Introduction
Cardiovascular disease is a matter of concern. It has a major effect on overall health and is the leading cause of death and disability. Many risk factors aggravate and lead to cardiovascular events. Controlling these risk factors can lower the risk of cardiovascular events. Risk factors that cannot be controlled or changed are age, family history, sex, race, and ethnicity.
What Are the Steps to Prevent Cardiovascular Disease?
Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death, and it is inevitable if certain risk factors are not modified. Seven steps to prevent cardiovascular events are
1. Quit Smoking and Tobacco Use:
Quitting smoke and tobacco use is the best gift an individual can give to the heart. The ratio of getting heart disease in a non-smoker is less than that of a chronic smoker. The chemicals present in tobacco damage the blood vessels and heart. Smoking reduces the oxygen in the blood and leads to elevated blood pressure, and makes the heart work harder to supply oxygen to the brain and body. This increases the risk of getting cardiovascular disease. Quitting the same can reduce the risk of getting heart disease. No matter how long and how much the individual has smoked in a lifetime, once they start quitting, they start reaping towards a healthy heart as soon as they quit.
2. Exercise (At least 30 to 60 Minutes of Daily Activity):
Daily regular exercise is a must to lower the risk of heart disease. This activity helps in maintaining a healthy weight in the body and also reduces the strain on the heart, and conditions like high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes are prevented. Increasing the goals of physical activity slowly can improve the efficiency of the heart:
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Seventy-five minutes of vigorous walking.
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150 minutes of aerobic exercise.
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Two or more strength training exercises.
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Shorter bouts offer heart benefits.
Normal household activities can also help in maintaining this; activities like housekeeping, taking stairs, gardening, and walking with a dog help in achieving benefits.
3. Maintaining a Healthy Weight:
Obesity increases the risk of getting heart disease. Excess weight gain can lead to serious cardiovascular conditions and lead to high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, and elevated blood pressure. A body mass index (BMI) of 25 or higher is a high risk of getting heart disease, even stroke. Circumference of the waist also plays an important role as a risk factor of getting heart disease. A wait measurement greater than 40 inches for men and 35 inches for women is considered a risk.
Losing small weight can result in benefits, such as losing three to five percent of body weight and restricting certain fats in the blood. Lowering blood sugar can decrease the risk of type 2 diabetes, which, in turn, is beneficial to the heart.
4. Following a Healthy Heart Diet:
A healthy diet can help improve good cholesterol, improve blood pressure and reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. These three play a key role in getting heart disease. A healthy diet includes
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Lean meat and fish.
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Fruits and vegetables.
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Beans and legumes.
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Whole grains.
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Low-fat, fat-free dairy products.
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Sprouts.
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Healthy oils, olive, and cottonseed oil.
The DASH (dietary approaches to stop hypertension) diet and the Mediterranean diet are good examples of healthy diets. Restricting the intake of alcohol, processed carbohydrates, sugar, salt, and saturated fat can be helpful.
5. Stress Management:
Coping with stress plays a key role in overall health. Finding alternative ways to manage stress can be helpful. Physical activities, yoga, meditation, and relaxation exercises can improve health.
6. Regular Health Screenings:
Regular screening can help in detecting values of high cholesterol and high blood pressure. These values can help in concluding if they require any action or not.
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For cholesterol levels, this screening should be started at the age of 20, and earlier testing may be recommended if other risk factors like family history are there.
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Type 2 diabetes is a risk factor for getting cardiovascular disease. So its screening is important. Conditions like being obese and having a family history require early screening of the same.
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Blood pressure should be monitored regularly after the age of 18. Two screenings every year can be beneficial to rule out any risk factors.
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In conditions like high cholesterol, elevated pressure, and diabetes, healthcare providers may recommend some medications and changes in lifestyle. It is important to take the prescribed medications and follow a healthy lifestyle plan.
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Good Quality Sleep: Individuals who do not get enough sleep have a higher risk of getting high blood pressure, diabetes, depression, heart attack, and getting obese. Good quality of sleep is a much more important criterion for a healthy life. At least seven hours of sleep each night is a must. Stick to a sleep schedule and maintain it. Keep the bedroom dark and quiet which may help with getting better sleep. Conditions like obstructive sleep apnea increase the risk of heart disease. Symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea are, waking up gasping for air, stopping breathing for short times while breathing, and loud snoring. Required treatment should be taken to keep the airway open and clear while sleeping.
Conclusion
It is proven that moderate regular exercise and physical activity 30 minutes per day has great beneficial effects in lowering blood pressure and decreasing blood coagulation, helping vascular remodeling, and improving fibrinolytic capacity. Improving plasma lipid profiles by increasing the HDL cholesterol to the total cholesterol ratio and reducing the LDL cholesterol to the total cholesterol ratio is beneficial. Dietary modifications increasing the intake of fresh fruits and vegetables and decreasing the intake of trans fats are proven beneficial. 80 % of morbidity and mortality of cardiovascular-related disease are preventable by healthy dietary habits, regular exercise, quitting smoking, and maintaining a healthy body weight.
