Prevention of cardiovascular diseases

The heart is a unique organ, and our life depends on its functioning. Each day the heart beats, on average, 100,000 times, and pumps about 7,200 liters (1,900 gallons) of blood. But, unfortunately, a lot of people experience cardiovascular diseases today. This is the name for a group of disorders of the heart and blood vessels. These disorders negatively affect the whole body, and they are considered the main cause of death worldwide. The key to the health of the cardiovascular system involves leading a healthy lifestyle and managing your risk factors.

Cardiovascular diseases are a major cause of death and serious health problems, such as ischaemic heart disease (heart attacks) or cerebrovascular diseases (strokes). But you can protect yourself by taking care of your heart.

There are many risk factors associated with heart disease and stroke. However, the main risk factors include unhealthy diet, lack of physical activity, smoking and alcohol. As a result, man suffers from high blood pressure, raised blood glucose, raised blood lipids, overweight and obesity. 

The causes of death across the world vary drastically, but cardiovascular diseases still remain the key causes of death globally. Unfortunately, a lot of people, as they become older, are faced with a failure of the cardiovascular system. So, how to prevent heart diseases and stroke?

Here are a few heart disease prevention tips to keep you healthy:

1. Healthy eating. Our daily diet significantly affects the heart and blood vessels. Frequent and excessive consumption of high-fat food, coffee, salt and sugar can lead to different health problems, including heart attacks, strokes, hypertension and other diseases.

2. Fight excess weight. Obesity always increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Weight loss will help you get healthier physically and, in addition, mentally, boosting your self-esteem. 

3. Regular physical activity. On the whole, physical inactivity is one of the common causes of heart and vascular diseases. Walking in the fresh air and, no doubt, doing sports will definitely reduce the risk of heart disease developing. But of course you should check with your doctor if you have any contraindications to sports, and what kind and amount of physical activity can be suitable for you. 

4. Quit bad habits. It goes without saying that quitting smoking, alcohol and drugs will really make you healthier. The intake of these toxic substances damages your body and brain. In general, these harmful addictions have consequences in terms of your blood pressure, development of arrhythmia and so forth. 

5. Deal with stress. We are so busy today: work, financial problems, relationships and other things. But we should remember that frequent stressful situations impact negatively on our mental and physical health, causing various health disorders. It is recommended to spend more time in the open air and get enough sleep.

6. Watch your blood pressure. An increase in blood pressure leads to the development of coronary artery disease, heart attacks, strokes and other pathologies of the heart and blood vessels. That is why all people should regularly monitor their blood pressure indicators. 

7. Control blood cholesterol levels. All people over the age of 30 should have an annual blood cholesterol test. Ideally, its level must not exceed 5 mmol/L. If a person suffers from diabetes, the cholesterol should be 4 mmol/L as a whole.

8. Get your blood sugar levels checked. People over 40-45 years old should have a blood sugar test annually. By and large, it will help you keep healthy, as you will know if your blood sugar levels are high or low. Besides, testing your blood sugar levels is very important when you have diabetes. 

9. Don't miss your annual health screenings. People who are at risk for the development of cardiovascular diseases need to visit a doctor in a timely manner, follow his recommendations and conduct preventive examinations. Heart health screening generally involves electrocardiography (EKG), echocardiography, blood pressure evaluation, blood tests, and other procedures. 

An annual physical examination is a key element of preventive medicine. Its main purpose is to help us maintain our health. Medical examinations for both men and women are important and necessary procedures, because they allow to get the diagnosis and reveal disorders at the early stages of its development. Heart and blood vessel diseases, as a rule, are most common medical conditions affecting older people. However, even in this case, their occurrence and development can be prevented by following the recommendations of doctors. Thus, people with confirmed diagnoses often just need to change their lifestyle, and their diseases will manifest themselves much less. A health check-up is your chance to stay healthy and happy. Learn more about Cardiac Exam and other Health Screening Tests available with UA Destination in Kyiv, Ukraine.