Your Heart and the Holidays - Dr Bibhu Mohanty USF Cardiologist

The holidays can be good, and bad, for your heart. The vibes are good, the stress and food, not always. Hear more as Gordon Byrd speaks to University of South Florida cardiologist Dr. Bibhu Mohanty. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Gordon Bird here Beyond the News. The holidays, the days
around Christmas, New Year, Honkah and other holidays often touch
our hearts figuratively and literally in good ways and not
so good ways. And to talk about the way the
holidays affect your heart, we have doctor Bibou Mohanti. He
is the associate he is. Let me take that again,
three two one, Gordon Bird herewith Beyond the News. The

(00:23):
days around Christmas, New Year, Honkah and other holidays often
touch our hearts figuratively and literally, in good ways and
in not so good ways. To talk about your heart
and the way the holidays affect it, we have doctor
Bibou Mohante. He is an associate professor in the Department
of Cardiovascular Sciences at USF Health. Doctor Mohonte, welcome to
Beyond the News.

Speaker 2 (00:44):
Thank you, Gordon, great to be here now.

Speaker 1 (00:46):
First of all, of course, it is a time of
closeness to family and loved ones, and people are giving
and receiving and seeing people maybe they haven't seen in
a while, and that has to be positive in some
way for the heart. Tell us about that absolutely.

Speaker 2 (01:02):
You know, it's an interesting time of year. There's obviously
a lot of interaction that's happening. A lot of it
is intended to be positive. We're giving gifts, we're celebrating traditions,
seeing family members we haven't seen in a long while,
but you know, interestingly enough, as human beings, it also
adds some stress to the picture. And so leveraging the

(01:22):
positivity of the season and learning to cope with some
of the challenges that come with that become increasingly important
as the season rolls.

Speaker 1 (01:30):
Along, and it can be challenging as well. I mean,
there obviously is the stress of getting prepared for the holidays.
Maybe you exert yourself a little bit more than you
would otherwise. There's the stress of overeating and the effect
that can have on people, all sorts of other ways
that the holidays can be stressful to the heart. What

(01:53):
are some of your recognition, What are some of your
recommendations to stay as heart healthy as possible over the holiday?

Speaker 2 (02:01):
Sure, I think there's a couple very tangible things we
can do, and there's some conceptual things as well. In
terms of lifestyle, this is certainly a time of year
when we're getting more carbs, particularly more salt in our diet,
eating more liberally, often in workplaces or in gatherings with friends, family,
people are bringing food in that other times of year

(02:22):
aren't there, So I think it's important to be cognizant.
We certainly want to enjoy ourselves and be part of
the festivity, but it's also important, especially if you have
known cardiac disease, or if you have high blood pressure,
or if you manage extra fluid build up, things of
that nature. Is certainly important to be cognizant of what
we're taking in and manage it in the sense that

(02:44):
not avoid it, but appreciated moderation. And I think if
we're doing that across the board, it allows us to
physically handle some of these stresses better that come from diet.
The flip side to that is there's a stress that
comes from just the added intro. You're having to meet people,
buy things. There's holiday attire people are stressed about, there's

(03:07):
holiday parties, there's travel. All these things add to stress,
and I think it's important to back up in those
moments and really appreciate what the season's about, and that's
appreciating positivity, giving family things that are actually quite healthy
from a stress management perspective in the long run, and
particularly giving, which is one of these things that's touted

(03:27):
during the season. There's a lot of emphasis on giving
and receiving, but we know that the joy and the
physical response our bodies have to giving gifts from a
purely giving perspective are actually very healthy. They release hormones,
they release inendorphins, they settle our heart rates, they do
things that act of giving does, things that goes beyond

(03:49):
just the giving itself and actually physically soothes their bodies.
So leveraging that is important.

Speaker 1 (03:54):
To so literally is true for our bodies. It is
better to give than to receive.

Speaker 2 (03:59):
That's right. There's quite a bit of data behind this. Actually,
the challenge becomes when it's a give and take and
there's expectation and the stresses that come with that. The
things that are purely driven by giving, what motivation is
to give and to see someone else benefit from it,
for example, helping at a soup kitchen, helping with a

(04:19):
food drive, or just giving coworkers gifts of appreciation, small
things working at a local facility that's supplying winter clothing
or blankets to those in need. Things like this which
honestly don't take too much time, but they do bring
out in us a certain desire that we all have

(04:40):
to see those around us happy. And I think if
we look at it from that perspective without necessarily having
an agenda about receiving something in return, then all we
do receive in return is the joy that comes with that.
And that sounds a little cheesy, but it is very real.
We get blood pressure effects from that. Our heart rates

(05:00):
settle down, arresting heart rates fall, our joints do better,
the inflammatory effects of tension and stress are alleviated to
a certain degree. So there's a lot of benefits that
come secondarily to ourselves when we give in that manner.

Speaker 1 (05:17):
Well, I guess the next step then is to make
sure that your Christmas gifts are deductible from your HSA
or whatever. There's an obvious health impact there. Well, doctor Mahonti,
we're greatly appreciative of your taking the time to talk
with us about these issues, and you are an associate
professor at the Department of Cardiovascular Sciences at USF Health,

(05:39):
and we thank you for that perspective and we wish
the best of the season to you.

Speaker 2 (05:43):
Thank you you as well.