How can you lower the risk of heart disease? – By Dr harold Gunatillake
Website: www.Doctorharold.com
Heart disease is the leading cause of death around the world. According to the American Heart Association, someone in the United States die of a heart attack every 39 seconds.
There are plenty of ways to treat and prevent heart disease, which begins with living a healthier lifestyle regarding your diet and exercise.
Atherosclerosis, caused by fatty plaques in arteries, is the main reason for coronary artery disease. Risk factors include poor diet, lack of exercise, obesity, and smoking.
Making healthy lifestyle choices can lower the risk of atherosclerosis.
Globally, approximately 110 million men and 80 million women suffer from coronary heart disease, which is the leading cause of death worldwide.
Each year, an estimated 9 million people die due to coronary heart disease, and it accounts for 1 in 6 deaths worldwide. Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are responsible for
an estimated 17.9 million deaths each year and include disorders of the heart and blood vessels, such as coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, rheumatic heart disease, and other related conditions.
High LDL cholesterol is one of the main factors in plaque components in the coronary vessels and others, and the wrong diets cause this.
How many people take statins worldwide to reduce plaque formation and protect your heart?
More than 200 million people around the world take statin drugs for their heart health. Shifting ideas about the risks and benefits of statins over the years, however, have left some new patients confused about whether these drugs are correct—or safe—for them. Nevertheless, statins are good cholesterol-lowering drugs by inhibiting cholesterol manufacture in the liver.
According to the American Medical Association, the United States faced significant healthcare costs in 2016. These costs amounted to a whopping $3.35 trillion or roughly $10,345 per person. Interestingly, cardiovascular disease was identified as the primary cause of both death and disability, making it the most significant contributor to healthcare expenses in the country.
According to the latest WHO data published in 2020, Coronary Heart Disease Deaths in Sri Lanka reached 26,304 or 22.66% of total deaths. The population’s age- adjusted Death Rate of 101.31 per 100,000 ranks Sri Lanka #106 globally.
The average total fat intake of Sri Lankans is 25 per cent of total energy, with 80% of that coming from saturated fat from coconut products, meat, whole cream milk, and other cooking oils. About the type of dietary
fatty acids, Sri Lankans consume nine times more saturated fats than polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) compared with the currently recommended ratio of less than one.
The reality is that Coconut oil has been shown to raise cholesterol levels — the good and the bad kinds — more than other plant-based oils like olive or canola. And in truth, medium-chain triglycerides make up only a tiny amount of the fatty acids in coconut oil.
How can we prevent cardiovascular disease? Let me describe the steps you should take to prevent heart disease.
Heart disease is a big problem that can often be avoided with small actions.
Most Sri Lankans living in Sri Lanka do not check their blood pressure until they get a heart attack or stroke. There are no regular health education programs in the government media to remind people to check their BPs regularly.
High blood pressure is a significant risk factor for heart disease. About 7 in 10 people who have a first heart attack and 8 in 10 people who have a first stroke have high blood pressure. Overeating sodium can lead to high blood pressure.
High blood pressure causes thickening of the arteries, called atherosclerosis, and plaque formations are familiar with high-fat meals. Get your blood pressure checked at least once a year—more often if you have high blood pressure. If you have high blood pressure, take steps to reduce it through exercise regimes, plant-based diets, and medication.
High blood pressure is due to the hardening of blood vessels with age. High harmful cholesterol levels, alcohol, obesity, diabetes, and high-fat diets all cause the hardening of blood vessels.
Although you can’t reverse atherosclerosis once it starts, you can prevent it with easy lifestyle changes. Eat a balanced diet, mainly a plant-based diet with little meat and more fish. Exercise for at least 30 to 60 minutes a day. Stop smoking that causes terrible news for your arteries.
Daily exercise for 2-3 hours alone can help reduce your weight, bring down your blood pressure, and help reduce sugar levels in your blood if you have diabetes.
How does regular exercise help reduce blood pressure and reverse diabetes, remove plaques from your coronary arteries, and make you a healthy person?
Regular physical activity prevents or delays the development of high blood pressure, and exercise reduces blood pressure in people with hypertension by relaxing and making the vessels more elastic. Physical activity can also lower blood cholesterol levels, decreasing the risk of developing CVD.
An inactive lifestyle can lead to high blood pressure. Discover how small changes in activity can make a big difference.
Exercise improves the muscles’ ability to pull oxygen out of the blood, reducing the need for the heart to pump more blood to the muscles. Lowers stress hormones that
can put an extra burden on the heart. It works like a beta blocker to slow the heart rate and lower blood pressure.
Regular exercise makes the heart stronger. A stronger heart can pump more blood with less effort. As a result, the force on the arteries decreases. This lowers blood pressure.
Obesity strains your heart by having to pump blood into the additional fatty areas in your body. Reducing your weight and dissolving that extra fat relieves your heart.
Individuals who exercised at twice the recommended rate reduced their risk of heart failure by 20 per cent, and those who exercised at four times the recommended rate reduced their risk by a whopping 35 per cent. Men and women benefited equally from exercise.
Controlling your blood sugar levels when you have diabetes will reduce the risk of getting heart disease.
Eat fewer processed foods (such as chips, sweets, and fast food), avoid trans fat and go on a low GI diet.]. Drink more water, fewer sugary drinks, and less alcohol. Aim for a healthy weight. If you’re overweight, losing even a modest amount of weight can lower your triglycerides and blood sugar.
Again, walking is essential when you have diabetes to bring down blood sugar levels.
Active muscles absorb glucose independently without insulin during walking, so less insulin is needed. So, brisk walks daily for over an hour may be the answer to reverse diabetic situations without medication for prediabetics. Now you’re in the swing of your activity, whether dancing, walking, swimming, or a body-weight circuit, they all help reduce your blood sugar.
Stress is considered a factor for heart disease. Stress alone won’t cause heart and circulatory disease. However, it is linked to unhealthy habits that can increase your risk. You may be more likely to turn to unhealthy habits such as smoking, eating comfort food that’s typically high in fat or sugar, drinking too much alcohol, or not being physically active.
So, viewers, I hope I have enlightened you on the global causes and prevention of heart disease, the major silent killer.
Be aware, stick to a mainly plant-based, low glycaemic diet, and exercise regularly, and that would be the answer to prevent heart disease.
So, stay well, and goodbye until we meet again.
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