World Heart Day 2014: Celebrate this year’s theme, ‘Creating heart-healthy environments’. Here are 10 things that could probably lead to a heart attack that you should be aware off,
A 2010 Lancet paper on the Burden of
Disease in India found that Indians are the most vulnerable group to
cardiovascular diseases in the world. A genetic mutation combined with
unhealthy lifestyles is responsible for this shocking finding. While
there’s nothing we can do about genetic mutation, there are a number of
things we can do to control lifestyle factors that cause heart disease.
To curb incidences of heart attack
and prevent prevalence of heart disease in the country, it is crucial to
keep in mind the following things and avoid them for the sake of your
heart health. Here are 10 things that could probably
lead to a heart attack that you should be aware off,
Smoking incessantly
You might have heard it numerous
times that smoking can kill and among other things it can lead to a
heart attack. According to the US Centres for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), smoking increases the chance of suffering from a
coronary heart disease two to four times by reducing blood circulation
due to narrowed arteries. Scarily, 92 million out of India’s 285 million
smokers don’t even know that it’s bad for their heart. Moreover,
according to statistics second hand smoke kills 6 lakh people every year
out of which 1 lakh are children and 87% of deaths due to second-hand
smoke are due to cardiovascular diseases.
Drinking alcohol, albeit moderately
Numerous studies have found that
people, who drink moderately (330ml beer or 60 ml hard liquor – whiskey,
vodka, etc. – and 100 ml wine) actually have better cardiovascular
health than people who completely abstain from alcohol or people who
tend to drink too much. What is not debatable is the fact that excessive
drinking is tied to various cardiovascular issues like obesity, high
blood pressure and increased risk to coronary artery disease. Binge
drinking (drinking excessively in a short amount of time) is linked to
poor cardiovascular health and increase chances of a heart attack.
Lack of exercise
Our current work-office-sedentary
lifestyle has played a major part in the rise of cardiovascular diseases
around the world. Lack of exercise leads to build-up of bad cholesterol
which prevents the blood from flowing freely through the arteries,
giving rise to hypertension, heart attacks, etc. Exercising plays a very
important role in your cardiovascular health. It facilitates weight
loss, lowers blood pressure, increases your good cholesterol level,
improves blood circulation and allows your heart to pump more
efficiently. In fact, it helps reduce stress also by releasing feel-good
hormones called endorphins.
Inadequate sleep
Initially, our body’s internal clock
was adapted to the natural day-light schedule and exposure to
artificial light, especially while night has thrown it off-track. This
has also led to various kinds of sleep disorders which in turn impacts
our appetite causing obesity, glucose metabolism and increase in blood
pressure. This also increases the incidence of heart attack with time.
It’s a vicious cycle, therefore getting enough sleep is very important
to keep heart disease at bay.
Intake of saturated and trans-fats
They are two kinds of fats –
saturated and unsaturated. Saturated fats are present in food items like
butter, red meat, dairy products, chocolates, etc. and are known to
raise ‘LDL’ or bad cholesterol levels, and most dieticians recommend
limiting their intake. Trans-fats are unsaturated fats that have the
same effect. Packaged and unprocessed food items usually contain a lot
of trans-fats and that’s why nutritionists suggest avoiding them as they
can put a strain on your heart health and lead to various kinds of
heart diseases increasing your chance of heart attack.
Reduced intake of unsaturated and omega 3 fatty acids
Unsaturated fats are of two types –
mono-unsaturated (olive oil, nuts, peanut oil) and poly-unsaturated
(sesame, cotton seed and soya bean oils). Both types of unsaturated fats
are known to lower bad cholesterol (LDL) levels and boost up good
cholesterol levels. Many dieticians suggest switching to olive oil or
other healthier unsaturated oils for cooking for the same reason. On the
other hand, omega 3 fatty acids are poly-saturated fats that are
essential because they can’t be manufactured by the human body and are
present in marine and plant oils. Good sources include fish oils, milk
compounds, flax seeds and nuts.
Increased levels of stress
How stress causes heart diseases is
still not clear, but most experts concede that it could part of a
snowball effect of obesity, blood pressure, heart disease, smoking, lack
of exercise, insomnia, etc. All the aforementioned conditions seem to
go hand in hand with stress, and that’s why taking it easy is imperative
for your heart and reduces chances of heart attacks. Take up a hobby,
play with your children or take up meditation – anything that will keep
stress at bay.
Uncontrolled intake of salt and sugar
While moderate intake of salt is
necessary, too much is linked to various cardiovascular ailments,
particularly hypertension. Most people end up consuming a lot of salt
without realising it. This is because they aren’t actually separately
adding table salt to their food and many food items might not taste
salty but are high on salt content like, bread, butter, chips, packaged
noodles, etc. However, all this plays a part in increasing your salt
intake.
Sugar, on the other hand, is an
infamous culprit. Experts believe that the easy availability of sugar is
fuelling the global obesity pandemic because we are naturally geared to
seek it for the glucose – our primary source of energy which was
earlier available only through natural sources like fruits. The only
solution is to cut down on sugar intake by limiting – cakes, milk
shakes, sweets, sweetmeats, fizzy drinks, cookies and ice-cream – pretty
much everything your heart desires is bad for it. Curb them and save
your heart from an attack.
Consuming fewer vegetables and fruits
There’s compelling evidence to
suggest that people who eat more greens and fruits significantly lower
their bad cholesterol levels and this also improves their digestive
system and metabolism allowing the body to function better. Most
dieticians would tell you that you should get at least five servings of
fruits and vegetables in a day.
Avoiding regular check-ups
There is no alternative to being
well informed. Get regular tests to check your cholesterol levels, blood
pressure and the ECG test. Doctors suggest that one should start
getting checked after one turns 30. People who experience any symptoms
like chest pain, irregular heartbeats, and shortness of breath,
dizziness or discomfort shouldn’t postpone a heart check
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