Heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases, such as high blood pressure and atherosclerosis, can be prevented by adopting simple habits, such as regular exercise and a balanced diet.
Cardiovascular diseases are one of the main causes of death worldwide and, although some risk factors such as age, family history or gender cannot be modified, some habits are capable of preventing the appearance of these types of problems.
Here are 7 essential habits to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease:
Smoking is one of the most important risk factors for the development of cardiovascular disease because certain tobacco chemicals can damage the heart and blood vessels, causing arteries to narrow, called atherosclerosis, which can lead to a heart attack. .
In addition, carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke replaces some of the oxygen in the blood, increasing blood pressure and heart rate, forcing the heart to work harder to provide enough oxygen.
Exercising for about 30 to 60 minutes, 2 to 3 times a week, such as swimming or walking, for example, helps control weight and improves blood circulation, which can reduce the risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes .
Activities such as gardening, cleaning, climbing and lowering stairs or walking the dog or baby also help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, especially in people who have certain limitations for certain physical exercises.
Drinking alcohol beyond recommendations and, mainly, in the long term, can damage the heart, causing high blood pressure, heart failure, stroke or heart attack.
Thus, it is acceptable for men to drink up to 2 glasses of 100 ml of alcohol a day, one at lunch and one at dinner, especially red wine, and for women 1 glass of 100 ml a day. White drinks are not recommended and red wine should be preferred as it contains resveratrol, which is even good for your health. Remembering that each individual must be individually analyzed in order for the consumption of alcoholic beverages to be released.
Being overweight is associated with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes, which increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, such as stroke or heart attack. So even a small amount of weight loss can help lower blood pressure, lower blood cholesterol, or reduce the risk of diabetes.
To check if you have the ideal weight, you should calculate the body mass index (BMI), which should be 18. 5 and 24. 9 kg / m2. To calculate your BMI, place your data in the calculator below:
In addition to BMI, it is also important to evaluate abdominal circumference, which is useful for measuring the amount of abdominal fat, and abdominal circumference in men should be less than 94 cm and in women less than 80 cm.
High blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes can damage the heart and blood vessels, increasing the risk of developing a heart attack, stroke, or heart failure, for example.
Therefore, it is important to maintain normal blood pressure, i. e. up to 139 x 89 mmHg, total cholesterol below 200 mg/dL and blood sugar, i. e. fasting blood sugar less than 99 mg/dL.
People who are already hypertensive, with high cholesterol or diabetes need stricter blood pressure controls (about 110 x 80) and LDL cholesterol (about 100), correctly performing doctor-instituted treatment and nutritionist-guided diet.
People who don’t get enough sleep are at higher risk of developing obesity, high blood pressure, heart attack, diabetes, or depression. Therefore, adults should sleep between seven and eight hours a night and should go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.
Stress, on the other hand, can make the heart beat faster, increase the number of beats per minute and harden the arteries and veins, reducing blood flow, so it is important to avoid stress, and you can resort to massage, techniques or relaxation. exercises, such as yoga.
To prevent the onset of cardiovascular disease it is important to avoid or reduce the consumption of foods containing saturated or trans fats, which are both types of fats harmful to health and that increase the risk of heart attack, stroke or atherosclerosis, for example.
Therefore, it is important to avoid or reduce the consumption of
On the other hand, the consumption of:
Watch the video below and discover foods that help prevent a heart attack: