One of the primary cause of deaths in the world is heart diseases. Sometimes heart diseases also lead to disability. There are many risk factors related to heart disease. Some factors can be under control, and we cannot control some.

Staying away from Heart Disease

According to experts, there are various types of preventive methods for staying away from heart diseases. These preventive methods show variable effects and starting times.

Secondary prevention

Secondary preventions are the preventive methods for those patients who experience a heart attack or stroke. Also, for those who undergo bypass surgery or angioplasty. Various preventive methods adopted by those patients, such as taking aspirin with anti-hyperlipidemics. Lifestyle modification, including quitting smoking, reducing weight, and exercising more.

Primary prevention

Primary prevention methods are usually followed by those patients already develop cardiovascular risk factors like high cholesterol and high blood pressure. It reduces the chances of heart attack, stroke or heart surgery, and angioplasty. It also focuses on making lifestyle changes and medications.

Primordial prevention

Primordial prevention is the prevention of starting. It is the basic approach that involves minimizing risk factors such as high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, high cholesterol levels, excess weight, and cardiovascular events. As soon as you start practicing primordial prevention, more chances are there to protect your heart from any disease.

 Don’t smoke or use tobacco

Use of tobacco and smoking are very harmful to heart health. Chemicals of smoking adversely affect the blood vessel and leading to narrowing of arteries by the accumulation of plaque. Buildup of plaque causes atherosclerosis, which is the probable cause of a heart attack.

The smoke of the cigarette contains carbon monoxide that replaces some of the oxygen in your blood, which causes an increase in blood pressure and heart rate. Nicotine in the cigarette restricts the blood flow in the blood vessels by constricting the blood vessels. 

So if you didn’t smoke then that’s perfect, and if you already quit smoking then that’s excellent, but if you are still smoking, then you should take a step to ban your smoking habits to avoid any risks of heart diseases.

Limit alcohol

It usually observed that blood pressure increases with drinking too much alcohol. Extra calories provided by alcohol also increases the weight. Drinking more than two alcoholic drinks per day increases your chances of having heart disease. So, you must control your habit of drinking alcohol to avoid the risk of heart disease.

Exercise

Exercise is the best way to keep away from many diseases. Exercise or physical activity keeps your body in control to fight with various conditions. Risks of heart diseases can be reduced by doing regular exercise and maintaining a healthy weight. Exercise minimizes the chances of heart disease by controlling your blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and diabetes.

Duration of exercise depends on yours convince, it is generally recommended to have at least 30 minutes of workout per day, which include walking, jogging or cycling, etc. but, that’s not the hard and fast rule. You can perform 10 minutes of workout per day according to your convenience.

Some of your regular daily activities also contribute in this regard, such as housekeeping, walking, taking the stairs, and gardening can also benefit you to avoid heart diseases.

Eat a heart-healthy diet

Diet is the most important part to live a healthy life. Many chronic illnesses are due to our unhealthy eating habits. There is a certain basic rule to avoid heart disease by following healthy diet plants.

You have to add specific foods in your diet while subtracting some of your favorite foods. A healthy approach to keep your heart healthy includes consuming fresh vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. Also add beans in your diet along with lean meat, fish and low-fat dairy products. Minimize the salt and sugar intake. Add trans-fat in the diet and limit your consumption of saturated fat. 

Also, include omega 3-fatty acids in the diet. Risks of heart disease can also be prevented by eating salmon and tuna once or twice in a week.

Maintaining a healthy weight

Maintaining a healthy weight is a difficult task for most of the people. However, overweight people are more prone to the risks of various health complications. Metabolic syndrome, high blood pressure, diabetes, and high level of cholesterol are common conditions prevalent in overweight individuals. To assess your weight, you must regularly monitor your Body Mass Index. Check out Dr. Koshy’s 21 day health challenge

Proper sleep

Proper and sound sleep helps you a lot to spend your day comfortably. Getting enough sleep, keeps you away from many health complications. People who don’t get enough sleep have more chances to suffer from depression, heart attack, diabetes, and hypertension.

Sleeping 8 to 9 hours is considered to be good sleep. It keeps you fresh all day and prepares your body for the next day. You must schedule your activities accordingly and must give priority to sleep.

If you have sleep problems, you must consult your doctor. Mostly sleep apnea leading to breathing issues during sleep and interfere with getting good sleep. Try to get early treatment for sleep apnea otherwise, it will increase the risk of a heart attack.

Stress management

The heart is also affected by stress. Many people have no idea how to manage stress. In order to manage stress mostly people smoke, overthink, and drink alcohol. These are unhealthy practices to manage stress.

To manage stress, you need to relax, involve yourself in healthy activities like yoga, meditation, and listening to music.

Mind your blood sugar

You must be thinking of how blood sugar is associated with heart diseases?

Presence of too much sugar in the blood is harmful to arteries. It damages your arteries as done in prediabetes. Damaging of arteries leads to various complications that affect your heart as well.

Regular health screenings

It is a healthy practice to regularly visit your doctor or any other healthcare practitioners for regular checkups. You must undergo brief examination for cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and diabetes. Because these conditions are the major risk factors for heart diseases. 

Risk factors of heart diseases that cannot be changed

• Age
• Gender
• Race or ethnicity
• Family history
  
  

It is in your hand to save yourself from heart disease. Life is a precious gift, and we can make it worse or goof for us by our activities and habits. So, following these general guidelines, you can keep your heart healthy and fit to enjoy your life.

Call now (586) 698-1200 to schedule an appointment with a Cardiologist in Sterling Heights, Washington Township or Rochester Hills, Michigan.