how to prevent cardio vascular diseases

Preventing cardio vascular diseases

Introduction

Cardio vascular diseases are the diseases that affect the heart.  These are diseases that affects the heart's ability to function normally. In the recent past, cardio vascular diseases have become very common due to the lifestyle of most individuals. They have become among the main death causes due to lack of power to change some of the risk factors. The risk of suffering from cardio vascular diseases increases as the age advances.

Step 1

Go for regular health screening

High cholesterol and blood pressure can damage the heart and its blood vessels. Therefore, regular screening is essential so as to identify these conditions before they become severe and affect the heart.
Blood pressure: blood pressure screening should start in childhood. The optimal blood pressure is less than 120/80 millimeters of mercury.
Cholesterol levels: people should have cholesterol examinations starting the age of 20. People with strong family history of cardio vascular diseases should go for regular cholesterol screening.
Diabetes: diabetes is a major risk factor of developing cardio vascular diseases. Depending on the other types of risk factors like being overweight and habits like smoking that an individual may have, it is important to have regular diabetes screening.

Step 2

Maintaining healthy weight

During adulthood, more weight means more fat but not muscles. Excess weight leads to conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure that increases the chances of cardio vascular diseases. To determine if your weight is healthy, it is advisable to calculate the body mass index that considers your height and weight. If the body mass index is 25 and higher, then you have high blood fats, high blood pressure and increased chances of suffering from cardio vascular diseases. However, since muscles tend to weigh more than fat, people who are physically fit and very muscular can have high body mass index without the added risk of suffering from cardio vascular diseases.

Step 3

Eating a healthy diet

This means eating foods that have low fats, cholesterol and salt. A diet that is rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains and low fat dairy products is the best to adopt as they help to protect the heart from diseases. Avoid saturated fats and trans saturated fats as they increase the chances of suffering from coronary artery diseases by raising the cholesterol levels.

Step 4

Avoid smoking

Smoking and use of tobacco is the most common risk factor that causes heart diseases. The chemicals in tobacco usually damage the heart and its blood vessels and leads to the narrowing of the arteries. This narrowing of the arteries causes heart attacks and other cardio vascular diseases. Nicotine a substance that is found in tobacco narrows the blood vessels, increases the heart rate and blood pressure. Carbon monoxide replaces the oxygen found in the blood and increases the blood pressure hence increases the hearts work to supply enough oxygen. This extra hard work exacted on the heart leads to increased risk of suffering from cardio vascular diseases. Quitting smoking reduces the risk of developing heart diseases dramatically no matter how much or how long a person has been smoking.

Step 5

Exercising

Getting regular and quality exercise reduce the chances of suffering from fatal cardio vascular diseases greatly. Well combined physical activity and good lifestyle, reduce the chances of suffering from cardio vascular diseases much more. Exercise keep the weight in check and reduce the chances of developing other conditions that strain the heart and end up causing cardio vascular diseases.

 

Conclusion

It is the responsibility of each and every person to ensure that they lead a good lifestyle that will reduce the chances of developing cardio vascular diseases. These diseases are fatal and often very expensive to treat. People should know the risk factors involved in development of cardio vascular diseases and try their best to avoid them where possible. Some of these risk factors include;
Family history of cardio vascular diseases
diabetes
age
women after menopause
tobacco smoking
obesity
high blood pressure
high cholesterol levels
stress
lack of exercise

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