Are you a heart-heart? Cardiologists tell you what to watch out for on vacation

A sick heart does not mean that you have to give up traveling; more than that: resting the heart always helps. If he is sick, you just have to prepare yourself more carefully. Check what a patient with cardiac problems should remember and in which rare situations it is better to postpone the trip.

1. Cardiologists explain whether cardiac patients can safely fly in a plane and spend holidays in the mountains
2. Specialists emphasize that the most important thing during the holidays is not to stop taking medications, not to overstrain and not to overdo it with the amount of food and alcohol
3. What advice do doctors have for people with cardiac problems? You will find the answers below
4. You can find more such stories on the TvoiLokony home page

Although hypercholesterolaemia or hypertension does not hurt, it is better to remember about them. If neglected or untreated, they will make themselves felt at the least appropriate moment. Going on vacation, do not take a vacation from treatment, doctors advise.

Do you have heart problems? Remember about medications

Therefore, it is better to check in advance if we have enough medications when we are away from home, and if not – make an appointment with a doctor who will write us the right prescription. Do you need a quick appointment to a cardiologist? Buy a visit to Medonet Market.

Doctors say that stopping treatment while on vacation is one of the worst things you can do to harm yourself.

– After the vacation, such a patient comes to us with hypertension, very high lipid indexes and often draws erroneous conclusions that the vacation did not help him in any way – says prof. dr hab. n. med. Maciej Banach President of the Polish Lipidology Society.

Discontinuation of cardiac medications can be dangerous – the threat may not appear immediately, but neglect will cause problems in the future.

– Discontinuation of therapy may result in an acute coronary syndrome or a heart attack. It can make us spoil our vacation, because not only will we feel bad, but we can even end up in the hospital – warns prof. dr hab. n. med. Piotr Jankowski from the Institute of Cardiology of the Jagiellonian University Collegium Medicum.

It is worth taking care of buying a prescription before traveling, especially in the era of a pandemic, when we never know if the situation will not suddenly change, because, for example, the plane will be canceled or we will be quarantined outside the home.

– To protect ourselves from such situations, let’s take drugs with us with an excess of several days. We should also remember that while the paper prescription is likely to be dispensed in every pharmacy abroad (remember, however, that it will be fully paid), we may already have a problem with the prescription in the electronic version. It is a pity to leave looking for a doctor, not to mention the additional costs that most often have to be incurred on this occasion – the cardiologist points out.

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Is the plane safe for the heart?

According to specialists, if there are no special contraindications, heart patients can fly airplanes. Of course, it is worth consulting with your doctor before each air trip, who will decide whether your health condition allows it. This is necessary especially in the case of people who have had an acute myocardial infarction and had a coronary angioplasty or bypass surgery.

A lot also depends on where we are going and how long the journey is going to be. A dozen or so-hour flights for people with cardiovascular problems require special preparation, but those 3-4 hours in the case of a stable cardiovascular disease do not pose a threat. However, it is always worth remembering a few important points.

A sick person should take their medicines, medical documentation on board and inform the flight staff just in case. During the flight, it is worth walking around the plane from time to time and even doing simple physical exercises such as bending and straightening the legs, which also protects against blood clots.

– Perhaps the doctor will recommend additional protection with anticoagulants, as staying in one position, especially with the legs down, provokes thromboembolic complications. It is worth considering wearing special tights to improve blood circulation in the legs. People who have circulatory problems should drink a lot to thin the blood – recommends prof. Jankowski.

However, when traveling by car, for your own safety, it is best to take a few-minute breaks every hour, during which it is better to walk and stretch.

Where better not to go after a heart attack

There is a perception that people with hypertension should avoid certain regions, such as high mountains or the maritime climate.

But specialists make a reservation that if the cardiovascular disease is stable and the pressure is normalized, we do not have to worry about either the mountains or the excess of iodine at the seaside. However, if we do not strictly follow the doctor’s recommendations, or if our disease is not yet stabilized (eg blood pressure “jumps”, we still have high cholesterol, we experience sudden heart palpitations), in fact, in some conditions, we may simply feel unwell.

– A trip to the high mountains, when our blood pressure is too high and our other diseases are not treated well, is unlikely to be of benefit to our well-being. In such a situation, it is not recommended to walk in high mountains, and in some situations the doctor may even suggest that you give up the trip. Places located high (above 2000 m above sea level) are not the best choice for “heart” – lower oxygen concentration can cause shortness of breath. It is better, then, instead of trips along the Tatra trails, choose the Beskids, where the difference in levels will not be so large – recommends prof. Banach.

Vacation is a time of rest and exercise

Also, don’t give up your sport during your holidays. Remember that regular exercise reduces blood pressure, inflammatory markers, lipid markers and much more. If you are sedentary on a daily basis, holidays are a good time to get moving. However, it should be remembered that physical activity should start gradually, and it is better to start preparations before departure. This rule applies in particular to people with cardiac diseases.

– Every physical effort should be introduced gradually and carefully. Our body is the best indicator of when to say enough, take a break, so let’s listen to it. If we don’t move much every day, don’t set the bar too high for ourselves. Running 5 km on the first day may damage the ligaments in the knee, break the Achilles tendons, or lead to soreness that will disable us from activity for the next few days and it will certainly not be pleasant – warns Prof. Banach.

If you managed to mobilize to move away while away, stick to this habit. Don’t excuse yourself by the lack of time. Regular exercise really does reduce your cardiovascular risk.

– I would like to point out that even if we work very intensively, you can find a moment for physical exertion, even 20 minutes before bedtime – believes the cardiologist.

It is worth buying a pedometer that will mobilize us to move. The optimal daily effort is to walk 8-10 thousand. steps a day.

The intensity of physical exertion is also important and it must be clearly stated that patients with cardiovascular diseases can, and even should make, exercise, only they should adjust it to the capabilities of their body.

– In people with cardiovascular problems, the heart rate should not exceed 170 beats per minute – emphasizes prof. Jankowski.

However, it is not necessary to count the beats of the heart. You can simply follow a very clear indication that you need to rest: slightly out of breath.

– Exercise leading to severe fatigue is inadvisable in cardiac patients. Rather, it is a moderate increase in your respiratory rate and heart rate. Don’t be afraid of fatigue – start with a gentle effort and gradually increase the amount of it. For your health, try to tire yourself out every day – urges the professor.

If you are not sure what exercise is recommended for your illness, consult your doctor. Excessive effort undertaken by an unprepared patient can bring more harm than good.

Taking a vacation is a good time to start your lifestyle change, but it’s worth doing it gradually and regularly and not abandoning new, healthy habits when you return home. If we sit down in front of the computer for the whole day, we will waste our holiday effort.

Eat Italian pasta in moderation

Hypertension and hypercholesterolaemia require a healthy, balanced diet. Specialists most often recommend a Mediterranean diet. However, even if we go to Italy, Greece or Spain, we do not feel justified. Also there it does not always meet its criteria.

– It’s true that pasta in Italy is great, but it contains a lot of carbohydrates. In addition, not only the quality, but also the amount of food that we eat on vacation counts, and unfortunately it happens that we indulge ourselves a bit on vacation. We often overeat, and eat canned and processed foods that contain large amounts of sugar and salt. This applies not only to sweets, but also to sweetened drinks. Remember that unhealthy glucose-fructose syrup is a component of many products, so let’s make a habit of reading labels – advises the cardiologist.

And if we are delighted with a recipe and we want to prepare it after our return, remember that processing it “in our own way” (e.g. the popular addition of meat to spaghetti) does not always leave this dish super healthy.

So what can we eat to keep our diet healthy?

– I encourage you to eat vegetables, fish, products containing omega-3 acids, such as nuts, and give up sweets and fats. It is also worth knowing that when you have problems with cholesterol, you need to be careful with fruits, because they significantly affect the level of triglycerides – informs prof. Banach.

Why is it better not to overdo alcohol

Even if we control our high blood pressure disease well, we can make ourselves feel bad if we … drink too much.

– Although science says unequivocally that any amount of alcohol is bad for our health, a glass of wine on vacation will probably not hurt us. However, it is all a matter of quantity – when after two beers we decide that we need six bottles to improve our well-being, we must be aware that we are taking a risk: alcohol is a factor, among others. hemorrhagic stroke – warns prof. Jankowski.

If we decide on the percentage of drinks, let us follow our own preferences – each of us knows what he can handle better, what is worse, and it’s good not to experiment.

— If I had to advise, choose alcohols as low as possible and well-chilled. Please remember that alcohol acts as a toxin that we ingest into our body. High in percentage, it strains the heart, liver and pancreas in a large amount. If we are ill, alcohol, especially strong alcohol, is not the best choice – says prof. Banach.

Remember about documentation

When going on a trip, it is worth having a history of your illness with you, and if someone was in the hospital – an epicrase (discharge card). People with an implanted pacemaker usually have a booklet in which there is a lot of information about it: its type, parameters, etc. You must have it with you, especially at airports.

«The starter itself is not a contraindication to flying, however, during the security check, the airport control staff should be informed about its implantation and show their identification card. You will then be given instructions on how to behave during ground control. This is important, because not all scanners can be used with a cardioverter-defibrillator or a pacemaker »- we read in the airport brochure.

Remember to take a copy of the documents with you, not the originals. Let them stay safe at home.

It’s also a good idea to have a list of medications with you – even if you think you remember their names and dosages. This is especially important abroad. In stressful situations, we often cannot remember it.

When is it better to stay home

It is better to take care of your health earlier than when you are away from home to dream of returning because you feel unwell. Most often, our body sends us signals and it is worth not to ignore them, because lowering blood pressure in time or taking care of the optimal glucose level can save us from bigger problems.

If there has been any recent incident, such as sudden fainting or a significant increase in physical insufficiency, if we have seriously contracted COVID-19, we need to seriously consider whether we should leave.

– What is important is preparation for such a trip. Just like with a car that we are preparing for a trip – we do an inspection, minor repairs, we secure it for emergencies – let’s do the same with ourselves, especially if our health is not perfect – says the specialist.

So if we have a headache for a long time, let’s check the cause – it could be a symptom of an increase in blood pressure, for example. Do not blame the pain in the chest on the spine, because it can be a sick heart. When we feel palpitations, we sweat excessively – this may be due to hypoglycaemia caused by an overactive thyroid gland. A well-chosen treatment will quickly improve our well-being and will not spoil the trip. It is worth taking care of it in advance.

Author: Monika Wysocka, Zdrowie.pap.pl / Serwis Zdrowie

We encourage you to listen to the latest episode of the RESET podcast. This time we devote it to ecology. How to be eco and not go crazy? How can we care for our planet on a daily basis? What and how to eat? You will hear about this and many other topics related to ecology in the new episode of our podcast.