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Heart disease and diseases of the circulatory system are responsible for 1 in every 3 deaths in the UK, account for 233,000 fatalities each year. The saddest thing about this is that a huge majority of these deaths are preventable, all that is needed is a small lifestyle change. Although some people will be at a higher risk of heart disease due to genetics, looking after your diet and practicing correct lifestyle patterns can still stack the odds of beating it heavily in your favour. You just need to know what the main risk factors are and what you can do to beat them.
You probably won't be too surprised to know that if you're a man you already have a higher chance of dying young due to heart disease. For women the increase risk usually comes in much later - prominantly once 'the change' has occurred. Nevertheless the point is not whether you are a man or woman - though that does obviously affect your heart disease risks. The issue is more of the increase in heart disease risk in relation the increase in the amount of years you have been alive. The longer you have been around on this planet the shorter your chances of getting heart problems become. This is because many of the other risk factors increase with age - risk that you will need to be aware of.
If you're a smoker then heart disease is just one of many serious illnesses that you increase your risk the chances of getting. The rest of the illnesses and conditions are a subject all on their own so for now we will just focus on heart disease. Want to double your chances of heart disease? Well it's easy - just smoke 20 fags a day. Done. Increase the fag quota and increase the chances even more. Like aging, smoking is a serious health hazard. The difference is you can do something about one of them.
Abnormally high blood pressure is another risk factor for heart disease. The problem is with high blood pressure is that you could have it and not know it. You can be perfectly healthy and still have high blood pressure. This means that the best way to combat high blood pressure is to have a regular check with your GP - this is of particular importance as you get older. It's much better that your GP tell you about a high blood pressure problem than a heart attack.
Another indicator that you do not want to be high is your cholesterol level. Cholesterol is a type of fat that is normally present in the bloodstream, so if you have too much of it is probably down to your diet. If you have a lot of cholesterol in your blood stream you could increase your risk of heart problems by as much as three times. The moral of the story - lay off the dairy products!
As with most health issues the risks can be reduced by a little bit of exercise in the daily routine. It gets you fitter, it gets your heart fitter, and it keeps the weight off. The truth is if you are overweight and/or unfit then the chances of you having higher BP and cholesterol levels increase. It basically means you straight away increase the risk of heart disease. As they say prevention is usually better than cure. A little exercise in your life can go a long way to keep heart disease away.
We all get a little stressed from time to time. It's no big deal right? Wrong. Evidence points to ongoing stress leading to high blood pressure. This means as you get older stress becomes less and less welcome. This doesn't even take into account the risks that stress places on someone who already has heart disease. Stress could literally be the straw that breaks the hearts valve's wall. Admittedly stress is not nearly as big a problem as smoking or having a high cholesterol level. Nevertheless it can make the difference for some unlucky people.
You probably won't be too surprised to know that if you're a man you already have a higher chance of dying young due to heart disease. For women the increase risk usually comes in much later - prominantly once 'the change' has occurred. Nevertheless the point is not whether you are a man or woman - though that does obviously affect your heart disease risks. The issue is more of the increase in heart disease risk in relation the increase in the amount of years you have been alive. The longer you have been around on this planet the shorter your chances of getting heart problems become. This is because many of the other risk factors increase with age - risk that you will need to be aware of.
If you're a smoker then heart disease is just one of many serious illnesses that you increase your risk the chances of getting. The rest of the illnesses and conditions are a subject all on their own so for now we will just focus on heart disease. Want to double your chances of heart disease? Well it's easy - just smoke 20 fags a day. Done. Increase the fag quota and increase the chances even more. Like aging, smoking is a serious health hazard. The difference is you can do something about one of them.
Abnormally high blood pressure is another risk factor for heart disease. The problem is with high blood pressure is that you could have it and not know it. You can be perfectly healthy and still have high blood pressure. This means that the best way to combat high blood pressure is to have a regular check with your GP - this is of particular importance as you get older. It's much better that your GP tell you about a high blood pressure problem than a heart attack.
Another indicator that you do not want to be high is your cholesterol level. Cholesterol is a type of fat that is normally present in the bloodstream, so if you have too much of it is probably down to your diet. If you have a lot of cholesterol in your blood stream you could increase your risk of heart problems by as much as three times. The moral of the story - lay off the dairy products!
As with most health issues the risks can be reduced by a little bit of exercise in the daily routine. It gets you fitter, it gets your heart fitter, and it keeps the weight off. The truth is if you are overweight and/or unfit then the chances of you having higher BP and cholesterol levels increase. It basically means you straight away increase the risk of heart disease. As they say prevention is usually better than cure. A little exercise in your life can go a long way to keep heart disease away.
We all get a little stressed from time to time. It's no big deal right? Wrong. Evidence points to ongoing stress leading to high blood pressure. This means as you get older stress becomes less and less welcome. This doesn't even take into account the risks that stress places on someone who already has heart disease. Stress could literally be the straw that breaks the hearts valve's wall. Admittedly stress is not nearly as big a problem as smoking or having a high cholesterol level. Nevertheless it can make the difference for some unlucky people.
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Whether you need remedies for heart health or if you have women's health factors to think about make sure you do what is right for you to reduce your heart disease risk. It's better to sort yourself out now than have your heart sort you later.
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