Many Cardiovascular Disease-Related Deaths Can Be Avoided
All of your organs and tissues rely on the oxygen and nutrients delivered by your circulatory system through your blood. Therefore, it is critical to maintain a healthy cardiovascular system by regular exercise, a balanced diet, and management of blood pressure and cholesterol levels. However, numerous issues might negatively impact your cardiovascular system. Some of the things that can put you at risk for heart problems are:
- Hereditary factors, such as a predisposition to heart disease or being of African-American or other minority descent;
- After the age of 65, your risk of cardiovascular disease significantly increases;
- Finally, one’s way of life can make a difference in whether or not they acquire cardiovascular disease; for example, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, and excess body fat all increase the risk.
There is little ambiguity about the need of maintaining good blood health, as cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality in the United Kingdom, accounting for more than 150,000 fatalities annually.
However, it is equally important to evaluate your cardiovascular health on a regular basis, as problems like high cholesterol and high blood pressure frequently have no obvious signs until it is too late.
Diseases and Disorders Frequently Affecting the Heart
Coronary heart disease, one kind of cardiovascular disease, was the leading cause of mortality for both men and women worldwide in 2019.
Is it really true?
A heart attack and cardiac arrest are synonymous terms. One of the coronary arteries becomes blocked, cutting off blood and oxygen to the heart muscle, causing a heart attack, as explained by the British Heart Foundation.
Instead, cardiac arrest occurs when the heart suddenly stops pumping blood throughout the body. However, cardiac arrest is a possible outcome of a heart attack, and both conditions necessitate immediate medical intervention.
The National Health Service estimates that seven million people in the United Kingdom have cardiovascular disease. To that end, let’s examine two heart disorders that are exceedingly prevalent but can soon become fatal if not treated adequately: hypertension and poor lipid profile.
1. Hypertensive Disorders
An estimated 33% of persons in the United Kingdom have hypertension (high blood pressure). More than half of individuals who have hypertension do not know it and have never been treated, according to the data.This is cause for concern because hypertension strains your cardiovascular system, damaging your kidneys and brain and raising your risk of fatal cardiovascular events like stroke and heart attack. As hypotension (low blood pressure) can also lead to serious health issues, it’s crucial to monitor your blood pressure regularly to avoid potentially fatal complications.
What causes high blood pressure?
The higher figure, known as systolic pressure, represents the power with which your heart pumps blood around your body, while the lower number, known as diastolic pressure, represents the resistance to blood flow in your blood vessels.
In a perfect world, your blood pressure would be between between 90/60 and 120/80. When readings go beyond 140/90 mm Hg (or 150/90 mm Hg for those aged 80 and up), medical professionals label the patient as having high blood pressure.
Symptoms
One reason why high blood pressure is so harmful is that most people with it have no idea they have it because they have no symptoms. However, extreme hypertension might cause signs like problems with your head, chest, nose, and energy levels.
Treatment
Your blood pressure can be managed with the help of medication. A high blood pressure diagnosis will almost always be accompanied by recommendations to alter specific aspects of one’s lifestyle, such as:
- Maintaining a healthy diet (including a decrease in salt intake);
- Exercise routinely; If you’re overweight, lose weight;
- For smokers, giving up the habit entirely;
- Caffeine reduction.
Does this happen in real life or not?
Water makes up about 80% of a human body. Several factors, including age and gender, influence how much water the body contains, although the average is between 45 and 75 percent. Lungs, kidneys, and the brain all contain significant amounts of water. Red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets (or thrombocytes), which serve to prevent excessive bleeding, and plasma (a mixture of 92% water and other elements such as vitamins, hormones, and glucose) make up the rest of your blood. Therefore, roughly 50% of your blood is water.
2. Poor lipid profile
Cholesterol is produced both in the digestive tract and the liver. Cholesterol is a sort of lipid obtained from food that the body uses to store extra calories; while good cholesterol reduces the risk of stroke and heart attack, too much bad cholesterol — or triglycerides — makes these events more likely to occur.
What exactly is high cholesterol?
High density lipoprotein (HDL) is the beneficial kind of cholesterol, whereas low density lipoprotein (LDL) or non-HDL is the harmful kind. Recommendations for each kind of cholesterol are as follows:
HDL under 1; LDL below 3.
Triglycerides (TG) levels below 2.3 are considered optimal. Overall, the National Health Service recommends keeping your total cholesterol around 5.
Symptoms
Similar to excessive blood pressure, elevated cholesterol levels may not manifest themselves in any outward way. In extreme circumstances, however, it can cause symptoms like nausea, chest pain, extreme exhaustion, and difficulty breathing.
Treatment
If you’ve been told you have high cholesterol, you’ll probably hear a lot about how you need to cut back on the saturated fat in your diet. You can accomplish this by opting for fruit, vegetables, and whole-grain products like brown rice, pasta, and bread rather than fatty items like sausages, butter, and cakes. More exercise and a reduction in vices like smoking and excessive drinking may also be recommended.
If you don’t do this, or if these steps aren’t enough to lower your cholesterol, your doctor may prescribe statins, which you will need to take forever.
Is it really true?
We may safely say that any amount of cholesterol is harmful. Cholesterol is essential for many bodily processes, including hormone production and cell growth and repair. The so-called “good” cholesterol (HDL) transports cholesterol back to the liver, where it is flushed out of the body, thereby lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke.
Lifelong Cardiovascular Fitness
Age is associated with an increase in both blood pressure and cholesterol levels. According to official data for England, the prevalence of hypertension rises with age, from 5% of men and 1% of women between the ages of 16 and 24 to 58% of men and 57% of women between the ages of 65 and 74.
Therefore, after you reach your forties, the National Health Service recommends having your blood pressure examined at least once every five years.
However, if you have any reason to feel that your health or lifestyle puts you at a higher risk of acquiring these illnesses, you shouldn’t wait until you’re forty to get your blood pressure and cholesterol examined.
According to the same government report, if England were to achieve just a 15% rise in the proportion of adults who have had their high blood pressure diagnosed, the country might save 7,000 quality adjusted life years over the course of ten years. Registration for examinations might be the smartest move you make.
