We’re seeing less acute heart attacks today, we see fewer people having amputations because of arterial disease—but the heart attack remains the No.1 killer,’ according to Dr Hilary Jones.
For this reason, consciously adjusting our lifestyles in order to minimise the likelihood of suffering a heart attack has to be one of our major priorities. A healthy lifestyle is the key to a healthy heart. This means eating a low-fat diet, taking regular exercise, eliminating tobacco use, drinking in moderation, keeping your weight in check, and managing diabetes if you have it.
Commonsense steps
We all need to have this awareness and to take these commonsense steps, because heart disease is caused by many different factors that, when working together, can damage our cardiovascular systems. For example, a diet high in saturated fat and cholesterol can increase the build-up of plaque, a fatty substance in the arteries that supply blood to the heart, the most important muscle in the body. This build-up process is called atherosclerosis. The plaque build-up then reduces the flow of blood by narrowing the blood vessels. This can lead to a blood clot that blocks the passage. If this happens, a heart attack or stroke is likely to occur. This is why, for those known to be at risk, blood thinning medications are prescribed to reduce the risk of clots.
A lifestyle that lacks sufficient exercise can also diminish our heart’s performance. You will have seen elsewhere that regular exercise is Dr Hilary’s No.1 priority for leading a full life and an extended lifetime. So, since the heart is a muscle, it needs physical activity to ensure it functions at tip-top levels.
Exercise also lowers our blood pressure and, when combined with a healthy diet, this can help us control our weight and also ward off the possibility of developing type-2 diabetes.
Likewise, smoking causes permanent damage, with nicotine and carbon monoxide believed to contribute to the afore-mentioned atherosclerosis.
Lifestyle choices
However, there is good news because with simple lifestyle choices, you can go a long way towards giving your healthy heart the best possible protection. In addition to taking regular exercise (even some strenuous walking counts), give up smoking, and drink alcohol in moderation, Dr Hilary advises us to eat well and eat healthily. Avoid the habit of fast foods and convenience foods, both of which generally have high levels of salt and sugar. Instead, choose the healthier options of lean meat or chicken, plenty of fresh fish, vegetables and cereals that are high in fibre, and of course plenty of fresh fruit. Put like that, why would you not want to enjoy such a diet?
De-stress
Regular high levels of stress are known to be detrimental to our health in general, and the health of our hearts in particular. Stress triggers a rush of hormones that spike the heart rate, raise blood pressure and retard the process of digestion in order to divert all the energy to combat the stress-inducing situation. For this reason, and if stressful situations are unavoidable, we need to learn to control our response so that we can handle stress. When we do feel very stressed we need to have our own way of de-stressing, which may vary from one individual to another. Being able to cope with stress is something you can teach yourself. Some de-stress though exercise, some through meditation. Whatever your choice, it’s important to be able to take the stress out of your life whenever you need to because it will protect you both mentally and physically.
Be aware
If you think your heart is not as healthy as it should be, you should make an appointment to see your doctor for a check-up.
It is a fact that some heart attacks do occur without warning, but in the majority of cases there are pre-attack warning signs that we should be aware of. These are as follows:
- Chest pain, pressure, a feeling of heaviness or discomfort that lasts longer than several minutes, or comes and goes at intervals
- Pain or discomfort that radiates from your chest to your stomach, neck, arms, shoulder or jaw
- Shortness of breath or shallow breathing that occurs before chest pain or is caused while suffering chest pain
- Heart palpitations—faster-than-normal, strong or throbbing heartbeat
- Feelings of weakness, exhaustion, light-headedness, fainting, cold sweats, nausea
Family history
It is common knowledge that heart disease does not affect men only. Women too are vulnerable, although typically women tend to develop heart problems later in life than men, some seven or eight years later, the statistics tell us. Another fact is that women have less ability to survive a heart attack than men.
Understanding your vulnerability-level from heart attacks may cause you to be especially aware of the dangers from a heart attack and how best to avoid them. In understanding our vulnerability-levels from many diseases, Dr Hilary has said that having some knowledge of family health history can be extremely valuable. In the instance of heart disease, your risk for is considered higher if your father or brother had heart disease before the age of 55, or if your mother or sister had heart disease before the age of 65.
Risks and medications
For both men and women, the biggest risk factors for heart disease are smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, family history, and age. If you already have coronary artery disease or angina, you can still lead a happy, healthy life, providing you are receiving the appropriate medical attention, which of course includes medication. For example, taking an aspirin every day may help to lower your risk, because aspirin makes your blood thinner and therefore a blood clot is less likely to form. However, in some cases aspirin can cause gastrointestinal bleeding and other problems, therefore you must always talk to your doctor about whether or not you should take aspirin on a regular basis.
There are cholesterolwlowering medicines such as statins that lower the risk of heart attacks in men, although there is currently insufficient evidence to show that these medicines work as well for women who have never suffered a heart attack.
Research and development of these medicines is ongoing, and positive new developments are occurring. However, if you have any concerns about your heart health, the first important step is to talk to your doctor. For those without immediate concerns and to ensure you maintain a healthy heart, Dr Hilary stresses that leading a healthy lifestyle will put you on the road to leading a longer, healthier life.
SEE ALSO: The Heart Of The Matter
