Heart diseases are the leading death cause of men and women in India and what’s shocking is that you don’t care for your heart until a chronic disease strike. Heart disease is a common term for a number of different conditions which include congenital disease, coronary heart disease, Heart attack, heart failure, etc. The reasons behind these diseases can be genetic, physical conditions, or your unhealthy lifestyle. Whatever the reason is, these diseases are not inevitable. You can reduce the risks of these diseases if know about the main causes and how to prevent them. But first, let’s discuss the common heart conditions and the lifestyle factors that can affect your heart very badly:
Common Heart Diseases
Stroke
A stroke occurs when blood flow is impeded from reaching to brain due to which your brain can’t get enough oxygen and nutrients to function properly. As a result, a part of brain stops working and leads to stroke. The disruption of blood is usually caused by a blocked artery or burst blood vessel. You may notice the following symptoms:
Symptoms
• Dizziness
• Loss of Balance during Physical Activities
• Difficulty in speaking or understanding communication
• Blurriness in eyes
• Severe Headache
Cardiac Arrest
It is a serious heart condition which can be seen in even youngsters nowadays. Basically, your heartbeat is controlled by electrical impulses. Changes in these impulses (too fast or too slow) also change your heartbeat. This condition is also known as cardiac arrhythmias. When these rhythms of heartbeat stop suddenly, it’s known as cardiac arrest or sudden cardiac death. Here are some conditions that can lead to Cardiac Arrest.
Factors that Increase the Risk of Cardiac Arrest
• Having Coronary Artery Disease can block the blood flow to your heart.
• Having an abnormally large heart can increase the risk of cardiac arrest.
• Leaky or narrower heart valves
• Electrical Impulse Problems
Heart Failure
The term “Heart Failure” may sound like heart failed to work and there’s nothing to do now but actually, heart failure means that heart is not pumping well as it should be. Major cause of this disease is a narrow artery or high blood pressure which makes your heart too stiff or weak to pump blood. Here are the symptoms you may notice:
• Shortness of breath
• Leg Weakness
• Swelling in your ankles
• Irregular Heartbeat
• Dizziness
• Swelling in ankles
Heart Infections
Having a heart infection can lead to serious damage and life-threatening complications. It is usually caused by bacteria, viruses, or chemicals that invade the heart muscle. It happens when germs from the mouth or elsewhere in the body enter the bloodstream and attach to damaged areas of the heart. Your heart has three main layers, any of which can be affected by heart infection. Here are the symptoms you may notice in case of heart infections:
• Fatigue
• Chest Pain
• Abdominal or Leg Swelling
• Fever
• Night Sweats
Atherosclerotic Disease
Atherosclerotic is the condition in which your arteries get blocked or narrowed due to the building up of plaque. Atherosclerotic can disrupts the blood circulation of your heart and is a common cause of strokes, heart attacks, and peripheral vascular disease. It is a slow but progressive disease that can also be happen at an early age. Here are the symptoms:
• Chest Pain
• Shortness of breath
• Muscle weakness
• Blurriness in eyes
• Confusion in understanding conversation
• Paralysis in arms or legs
Lifestyle Factors that Affects Your Heart Health
Obesity
People with extra fat around waist are more likely to develop heart diseases. Having excess weight reduces your physical activity and increase the stress and workload on your heart. Also, being obese raises triglyceride levels while lowering the amount of good cholesterol. Normally Obesity is measured by calculating BMI (body mass index). BMI tells if you fall in the healthy, overweight, or obese category. You can calculate your BMI using BMI Calculator.
Poor Diet
Your diet plays a crucial role in maintaining your overall health. If we talk about the heart, it has been seen that people who consume high salt, fat, and sugar foods have higher risk of getting heart disease. Consuming a poor diet leads to high cholesterol levels which promote the formation of plaque in your arteries. This can lead to blockage of blood flowing through the heart.
High Blood Pressure
High blood pressure or hypertension acts as a “silent killer” for the human body. Having high blood pressure puts a lot of stress and workload on your heart. Moreover, these elevated levels of blood flow damage your arteries as well which may result in disrupted blood flow to the heart. If left uncontrolled. it can weaken your heart and become the main reason for heart failure or stroke. If you are suffering from this too, you should adopt a healthy lifestyle by adding meditation, stress management, jogging, etc to your daily routines.
High Cholesterol
Cholesterol is a fat-like substance formed in your blood. It is naturally produced by the liver. But due to poor diet and lifestyle, “LDL” or bad cholesterol level increases in your body which forms plaque on your artery walls and makes them narrower. Narrow coronary arteries disrupt the flow of blood to your heart and can cause you heart attack. So, you should get your cholesterol level checked from time to time and do what you can to lower it. You can also add cholesterol control supplements to your diet to raise good cholesterol levels.
Smoking
Smokers always have twice the risk of heart diseases than non-smokers which makes smoking the biggest factor for cardiac arrest. Tobacco present in cigarettes has properties that can damage your heart and blood vessels. In addition to that, non-smokers who exposed themselves to the smoke releasing from cigarettes also have an increased risk of getting heart problems. So, it’s important to avoid smoke as well.
Tips to Prevent Heart Diseases
As you know that heart disease is the leading cause of death but it’s not unavoidable. Yes, by changing your lifestyle and dietary habits you can control your heart health up to large extent. Here are the following things you should do to maintain your heart health.
Consume a Healthy Diet
Though you can’t control all the factors that determine heart health but you can certainly reduce the odds of developing heart diseases by consuming a healthy diet. A diet low in cholesterol, sodium (salt), saturated, and trans fat reduces your blood cholesterol and keeps you physically active. So, you should eat plenty of green vegetables, whole grams, and fruits as these are good sources of nutrients and have low calories.
Be Physically Active
Being physically active is one of the best ways to stay healthy and make your heart strong. Regular exercise controls your blood pressure, reduces bad cholesterol levels, and also reduces the chances of Type-2 Diabetes. For a good start, you can brisk walk up to 30 mins every day. Once you become comfortable you can increase the intensity. Also, try to do your physical work yourself like gardening, take your dog for a walk, buy groceries from nearby stores, etc. All these things not only decrease the risk of heart diseases but also make you energetic throughout the day.
Avoid Smoking and Drinking Habits
Smoking has very negative effects on heart health. It not only affects your heart but also is injurious to your lungs. If you are not addicted to tobacco yet, don’t ever think to try it. And if you have smoking and drinking habits, it’s better to avoid it as soon as you can. Drinking too much alcohol raises your blood pressure which directly affects your heart also.
Heart Health Supplements
Your Lifestyle includes a lot of unhealthy habits and foods which can increase your cholesterol or may affect your heart health. Having heart supplements strengthens your heart and reduces the risk of heart diseases. One of the best among heart health supplements is Deto Armour Kit. This kit prevents bad cholesterol formation in arteries while detoxifying your liver and strengthens cardiac muscles. Moreover, it’s a pure natural product as it is made from using ayurvedic herbs.
Get Enough Sleep
Lack of sleep can harm your physical as well as your mental health. Studies have proved that those who don’t sleep enough have higher risks of high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attack, obesity, increased stress, etc. If you’re an adult, you should sleep at least 8 hours every night. If you’ve trouble sleeping, you can take sleep-inducing supplements to follow a proper sleeping schedule.
Maintain a Healthy Weight
The presence of extra fat around your body not only makes you look unfit but can give birth to numerous chronic diseases including heart diseases, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc. It has been seen that more than 80 percent of obese people suffer from heart problems. So, It’s better to maintain a healthy weight beforehand. To do so, a workout routine with a low-calorie but a healthy diet is necessary. You can also add herbal fat burners to your diet. One way to find if you have a healthy weight or not is to calculate Body Mass Index (BMI). To maintain a healthy weight Your BMI should lies between 18.5-24.9.
Conclusion
Having Heart disease is dangerous for both youngsters and middle age people. Majorly, heart disease is the result of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, genetic disorder, obesity, and an unhealthy lifestyle. Whatever the reason is, living a healthy lifestyle is the only way to prevent chronic heart diseases. Make it your priority and try to get sufficient sleep every night, walk for 20-30 mins daily, and consume healthy foods.
