Cardiology Specialist Dr. Turgay Burucu stated that heart patients who fast during Ramadan should be very careful.
Medical Park Ordu Hospital Cardiology Specialist Dr. Turgay Burucu gave information about fasting of heart patients during Ramadan. Stating that fasting is beneficial in healthy and young individuals, it has been proven in most studies. Burucu stated that chronic patients should be careful in this regard, since there is a long fasting period in Ramadan, which coincides with the summer months.
Stating that some of the heart patients cannot fast, Burucu said that it is inconvenient for patients who had a heart attack in the last year or who had a stent after coronary angiography to fast because they have to use double blood thinners. They can fast because they start using a single dose of blood thinners. Patients with heart failure cannot fast. Because most of the drugs used by these people have blood pressure lowering and diuretic effects, they cause fainting and lower blood pressure during fasting.
Burucu continued as follows: “Since the fluid balance in heart failure patients is very important, it becomes more important to prevent fluid loss and to adjust drug doses in the summer months. Kidney failures are also encountered as a result of forcing the body by fasting in patients with heart failure. Patients with pacemakers can fast if they do not have heart failure problems. It is risky for people with cardiac arrhythmias to fast if they regularly use blood thinners to reduce their risk of stroke. It is also inconvenient for individuals with uncontrolled hypertension who use at least 2-3 hypertension drugs to fast. Sudden blood pressure irregularities can put the person in the hospital or cause worse outcomes.
HEART PATIENTS MUST FEED ACCORDING TO MEDITERRANEAN CUISINE”
Noting that fasting heart patients should definitely take into account the recommendations of doctors, Burucu emphasized that the most healthy diet for such patients is Mediterranean cuisine. Burucu said: “There are two important difficulties while fasting. The first of these is to be thirsty and hungry for a long time, and the second is to eat suddenly, quickly and too much at iftar. The healthiest diet for heart patients is to eat vegetables and salads, which we call Mediterranean cuisine, and to consume fish as meat. Fatty and calorie foods that are eaten suddenly and excessively after fasting for a long time will increase the blood flow to the gastrointestinal tract, and this will increase the load on the heart. This is what causes sudden heart attacks. It is best to avoid overeating by dividing the daily amount of food equally between sahur and iftar. The daily average of 2 liters of water that the body needs should be divided into sahur and iftar times.
Source : Milliyet
