According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States. Luckily, several heart conditions can be prevented by making healthy lifestyle choices.
What is Heart Disease?
Heart disease is a collection of conditions that affect the health of your heart, arteries and blood vessels, including:
- Coronary artery disease (CAD)
- Arrhythmia – abnormal heartbeat
- Heart attack
- Heart failure
- Angina – chest discomfort or shortness of breath
- Atrial fibrillation – irregular or faster heartbeat
- Congenital heart defects
- Cardiomyopathy – the heart’s inability to pump blood to the rest of the body
There are several risk factors associated with heart disease, including:
- Tobacco use: Nicotine restricts blood vessels and introduces toxic levels of carbon monoxide into your body.
- High blood pressure: This can cause hardening of arteries and narrow blood vessels.
- Genetics: A family history of heart disease increases your risk for CAD.
- Gender: Men are more likely to develop heart disease than women, though their risk increases after menopause.
- Age: Your heart disease risk increases with age as your arteries and heart muscle sustain damage over time.
- Obesity: Excess weight puts a strain on your heart and compounds other risk factors.
How Heart Disease Affects Your Life
Getting diagnosed with heart disease is a serious game-changer. It requires you to make lifestyle changes to lower your risk and improve your overall longevity. Having heart disease may change the way you live your daily life and how you interact with the things and people you love. It can affect your emotional health, the activities you engage in and what you eat. It’s a chronic condition that requires diligent management, but it’s not impossible.
How to Manage Heart Disease
Change your diet: Reducing your intake of saturated fat, sodium and sugar will protect your heart from further damage. Check out the Mayo Clinic’s guide to heart-healthy food options.
Get regular exercise: It’s important to go at your own pace. Ask your doctor about an appropriate level of exercise. Finding time for 30 minutes of aerobic exercise every day or every other day will support healthy circulation.
Lower your body mass index (BMI): If you control your weight, you’ll decrease your blood pressure and the strain on your heart. Talk to your doctor about setting an appropriate BMI goal.
Cut out nicotine: Whether you quit cold turkey or wean yourself off nicotine, limiting your intake will protect your arteries from damage, lower your blood pressure and improve blood flow.
Reduce your alcohol consumption: Excessive drinking damages your heart muscle and reduces its ability to pump blood to the rest of your body effectively. Limit your drinking to a glass a day.
Contact Embassy Healthcare online or call 888-975-1379 to learn more about our cardiac care services.
