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Prevention of Cardiovacular Diseases
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A lot can be done by the individual to reduce the risk of developing CVD. Detrimental lifestyle habits or risk factors should be detected as early as possible and consequently be changed, modified, or if necessary treated in order to stay healthy. Talk to your doctor to get personal advice to reduce your risk for cardiovascular diseases and a heart attack.
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Stress
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Stress, or more likely the individual's response to stress may be a contributing factor as well. Stress may negatively influence certain lifestyle habits affecting other established risk factors such as increased food, nicotine, or alcohol consumption. In some people stress has even been shown to contribute to elevated blood pressure, cholesterol, or blood sugar levels.
However, stress is not accepted as an independent risk factor for coronary heart diseases, yet. Still, stress management seems to be an appealing concept for a person's overall well-being.
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High Blood Pressure
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Uncontrolled high blood pressure is a major risk for cardiovascular disease. It can cause fatal haemorrhagic strokes and heart disease.
According to numerous medical guidelines treatment of elevated blood pressure should be considered if diastolic blood pressure > 90 mmHg or systolic blood pressure > 160 mmHg.
Also see the Adalat.com website for detailed information on latest studies concerning the treatment of hight blood pressure!
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Obesity
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Obesity or being overweight is defined by an excess of body fat usually due to an unbalanced diet too high in calories.
Being overweight doesn't mean being sick in general. But unfortunately, obesity and weight gain appear to be causally associated with a combination of certain risk factors. Typical risk factors are hypertension, high cholesterol and triglyceride blood levels, and a tendency to diabetes type 2. In order to stay healthy weight reduction and lifestyle changes should be given first priority.
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Smoking
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Smoking alone or in combination with a positive family history of heart disease and other existing risk factors is regarded as a high risk factor in the development of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases.
Smoking is said to negatively affect arterial endothelium, blood cholesterol levels, blood pressure and the propensity to thrombosis as well as heart rhythm disturbances. Associated pulmonary diseases due to smoking consequently involve the heart.
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High Cholesterol
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Our body is able to produce cholesterol in all tissues, especially in the liver. A sufficient amount of cholesterol is necessary to stay healthy, but too much cholesterol certainly can be detrimental.
LDL is often referred to as the "bad cholesterol" whereas HDL is known as the "good cholesterol". Simply speaking LDL distributes cholesterol all over the body
whereas HDL removes cholesterol from blood and tissues by carrying it to the liver where it is metabolized.
Therefore, it is important to carefully watch the total amount of cholesterol in the blood as well as the HDL and LDL levels. The aim should always be to lower the total amount and the LDL cholesterol and to raise the HDL levels by modifying lifestyle factors and nutrition.
In case these modifications prove to be unsuccessful medical treatment is advisable.
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Diabetes and High Glucose
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Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic condition characterised by high levels of glucose in blood (hyperglycemia) resulting from an absolute or relative deficiency of insulin. The hormone insulin is required to utilise glucose in order to supply the body with energy.
Diabetes mellitus is associated with earlier and more extensive development of atherosclerosis as part of widespread metabolic changes which lead to diabetic microangiopathy as well as atherosclerosis in larger arteries.
Although diabetes is incurable up to now, evidence suggest that complications can be prevented, or at least delayed, if blood glucose levels are tightly controlled with intensive therapy.
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"It is terribly important to try to prevent heart attacks.
Very, very widespread studies have now shown that regularly
taking a small dose of Aspirin® will reduce your chance of developing
a heart attack, or going to develop unstable angina, by somewhere
between 30 and 50 percent."
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