Tips to help heart patients watch the World Cup happily and healthily

Dr. Nguyen Thi Kim Chi - General Cardiology Department, People's Hospital 115 said that to have a truly joyful World Cup season, not only heart patients but everyone needs to pay attention to the following points:

+ Patients need to take all prescribed medication every day. They should consult a doctor about taking additional medication in case of high blood pressure or chest pain while watching the World Cup.

+ You should equip an electronic blood pressure monitor at home so you can use it yourself or instruct family members on how to use it.

+ Prepare a reasonable nutritional regimen for people with cardiovascular disease: Green vegetables (lettuce, cabbage, fresh vegetables...); carrots, pumpkin, fresh fruits (oranges, strawberries, apples, pears, grapes, grapefruit); nuts such as peanuts, cashews; snacks such as chicken porridge, bird's nest porridge, milk.

Avoid fast food, foods high in starch, sugar, fat, alcohol, tobacco, and strong tea.

+ Maintain regular exercise every day, can adjust exercise time, helps the body increase endurance and flexibility.

+ On-the-spot movements such as stretching, twisting, standing up and sitting down or changing positions while watching football also help reduce stress and fatigue.

Do light exercises such as walking, cycling, yoga… during the break of the match to improve health.

+ Know how to protect your eyes. Keep a minimum distance of about 2 meters from your eyes to the screen. Occasionally change your vision, close your eyes for a few seconds to avoid eye strain and eye damage because structural changes in the retinal blood vessels can be associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease later in life.

+ We should select good matches, with players or teams that we love to schedule for ourselves, to help save energy, ensure work while still satisfying our passion for football.

+ Avoid watching important football matches that are predicted to be tense and dramatic. If you cannot resist, before watching a dramatic and thrilling match, you should see a doctor for advice and re-evaluate your health.

+ Stop watching football when you feel too stressed and tired. We often say that we should not try too hard, otherwise we will end up "trying too hard".

+ You should have friends or relatives watch football with you, in addition to sharing feelings, when there are health problems, watching with them will help people with cardiovascular disease avoid unfortunate consequences in time.

+ When watching exciting, beautiful football matches, the commentator is very good, it will convey to us a wonderful feeling that makes you extremely excited or extremely disappointed. Pay attention to control your emotions, avoid shouting too much, it will easily lose energy, affect the cardiovascular system and also cause noise, insomnia and discomfort for others.

When to go to the emergency room

When you encounter one of these situations, call 115 immediately or take the patient to the emergency room:

+ Sudden severe chest pain, pain like being pressed by a rock, like being stabbed by a knife, can spread to the neck, chin, arms, back, may be accompanied by difficulty breathing, sweating, fainting, cold hands and feet.

+ Blood pressure measurement shows high blood pressure > or equal to 180/100 with headache, nausea, slurred speech, weak limbs, coma, convulsions.

+ Acute difficulty breathing, rapid breathing, suffocation, unable to lie down, must sit up to breathe, blue skin and purple lips.

According to Dr. Kim Chi, if you follow the above instructions well, it will help people significantly prevent cardiovascular events during football season.

Especially when watching football, you should arrange a reasonable schedule, control your emotions, have a reasonable diet, and have friends to watch with. A clean and healthy football environment, without betting on winning or losing... then beautiful football plays will be a tonic for everyone's heart.