According to medical studies, heart diseases remain to be one of the top reasons for death in the US. Some of the most common form of heart diseases among adults include build up of plaque along the arterial walls, irregular heart beat, and congenital heart diseases. No matter what your heart’s condition is, however, you need to keep in mind the following:
1. Heart diseases in women is more prevalent than heart diseases in men.
Although most people think that men tend to suffer from since they bottle up their feelings more often then women, this is not the case. In fact, there seems to be more recorded cases of women suffering from a number of different heart conditions compared to men. Furthermore, there is a significantly higher number of women who die from heart attacks compared to men.
2. Your overall health has an impact on your risk for heart problems.
While some individuals might have been born with certain heart conditions, not taking care of your body can also lead to heart problems. For example, smoking on a regular basis can cause plaque to start building up along the walls of your blood vessels. This, in turn, could cause less oxygen-rich blood to reach various vital organs on your body. Similar to this, living a sedentary life could increase the chances of your blood vessels getting blocked by plaque. By engaging in physical activities, you are actually helping your blood to circulate more effectively. Studies have also shown that certain physical activities can help ensure that your joints are well-lubricated.
3. Your hormones play a role in your heart disease risk.
Not many people are aware of it but the presence of estrogen in the body provides the hart some sort of protection up until the woman experiences menopause. In the same line, women who regularly take birth control pills tend to have a higher chance of developing certain heart conditions.
4. Your family history can affect you.
If you have had a long history of heart problems in your family, then you also have a high chance of developing or suffering from a heart problem. That means, you need to make sure that you take extra care of your body if you have someone in your family who has already suffered from a heart attack or any other heart condition, including hypertension.
5. There is a correlation between your waistline and your heart
A waistline of more than 35 inches for women and more than 40 inches for men has been shown to be a good indicator of higher risk for a heart attack. Keep in mind that your waistline measurement is closely related to your Body Mass Index (BMI). If you find yourself at risk, you need to make sure that you watch what you eat. In most cases, eating food that are rich in carbohydrate can cause your waistline to increase in size. It can also cause an increase in your blood sugar level which, in turn, can increase the risk for a heart problem.
To make sure that you are safe even in the event of a heart attack, have the people around you undergo CPR training. It would also be to your advantage if you can have an AED unit on standby.
