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| Photo credit: EKG Technician Salary |
Diabetes
Diabetes is a key risk factor for cardiovascular disease. For years, the healthcare community has recognized that high blood sugar could have a negative impact on the heart. Individuals with diabetes have twice up to four times the risk of dying of stroke or heart attack than somebody who has already experienced a previous heart attack yet does not have diabetes.A current research in the New England Journal of Medicine revealed data that reducing the blood sugar substantially helps to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke by about 50 percent! This is most significant in people that have Type 1 diabetes, however, there is a continuous study regarding whether or not maintaining blood sugar levels can also halve the risk in individuals having Type 2 diabetes. Around 95% of the 20,000,000 people in America with diabetes have Type 2.
Sadly, many people who have Type 2 diabetes do not even know it till it is too late and the injury had been done. Individuals with heart disease may not even have their glucose levels examined, and people with diabetes may not regularly have their heart examined.
Cigarette smoking
It’s been recognized for a long time that smoking heightens your risk of all kinds of illnesses. It’s a significant underlying cause of atherosclerosis, which is when fatty compounds deposit in the arteries. In individuals having coronary artery disease, the arteries end up narrowed, which reduces the supply of blood to the heart. This could bring about angina, and can inevitably cause heart attack.Peripheral artery disease is when there’s atherosclerosis in the arteries which bring blood to the extremities. This could result in irregular claudication, which is a very painful cramping in the legs if the patient is walking. It may also increase the likelihood of stroke.
Cigarette smokers are likewise at a greater risk of heart attack compared to non-smokers. The longer an individual smokes, the more that risk goes up. Individuals who smoke only one pack of cigarettes each day have more than twice the risk of heart attack compared to non-smokers.
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| Exercise lowers the risk for heart disease. Image by Fairfax County via Flickr (CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0) |
Physical Inactivity
The heart is a muscle. If muscles are not utilized a whole lot, they have a tendency to atrophy. It means they shrink and are not as powerful as they could possibly be. The heart could feel the same effect. When folks do not get plenty of physical exercise, their heart quits working also.Regular physical exercise, particularly aerobic exercise, could help protect against cardiovascular disease, heart disease, and stroke. Insufficient physical exercise is strongly associated with cardiovascular fatality. Physical exercise may also control blood cholesterol, diabetes, blood pressure, and it could help prevent and deal with obesity.
Obesity
Obesity is a main risk factor for numerous kinds of diseases. Heart disease is one of these. There are various explanations why obesity could raise the risk of cardiovascular disease. To begin with, it can increase blood cholesterol and triglycerides.It reduces HDL cholesterol, and elevates LDL. It triggers hypertension. It could cause some individuals to have diabetes, which could considerably raise the likelihood of heart attack. Even if there are no other identified risk factors, obesity by itself raise an individual’s risk of having heart disease.
High Cholesterol
High cholesterol is also a serious risk factor in heart disease, which could bring about heart attack. Even though cholesterol is essential for a lot of functions within the body, having a lot of the wrong type can cause heart problems.Low density lipoprotein is the main transporter of cholesterol in the blood. When there is an excessive amount of LDL in the blood, it could build up within the arteries. This could result in the formation of a hard deposit known as plaque, and that could block the arteries. In case a blood clot forms close to a plaque deposit, it could obstruct the blood circulation to the heart and result in a heart attack. When the clot dislodges and obstructs blood flow to the brain, it triggers a stroke.
A level of LDL cholesterol more than 160 mg/dL leaves you at a greater risk of heart problems. In case you already have got heart problems, your cholesterol ought to be even lower in an effort to avoid a stroke or heart attack.
High Blood Pressure
High blood pressure, also referred to as hypertension, generally does not have any symptoms. Lots of people have it for quite some time without even being aware of it. Sad to say, this could have disastrous effects for people who have it and do not know. Individuals who have continuous and sustained hypertension can acquire heart disease, heart failure, stroke, renal failure, and many more illnesses.Almost 1 / 3 of American grownups have hypertension. It is of importance to get your blood pressure looked at on a regular basis, even though you feel okay. Your blood pressure can begin to rise anytime, which suggests you should really examine it often.
Family History
Family history is a 7th risk factor that is frequently ignored – perhaps because nothing can be done regarding it. Individuals with a family history of cardiovascular disease or heart attacks tend to be more prone to get it themselves compared to somebody with no family history, even though they do not have other risk factors whatsoever!Therefore you should be certain to inquire your family concerning the probability that you have cardiovascular disease in your family tree. Determine what killed the last few generations of your family members, and do not just forget about aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Learn how old they were when they passed away also. The more you are aware of your family history, the more you could get ready for things that may occur to you later on. Your physician would want to learn about your family’s cardiovascular health history also.
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