Tips to Prevent Cardiovascular Diseases

Heart attacks and cardiovascular diseases are acute phenomenons that are usually due to the obstruction of proper blood flow to the heart or the brain.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD’s) are a group of disorders of the heart and its blood vessels. The following are all types of cerebrovascular diseases:

• Coronary heart disease: a disorder that affects the blood vessels that supply the heart muscle.
• Cerebrovascular disease: affects the blood vessels that supply the brain.
• Peripheral arteriopathies: affect the blood vessels that supply both the upper and lower limbs.
• Rheumatic heart disease: a disease caused by bacteria called streptococci, it affects the heart muscles and heart valves.
• Congenital heart disease: consists of heart malformations that are present from the moment of birth.
• Deep vein thromboses and pulmonary embolisms: consists of blood clots (thrombi) in the veins of the legs, which can detach and become emboli which can lodge in the blood vessels of the heart or lungs.

A frequent cause of cardiovascular disease is the deposit of fats in the walls of blood vessels that supply the heart or brain. Cerebrovascular disease can also be due to hemorrhages of the cerebral blood vessels or blood clots.

How to prevent cardiovascular diseases

• Maintain a healthy and balanced diet: select foods wisely. A healthy diet will help to protect your cardiovascular health.
• People who are overweight or obese are more vulnerable to suffering from cardiovascular diseases. That’s why it is so important to consume a balanced and healthy diet.
• The consumption of alcohol and tobacco are major risk factors. Ideally you should drink alcohol in moderation and eliminate tobacco completely. Tobacco has negative effects on the blood vessels of the heart, brain, and extremities.
• Perform exercise periodically. Exercise is beneficial for the heart. It has been proven that people who exercise frequently are less likely to suffer from cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure, and cholesterol disorders.
• Periodically reviewing and maintaining adequate levels of cholesterol and glucose is very important when it comes to preventing cardiovascular diseases. In addition, it is also important to monitor your blood pressure regularly.
• Reduce stress. Stress can play a role in all cardiovascular diseases. You can reduce stress levels by exercising, getting enough sleep and maintaining positive social interactions.

Risk factors you can’t modify

• Age: the risk of suffering from cardiovascular diseases increases with age. Men over the age of 45 and women over the age of 55 are at higher risk of suffering from CVD’s
• Gender: some risk factors can affect one gender differently than they do others. For example, estrogen can help protect women from heart disease, however, diabetes increases the risk of heart disease more in women than it does in men.
• Ethnicity: certain nationalities are at more risk than others. African Americans are more likely to suffer from heart disease than Caucasians.  Some groups of Asians, such as East Asians are less likely to suffer from cardiovascular diseases when compared to Southern Asians.
• Family history: if you have a family member that suffers from heart diseases, you have a greater risk of suffering from it as well. 

As you can see, there are risk factors for cardiovascular diseases that you cannot change. However, if you do have risk factors, you can follow the advice that we mentioned such as: not smoking, drinking alcohol in moderation and controlling stress in order to help protect yourself.