains what you need to know about the prevention of heart disease.
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Supplementary information about heart disease prevention

Here, we’ve summarised the most important points about the prevention of heart disease

What you need to know about heart disease prevention

Heart disease prevention is quite a challenging issue. Often people present with heart disease as their initial problem and you could argue that prevention is already too late.

Risk factors to consider are high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.

These factors often don’t manifest with symptoms, and so it’s essential to address them early to prevent heart disease.

Addressing your diet and lifestyle earlier in life is crucial if you are to minimize your chance of developing heart disease.

A landmark health study undertaken in Caerphilly, Wales demonstrated clearly the impact of lifestyle habits on our health.

Compared to those with unhealthy lifestyles, adopting more healthy behaviours can reduce the risk by 35 – 70% of developing a chronic condition such as a heart attack, stroke, cancer or dementia.

The behaviours regarded as beneficial were:

  • Non-smoking
  • A low body weight or body-mass index (BMI) of 18-25
  • Regular exercise (30 minutes walking or equivalent, 5 days per week)
  • A low fat diet, combined with daily intake of 5 portions of fruit and vegetables
  • Moderate alcohol consumption

Diet – how to improve heart health

A good diet can benefit your heart in many different ways and the “Mediterranean” diet remains the cornerstone.

We can recommend specific diets for treating specific problems (eg high cholesterol, high blood pressure, coronary disease). The basic recommendations are to adopt the following in your diet:

  • “Whole” foods – not processed, eg grains that are intact and not ground or refined
  • High fibre – again usually non-processed foods eg plants to help lower cholesterol
  • Plant-based foods – a healthier source of nutrients than animal foods
  • Modest portions – reduce calories and glycaemic (sugar) load
  • Avoid fad diets focusing on one particular nutrient (eg low carb or high fat)
  • Generally, a plant-or fish-based diet, limiting red-meat to once every two weeks is recommended and relying on fruit, olive oil, fish, chicken, nuts and peas (legumes) as staples.

Exercise

Irrespective of whether you have diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol – exercise training is key to management and reducing risk of future problems.

In general it is recommended that patients with these risk factors perform at least 150 minutes of aerobic exercise per week ideally spread over 3-5 days per week. An energy expenditure of 1000-2000 kcal per week should be achieved this way, and exercise should be completed by resistance training of major muscle groups two times per week at a moderate intensity.

However, to optimally manage these risk factors a more tailored exercise prescription is required. There are specific plans in terms of exercise type, intensity, frequency, volume for each condition which we would be able to discuss and prescribe with you in person.

By checking your heart health, you could add ten years to your life and be free of any cardiovascular disease events. The best way to do this is to have the Many Beats Complete.

Many Beats gives you a map to turn your life around and avoid developing heart disease

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Insurers

We are happy to be assured by the following private medical insurance providers

It’s the wonderful words of our patients that make this job so worthwhile

Excellent bedside manner / patient care, thoughtful analysis and care. Great cardiologists!

J. T.

Dr Elghamaz was professional and compassionate in equal measure. He made me feel completely at ease and explained in detail exactly my situation answering all questions kindly and in a language I understood – not medical jargon. A complete gentleman under whose care I have every confidence.

R. R.

I called Dr Chahal’s secretary to get advice and an appointment for a stress echocardiogram as quickly as possible. Dr Chahal called me himself, to explain the procedure, and he managed to fit me in quickly, as I requested. On the day, he and his colleague carried out the test quickly, efficiently and kindly, explaining what they were doing and why. I would certainly recommend them as true healthcare professionals.

M. S.

Dr Elghamaz was very efficient, thorough and personable and made me feel at ease through through the process of undergoing several tests and then discussing results with myself and my husband to ensure we understood everything and were comfortable.

L. S.

Highly recommended. Professional, honest, put me at ease. Wonderful experience all around.

L. O.

Dr Elghamaz goes above and beyond for his patients. As well as being kind, he is extremely thorough, and I feel very comfortable knowing he is in charge of my care.

C. W.
Dr Sehmi is a fusion of the best of the old and new schools of medicine. Whilst reassuringly up to date with the latest evidence-based practice and comfortable with all the leading-edge technology of his field, he has always listened to my fears and given informed answers to all my questions.
S. L.

I had a really positive experience when I saw Dr Navin Chandra in his clinic. He took time to really listen to my problems and then explained what was wrong in simple terms. I had all my tests performed swiftly and have started to feel much better!

P.B.

Having been referred for specialist Cardiology review, I was very fortunate to be assigned Dr Sehmi as my Consultant. From the outset, his level of interest in my personal case has been exceptional. I have had several consultants for a variety of reasons over the years but Dr Sehmi is the first where a consultant has proactively followed up in between appointments to determine progress.

N. T.

I was admitted under Cardiology and Dr Chandra was my Consultant. He quickly got to the heart of the problem and he and his team didn’t miss a step. Later that evening Dr Chandra took the time to see my partner and his patience and knowledge gave us the answers to our many questions.

R. K.

Affiliations and memberships

We are happy to be associated with the following esteemed organisations

Live a longer and healthier life

Book an appointment and we’ll test your heart so we can map out a plan to give you the best chance of maximising your longevity

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How it works

3 easy steps to get on the road to heart health

GET AN APPOINTMENT

Booking an appointment is easy with our online scheduler. Simply choose a date and time that suits you and we’ll let you know how to visit.

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GET TESTED

Typically, we’ll set you up to take specific tests that will give us the information we need to make an accurate assessment of your heart’s health and recommend a plan.

LIVE LONGER

With your cardiologist-vetted plan, we’ll support you in the long term so you can build the habits that will enable you to live a longer and healthier life.

Heart Health Programmes

We offer a selection of packages that can help people at risk of heart disease or those who might already be diagnosed.

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Discover your heart disease risk

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Even more information about heart disease prevention

Video and blog posts to get you up to speed

Read more about heart disease

Educate yourself further about your heart health by reading the links below

To learn more about cardiovascular disease, including the causes and prevention techniques, click here.

The NHS has an informative write-up on cardiovascular diseases, which can be found here.

A great test that tells the myths and facts about your heart health can be found here.

If you would like an excellent overview of the symptoms of heart attacks, please click here.

If you would like to learn more about all the types of heart diseases, please click here for more information.

Are you at risk of heart disease?

Take our quick self-test to discover if you’re at risk of heart disease and if you should seek the support of a cardiologist

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About the cardiologists

The Many Beats team consists of not one, but four highly experienced consultant cardiologists

Dr Navtej Chahal

Consultant Cardiologist

PhD FESC FACC

Navtej is a Consultant Cardiologist at Many Beats. He also consults at the London Northwest NHS Trust and the Royal Brompton Hospital, London having qualified from Guy’s and St Thomas’ Medical School in 2001. He is an Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer at Imperial College London…

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Dr Navin Chandra

Consultant Cardiologist

MD, MRCP, MBBS, BSc

Navin is a Consultant Cardiologist at Many Beats. He is also a Consultant Cardiologist at Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust and an Honorary Consultant Cardiologist at Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust. He qualified from Guy’s, King’s & St. Thomas’s in 2004...

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Dr Ahmed Elghamaz

Consultant Cardiologist

FRCP, MB BCh

Ahmed is a Consultant Cardiologist at Many Beats. He also consults at Northwick Park Hospital and London North West Healthcare University Hospitals NHS Trust and is an Honorary Consultant Cardiologist at Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust. He completed his junior…

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Dr Joban Sehmi

Consultant Cardiologist

BSc, MBBS, MRCP, PhD

Joban is a Consultant Cardiologist at Many Beats. His NHS practice is at West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS trust. He sees patients privately at Spire in Bushey and Bishops Wood Hospital in Northwood. He trained in medicine at Guy’s and St. Thomas’ medical school and qualified in 2003 with numerous academic awards…

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