On 17 October, 2026, Seniors Today hosted their weekly Health Live Webinar with Dr Prashant Pawar, Consultant Interventional Cardiologist who spoke on and answered questions about Heart Health after 60.
About Dr Prashant Pawar
Dr Prashant Pawar is a Consultant Interventional Cardiologist at the Fortis Hospital, Vashi. He has done his DNB Cardiology and has special interest in coronary angioplasty and complex angioplasty image modality. He has expertise in trans radial coronary interventions. He has trained in implantation of pacemakers. He also does consultations for heart diseases. His special interest is in heart failure management.
You can watch the full interactive broadcast on the Seniors Today YouTube Channel Heart Health After 60 to listen to the extensive clinical insights shared by the doctors during this session.
- Nowadays, heart issues not only affect those after 60, but even before it due to the changes in our lifestyle.
- Health is not simply the absence of sickness. Simply because you do not have a problem, does not mean you are healthy.
- The undermentioned 4 things form the “Holy Four” which have a big impact on the disease and your health. These are:
- Smoking
- Drinking
- Nutrition- being the most important and often neglected pillar out of the 4.
- Physical activity
- Certain risk factors are not in our control and thus cannot be changed- non modifiable risk factors. These are:
- Age
- Heredity
- Ethnicity
- Certain other risk factors CAN be changed- modifiable risk factors. These include:
- Tobacco intake
- High Cholesterol
- High Blood pressure
- Physical inactivity
- Obesity and being over weight
- Poor diet
- You should know your baseline values for these blood investigations and physical examination:
- Triglycerides: < 150 mg/dL
- Blood Pressure: < 120/80 mmHg
- Fasting Glucose: < 100 mg/dL
- Body mass index (BMI): < 25 kg/m2 (obesity)
- Waist circumference: < 35 inch (male), < 37 inch (females)
- Exercise: minimum of 30 mins, most if not all days
- Some of the most important healthy behaviors should include:
- Not smoking
- Regular exercise
- Maintaining a healthy weight
- Alcohol consumption in moderation
- Sleep: it is a very important aspect of life. Abrupt/ disturbed sleep takes a toll on the blood pressure and cholesterol
- Smoking tobacco: it is one of the most preventable causes of death.
- 1/3rd of all cancer deaths are related to smoking cigarettes
- It is a major risk factor for lung cancer and is also associated with other types of cancer
- It also increases the risk of heart disease and chronic lung diseases
- However, quoting is understandably not easy, thus you should try to keep yourself bust with work and exercise. You should stay dedicated to your motive and can also ask your formed and family to help and support you.
Healthy diet: your plate should be a balanced plate. You should enjoy your food but avoid consumption of oversized portions.
- To make a balanced plate, half your plate should be fruits and vegetables, the other half should contain whole grains.
- You should also switch to fat free or low fat (1%) milk.
- 33% of your diet: fruits and vegetable s
- 33% of your diet: Starchy carbohydrates (bulk of your meal)
- 12% of your diet: Meat, fish, eggs, beans (oily fish once a week)
- 15% of your diet: milk and dairy products (3 portions daily)
- < 8% of your diet: high fat/ sugary foods (avoid saturated fats)
- Fruits and vegetables are a great source of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. They help prevent constipation due to their high fibre content and may also reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease and stroke.
- Carbohydrates provide our body with energy (calories) to function well. these can be
- Simple: fructose (fruit sugar), sucrose (table sugar0, lactose (milk sugar), glucose and sweets
- Complex/ starchy: rice, chapati, breakfast cereal. These are also a good source of iron, calcium and Vitamin B
- Recommended daily dietary intake: 33% starchy carbohydrates, 50% total carbohydrates.
- Our bodies store unused carbohydrate in the liver and muscle. And excess carbohydrate is stored as fat.
- Consumption of too little carbohydrates can lead to weakness, poor concentration and constipation.
- Whole grains: include wheat, barley, oats and rice
- All whole grains have 3 layers:
- Fibre rich outer layer (bran)
- Nutrient packed inner area (germ)
- Central starchy part (endosperm)
- The processing revives the bran and the germ layer. This is known as the white variety.
- Surveys have shown that 95% of adults do not consume enough whole grains.
- Soluble and non-soluble fibre help prevent constipation, lower the cholesterol levels and encourage healthy gut bacteria.
- Proteins: non vegetarian sources include meat, fish.
- They should be consumed in moderate amount and try choosing low fat/lean meat options. While consuming meat- cut any visible fat and avoid poultry skin.
- Avoid processed meat products. They contain high amount of saturated fats.
- Fish can be taken twice a week. Not fried, oily only.
- Eggs have no limit to intake- unless you have high cholesterol levels. 1 egg has 7gms of protein.
- Soya bean and paneer are good sources of low-fat protein.
- Milk and dairy are good vegetarian sources of protein. 2-3 portions should be taken daily.
- Milk and dairy sources include: milk, cheese (40gm), curd, buttermilk, yogurt. Plant based alternates milk drinks such as soya milk are also available
- High fats/ sugary foods: your intake should be < 8%.
- The bad fats include- saturated fats (from animal products), trans fats (from cakes/ biscuits/ bakery products).
- The good fats include: monounsaturated fats (olive/ mustard oil), polyunsaturated fats (sunflower, sesame oil)
- Not all fats are bad; our body requires some fats which are healthy. these are omega 3 fatty acid- plant sources include linseed (javas), walnuts and walnut oil. Animal sources include sardines, salmon, mackerel, tuna.
- To reduce the amount of saturated fat intake, you can change your method of cooking. You can grill, boil, and steam instead of frying/ roasting.
- Salt: consuming too much salt in our diet can lead to high blood pressure and thus increase the risk of heart disease and stroke.
- Lots of food items have hidden salt, be sure to check the label.
- The recommended daily dietary intake for salt is 6gms, an average Indian consumes 8.6 gms (2 tsp).
- Tips to reduce salt intake: do not add extra salt during cooking or at the table. Use herbs, spices and lemon juice instead of salt. And make it a habit to look at the labels.
- Your extra weight also increases the risk of:
- Type 2 diabetes
- Hypertension
- Heart disease and stroke
- Some types of cancers
- Sleep apnoea
- After eating, you should feel satisfied not stuffed.
- Calculate your BMI and try to keep it between 20-25 kg.m2. outside of this range, may reflect a higher risk of developing health problems.
- Weight loss does not mean you have to skip meals, instead aim at losing weight slowly (500gms- 1 kg/week) by exercising and burning more calories than you consume.
- Stay physically active.
- Regular exercise and physical activity reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke and also makes your heart stronger.
- It also helps control your weight and blood pressure and helps you relax and keeps your mood elevated.
- It is also a great way to relieve stress during work.
- Start slow and build up from there to a total of 30-60mins on most or all of the day of the week.
- Look for chases to be more active. Take 15-20 min walking break during the day instead of a coffee break.
- Find an exercise partner to keep you accountable and motivated.
- A 30 min brisk walk, jogging, cycling can help.
- Do not consume excess alcohol.
- It is associated with increased risk for certain cancers such as liver, oesophagus, throat and larynx.
- It can also cause cirrhosis, immune system issues and even brain damage.
- Sound sleep is very important.
- 7-8 hours a night for most adults is important.
- There are also negative health effects of oversleeping and sleeping too little