7 Reasons Why We End Up Wit a Heart Attack
According to the U.S. Surgeon General, heart attacks and strokes are preventable. Thus, if more people die from heart disease than any other disease, we must give serious consideration to what we are doing wrong. In this section you will find the 7 main reasons why we end up doing in May of the statistics of the American Heart Association. 1. We smoke. The risk of dying from a heart attack is about four times higher in people who smoke than those who do not smoke. Many of us feel that the greatest danger of smoking is cancer but that's not quite true that smoking is the major risk factor for heart disease, stroke and cardiovascular disease disease. In fact, approximately 40% of deaths caused by cardiovascular disease are due to smoking. Smoking contributes to heart disease as follows: ? Increases blood pressure, risk of heart attack and stroke. ? The carcinogen components in tobacco damage the walls of arteries. ? Carbon monoxide from burning tobacco interferes with the ability of blood to carry oxygen to our heart. ? Smoking causes narrowing of blood vessels that carry blood to the legs and arms. I know that quitting smoking is not a piece of cake, but you must make an effort. If you try, I'm sure you'll succeed. Be strong! Seeking Help to assist you in this task. And I will not be discouraged if you have already tried and failed. Try as many times as you can. 2. We do not walk. Over the last 50 years, health professionals have examined the association between physical activity and risk of heart disease. The results show that regular people who are physically active have half the risk of heart attack than those who are not active. These studies also show that at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity such as brisk walking, most days of the week is sufficient to reduce the risk of heart attack. ? Keep in mind that the heart is a muscle and like any other muscle in the body, it becomes stronger, the more you practice. Without exercise, it loses muscle fibers and becomes weak until it is unable to do its job. And the last thing you need is a heart that can not do its job. Direct effects of physical activity on heart disease are: ? makes the heart stronger so it can pump more blood with less rhythm ? blood pressure reduced by increasing the diameter of coronary arteries. ? It lowers "LDL", ? increases bad cholesterol "HDL," good "cholesterol ? Reduces triglycerides ? Reduces the risk of diabetes, which constitutes a risk for heart attacks3. We eat too much saturated fatThere is one reason why health authorities advice us to limit intake of saturated fat: ? Saturated fat is the most rigid of all fats and is solid at room temperature. Solid fats are hard to dissolve and can easily get stuck in your arteries. ? Saturated fat causes the liver to overproduce cholesterol. The liver manufactures about 75 percent of cholesterol the body needs from internal sources, while the remaining 25 percent comes from food. But when you eat too much saturated fat, your liver keeps producing cholesterol and you end up with much more cholesterol than you need. Limit saturated fat intake to less than 10 percent of total calories ingested per day. 4. We ingest too many foods containing hydrogenated oils or trans fatsHealth authorities fear that consumption of trans fats might have contributed to the 20th century epidemic of coronary disease. Hydrogenated oils or trans fatty acids as they are called, are produced artificially by inserting molecules of hydrogen in vegetable oils, a process called hydrogenation. Through this process, the oil that is liquid at room temperature, changes its original form and becomes solid. In other words, it becomes saturated fat. In addition, the unnatural shapes of trans fats cause our cells to become misshapen and disrupt operations. And that includes the cells of the heart and arteries. Read food labels and avoid products that contain trans fats or hydrogenated fats. Example of foods containing these harmful fats are: ? the bakery such as cookies, donuts, croissants, cakes, etc. ? Solid margarine ? Quick Fried food5. We do not eat enough fruits and vegetablesWe know that people who regularly eat foods of plant origin have a lower incidence of heart disease than those who do not include in their diet. Fruits and vegetables contain phytochemicals, chemicals found in non-nutrient plant foods that protect their host plants against infections and microbial invasions. Recently, however, we have learned that phytochemicals are also crucial in protecting humans against many diseases, including heart disease. Among the functions of phytochemicals perform in our body are the following: ? They act as antioxidants ? They keep the walls of small blood vessels healthy ? ? They make our small blood vessels stronger They prevent platelets from becoming sticky and accumulate ? They block specific enzymes that raise blood pressure. Include about 9 portions of fruit and vegetables per day as part of a healthy diet. 6. We have too stressHave you ever felt strong headaches, muscle pain, anxiety, insomnia and fatigue? If you identify some of these symptoms, your body may go through an excess of tension. Today, 80 percent of the population suffers from some form of symptoms caused by stress, which often end in diseases such as hypertension, a risk factor for heart attack. Seeking to cover on a daily basis more tasks than you physically can handle may be one of the main contributors to stress. Probably one of the reasons why you succumb to disease easily is the level of stress in your life since tension reduces your capacity to adapt to your environment. You must learn to surround yourself with peace and serenity. Here are some steps you can take to achieve your goal: ? Walk as much as you can. ? Add vitamin B in your diet. These vitamins have a calming and relaxing effect on the nervous system and are a great help to combat anxiety, irritability, tension and insomnia. Food sources of vitamin B are whole grains, green peas, fish, eggs and yeast. Take a glass of orange juice in the morning and add yeast. Vitamin C is also necessary in this process. You can also add a supplement that contains vitamin B complex ? Nuts Being part of your diet. Nuts are rich in calcium, magnesium, potassium, zinc and chrome, minerals that favor muscle relaxation. You may want to include a supplement containing these minerals. ? Have a session of osteopathy. Stress affects the balance of your body. An osteopath can give you a massage that will help restore the balance that you've lost. ? Give yourself 10 minutes each day to call a friend and chat. ? Take at least 4 days off per month when you can wake up in the morning without having planned to do. This way you can take time to think about what you would do that day. And if you like doing nothing, then by all means, do nothing! 7. We drink too much alcoholAvoid consumption of alcohol. 5 to 7 per cent of hypertension among people we see is due to the high consumption of alcohol. The World Health estimates that nearly 2 / 3 of stroke and 50 percent of heart attacks are caused by high blood pressure. Limit your alcohol intake to two glasses of wine a day if you are a man and a small drink per day if you are a woman. ThoughtsIf you make a final effort to implement these seven guidelines in your life, you'll be well ahead with the fight against heart disease. And the beauty of it is that you will not be part of the annual statistics issued by the American Heart Association regarding the amount of deaths occurred from heart attacks. References1. P. Thompson Prevention of coronary heart disease. The role of physical activity. The Physician and Sports. 2001 Feb; 29 (2).
