5 Ways To Lower Your Heart Disease Risk
You can lower your heart disease risk by taking care of your diet, exercising regularly, sleeping enough, and quitting smoking and drinking.
Heart diseases like heart attack, heart failure, and stroke are on the rise all over the world because of the rapid changes in people’s lifestyles and because people fail to take it seriously.
This is not a new thing as I am sure lots of people around us have suffered one CVD (Cardiovascular Disease) or the other.
These diseases are caused by several risk factors, some of which cannot be controlled. However, there are several other factors we can control.
Knowing these risk factors and working on them can reduce the risk of having any heart disease.
Risk Factors That Cannot Be Controlled
Here are the most common risk factors of heart disease that you can not control whatsoever:
1. Family History
If there is a history of heart disease in your family, there is a high probability that you and every member of your family are at risk of suffering from any heart disease.
The risk is higher if the person had the disease at an early age.
2. Age
The risk of suffering from a heart disease becomes higher when you reach a particular period. For men, this age is 45 years, while that of a woman is 50 years.
3. Gender
Some factors determine who is at risk of suffering from heart disease. For example, women who have diabetes are at more danger of suffering from heart diseases than men who have diabetes. [1]
Also, women without any bad health condition are at lesser risk of having any heart disease than men because of the estrogen production by their body system. [2]
4. Race Or Ethnicity
Depending on your race and ethnicity, your risk of having heart diseases differ.
Study shows that African Americans are at more risk of suffering from heart disease than Americans and Hispanic Americans. [3]
How To Lower Your Heart Disease Risk
Here is what you can do to lower your heart disease risk:
1. Control Your Blood Pressure, Blood Sugar, And Cholesterol
Controlling your blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol are very important in keeping a healthy life. You should manage these health conditions to reduce the risk of suffering from heart diseases.
“Control of cholesterol in the body reduces the risk of obesity which also reduces the chances of suffering from any heart issue. High blood pressure is a significant reason many people suffer from heart attacks, while diabetes increases the chances also. To reduce and control the level of all these health issues, you need to rest your body and mind and maintain a healthy diet”, says Dr. Naveen Raj, a cardiologist at Doctorspring.
2. Regular Exercise And Keep Active
A significant way to lower the risk of having any heart disease is to keep yourself more productive and do regular exercises.
There are a lot of health benefits when you regularly perform exercises. It helps improve the circulation of blood and strengthens the heart, making exercise a mean to reduce the risk of having a heart disease.
There are several routines you might adopt when keeping active and performing your exercise. So you have to pick one that you feel comfortable when carrying out your exercise activities.
For me, a one-hour brisk walk every evening keeps me alert and healthy. For you, it might be a tennis match or a 30-minute run. Just pick an activity and stick to it!
3. Eat Healthily
Healthy eating is the right way of life. When we eat healthily, not only we reduce the risk of having heart disease, but we also keep other health diseases at bay.
Eating unprocessed foods and including lots of fruits and veggies in your diet are the first steps to take when you are trying to live a healthy lifestyle.
But there are other rules you should also follow, such as ditching alcohol, sugary drinks, sweets, fatty foods, and more.
So I advise you to consult with a dietician to see exactly what foods to include into your diet. That’s because, depending on the current health level, some of us might need to reduce their intake of meat, eggs, and some other food items.
4. Limit Alcohol And Quit Smoking
A lot of heart diseases are associated with drinking and smoking and limiting alcohol and quitting smoking are ways to reduce your risk of having heart diseases.
Smokers are two as likely to suffer from heart diseases than nonsmokers. [4]
And alcohol increases blood sugar which could result in diabetes and ultimately heart disease. [5]
Limiting drinking and quitting smoking is a means to avoid the risk of suffering from this disease which could eventually kill you or paralyze you.
5. Ensure You Get Enough Sleep And Reduce Stress
Managing your stress level is very important to keep high blood pressure at bay.
This is because high blood pressure is one of the significant factors that cause several heart diseases such as stroke and the likes.
One way to manage your stress level is to have a good sleeping habit.
Study shows that an adult should have at least a seven-hour sleep to prevent them from suffering from HBP, inflammation, and gaining excess weight. [6]
Old people who struggle to get good sleep are at higher risk of heart disease.
If you are having any difficulty with sleep, you need to visit your doctor. This could help detect any sleeping disorder you might be having and treat it on time.
People who have sleep apnea, which is a sleep disorder in which they repeatedly stop breathing during sleep, are at high risk of having heart failure and several other medical issues.
In conclusion, since prevention is better than cure, you should make sure you avoid everything that could expose you to heart diseases.
