The heart needs an abundant and continuous flow of oxygenated blood, which flows directly to the heart muscle through the coronary arteries in order to function properly. If your coronary arteries are clogged, inflamed, infected or damaged, blood flow decreases, damaging the heart and possibly leading to cardiovascular disease. The most common consequences of heart disease are myocardial infarction, coronary heart disease, heart angina and arrhythmia.
Common risk factors are:
- Factors you cannot rule out:
Family history: genetic predisposition sometimes plays a role in the development of heart disease.
Sex: The risk of heart disease is greater in men over 45 years of age and women over 55 years of age or in the postmenopausal period.
Age: The older you get, the more your body wears out, and the more likely your body will not function as well as it did when you were younger.
Ethnicity: Members of certain ethnic groups, such as Africans, South Asians are at higher risk for heart disease because of a higher prevalence of hypertension and diabetes.
- Factors You Can Rule Out:
Smoking: Smoking reduces oxygen to the blood, damages artery walls, and increases heart rate and blood pressure.
Keto diets: Diets high in fat, especially saturated fat, increase the risk of fat accumulation in artery walls.
Excessive alcohol consumption: Drinking too much alcohol can increase blood pressure, which in turn increases the risk of heart disease.
High blood cholesterol: Cholesterol is a fat that the body needs to build cells, but its amount is important. High cholesterol can cause atherosclerosis.
Hypodynamia : Regular exercise helps strengthen the heart muscle and ensure that it functions properly.
Hypertension: High blood pressure increases the risk of stroke, aneurysm, heart failure, heart attack and kidney damage.
Obesity: Being significantly overweight increases blood pressure, which causes the heart to work too hard and with less oxygen. It also increases the risk of developing diabetes.
Stress: Stress increases heart rate and blood pressure, which damages arteries and the heart.
Diabetes: Men with diabetes have three times the risk of developing atherosclerosis, leading to angina, heart attacks, and strokes. People with diabetes have about four times the risk of cardiovascular complications.
PREVENTION OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES
Prevention should be systematic, intensive, and address all risk factors to reduce the risk of recurrence.
Eat healthy foods
Eating a healthy, balanced diet is one of the most effective ways to protect your health. Diet is also important in preventing elevated cholesterol levels: the Mediterranean diet recommended by cardiologists allows you to eat real, hearty food! So favor fruits and vegetables, fish, white meat, with a little fatty meat, using olive oil as a condiment or when cooking.
Keeping fit
A little physical activity is very good for keeping your heart healthy. get in some exercise! There is no need to turn yourself into a champion in any sport, a little daily effort is already extremely effective for your health. Take the stairs instead of the elevator and walk;
Reduce stress
Dealing with stress will help you feel better about your everyday life and reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease.
Normal weight
Overweight is when the body mass index is above 25. Obesity is when this index is above 30. Being overweight is known to be a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, but it is also responsible for other health problems such as hypertension, diabetes and elevated cholesterol. The risk of cardiovascular disease is especially high if you have excess fat around your waist and abdomen. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor your weight and, if there are extra pounds, work on weight normalization with a healthy lifestyle, avoiding extreme diets that cannot be followed for a long time.
Stop Smoking
Stopping smoking prevents thrombosis and heart attacks and reduces the risk of recurrence and significantly reduces mortality.
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