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Many of the problems that cause cardiovascular disease begin early in life. You can lower your risk of heart disease later in life if you start to practice good health habits now. A healthy diet, regular exercise, reducing stress, and not smoking can greatly reduce your risk of a heart attack. These health habits are especially important if someone in your family has had a heart attack.
Exercise makes an important contribution to the functioning of the circulatory system. Regular exercise helps the heart muscle become stronger. This improves the functioning of the heart. Exercise is one way to keep the heart and circulatory system healthy. The heart pumps a greater volume of blood through the body with each beat. At the same time the heart gets more rest. In addition, exercise lowers the rate of lactic acid formation in muscles. This lower lactic acid level permits more work to be done. Physical activity makes the heart muscle strong, and a strong heart does not have to work as hard as a weak one to keep pumping blood. The exercises that do your heart the most good are aerobic exercises. Aerobic exercises increase the heartbeat for a period that is long enough to strengthen the heart. A regular program of aerobic exercise could include swimming, jogging, or dancing. With regular exercise, the respiratory system gains in efficiency. The chest is able to expand further. This permits deeper breathing. Exercise also reduces excess body weight and helps to prevent degenerative disease of the heart and arteries.
The heart muscle is the toughest and strongest muscle in the human body. It is almost impossible to strain it if it is in a healthy condition. To do its work your heart muscle must have plenty of blood that is furnished by a dense network of blood vessels. A diet of too much food or the wrong kinds of food can also increase your risk of heart attack. The risk of developing hypertension increases in people who are overweight. People with diets high in sodium and fats are also at high risk of developing high blood pressure. The most important dietary factors are eating less cholesterol and eating polyunsaturated fats instead of saturated fats. By controlling what and how much you eat, you can reduce your risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. Coronary heart disease results from the narrowing of arteries that nourish the heart. When the coronary arteries are health the linings are clear and smooth and the blood is carried in a steady stream. When a person eats too much of the wrong kinds of foods then deposits of cholesterol, connective tissue and smooth muscle cells will build. The deposits are called atherosclerotic plaques and eventually they are able to clog coronary arteries. When the blood supply is cut off to the heart by a clogging process the heart muscles die and heart attack results.
From the standpoint of disease, overweight is one of the greatest health hazards. Degenerative disease of the heart and arteries are usually caused by being overweight as much as any other factor. Apoplexy is 60 per cent more common in the overweight and angina pectoris 100 per cent. For every 5 pounds of extra fat you carry, your blood vessels have had to increase 3 miles in length. This increased length puts an extra strain on the heart. The diet needs to be low in sugar and not cholesterol and saturated fats. When a person consumes too much sugar the level of triglycerides rises. Diabetics is a disease that can occur from a person consuming too much sugar. Diabetes mellitus is a disorder in which the body does not produce enough insulin, the hormone that burns sugar. The unburned sugar creates plaque-forming triglycerides. The rate of heart attacks in diabetics is much greater than non diabetics.
Coronary heart disease results from the narrowing of arteries that nourish the heart. When the coronary arteries are health the linings are clear and smooth and the blood is carried in a steady stream. When a person eats too much of the wrong kinds of foods then deposits of cholesterol, connective tissue and smooth muscle cells will build. The deposits are called atherosclerotic plaques and eventually they are able to clog coronary arteries. This clogging process cuts off the blood supply to the heart, heart muscles die and the result is a heart attack. Anyone wanting to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease should limit sugar, saturated fats and cholesterol. Limit the sugars in sweet and snack food.
Smoking is another threat to the health of your cardiovascular system. Smoking affects your entire body, but it harms the lungs and heart most of all. Smoking just one cigarette increases your heart rate and raises your blood pressure. Substances in smoke reduce the blood's ability to carry oxygen and encourage the building of fatty deposits in the arteries. People who smoke to any great extent usually have rapid pulses. The more you smoke and the longer you smoke, the greater your chances of having a heart attack. If you already smoke, quitting will allow your body to being repairing itself almost immediately. By quitting, you can prevent further damage and increase your chances of good health as you get older. People who smoke to any great extent usually have rapid pulses.
Mental and emotional stress can also damage your heart. Stress causes the heart rate, blood pressure, and cholesterol level to increase. If this continues over time, your health may suffer. If your cardiovascular system is already diseased, stress may bring on a heart attack.
There is no benefit that results from drinking too much alcohol. The heart may be damaged by alcoholism because of its nutritional deficiencies. It can harden and dehydrating tissues in your body. Taking drugs is also harmful as is alcohol for the heart in various ways.
Hypertension, arteriosclerosis, and atherosclerosis are common diseases of the blood vessels. They develop slowly over many years and can lead to angina, heart attacks and strokes. The risk of cardiovascular diseases can be greatly reduced by exercising regularly, eating a well-balanced diet, and avoiding or quitting smoking, drinking alcohol or consuming drugs of any kind.
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