It is even better to prevent a heart attack or stroke from ever happening. Prevention is always better than treatment, and most heart attacks and strokes can be prevented.
Research shows that a number of things make us more likely to have a heart attack or stroke. These are called risk factors.
Some risk factors are linked to choices we make in the way we live. The three most important lifestyle factors are:
• smoking and other tobacco use
• unhealthy diet
• lack of physical activity.
Poor lifestyle choices can lead to three serious physical problems:
• high blood pressure (hypertension);
• high blood sugar (diabetes);
• high blood fats (hyperlipidaemia).
Throughout large parts of the world, tobacco use is on the rise. People are also becoming overweight in many countries as a result of being less active and eating more food that is high in fat and sugar. More and more young people and children are getting diabetes because they are overweight. We owe it to our children to change these lifestyle choices.
How poor lifestyle choices increase the risk?
-Tobacco use-
Tobacco smoke is full of substances that damage your lungs, blood vessels and heart. They take the place of the oxygen in the blood that your heart and brain need to work properly. Tobacco use greatly increases your chance of having a heart attack or stroke.
-Unhealthy diet-
An unhealthy diet is one with:
• too much food (too many calories);
• too much fat, sugar or salt;
• not enough fruit and vegetables.
If you eat a lot of food and you are not active enough to burn it off, you will put on weight. You could slowly become overweight or even obese.
Being overweight can lead to diabetes, high blood pressure, and high blood fat levels. All of these physical problems increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Obese people are at especially high risk if they have a lot of fat around the waist and stomach area.
An unhealthy diet often contains too much “fast food”, which is high in fat and sugar, and sugar-loaded soft drinks. Fast food is also very high in salt, which increases blood pressure.
-Lack of physical activity-
When people do not stay active, their risk of heart attack and stroke increases greatly. Physical activity lowers your risk of heart attacks and strokes by:
• helping your body burn sugars and fats and assisting in keeping a good weight;
• lowering your blood pressure;
• increasing oxygen levels in your body;
• reducing stress;
• strengthening your heart muscle and bones;
• improving blood circulation and muscle tone.
You do not have to be in training for the Olympics to get these benefits! Walking, gardening, or doing housework for at least 30 minutes on most days can help you prevent heart attacks and strokes.
The physical problems that can result from poor lifestyle choices
~High blood pressure (hypertension) ~
Blood pressure is the force with which the blood pushes against the walls of arteries. If blood pressure is high, the heart is working harder than it should, this will cause it to weaken. High blood pressure is one of the major risk factors for heart attacks. It is the biggest risk factor for strokes.
To avoid high blood pressure, you need to stay active, maintain a healthy body weight, and eat a healthy diet. A healthy diet includes lots of fruits and vegetables. Limit the amount of salt in your diet, and do not drink too much alcohol.
If you make all of these changes to your lifestyle, but you still cannot lower your blood pressure, there are medicines that can help.
~High blood sugar (diabetes) ~
The body produces a hormone called insulin, which helps body cells to use sugar from the blood to produce energy. When the body does not produce enough insulin, or cannot use it properly, as in diabetes, sugar builds up in the blood. The high blood sugar levels speed up the development of atherosclerosis.
Treating diabetes involves changing your diet and lifestyle. Sometimes, medicines that lower blood sugar are needed.
~High blood fats (hyperlipidaemia) ~
Blood fats include substances such as cholesterol and triglycerides. When there are too many of these fats in the blood, they cause fatty deposits to build up in arteries leading to atherosclerosis. This greatly increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
If you have high cholesterol or triglyceride levels in your blood, you need to eat less fat, stay active, and control your body weight. If these measures are not enough, you may also need medicine to lower your blood fats.
Combined risk factors
If a person has two or more of the three risk factors – high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high blood fats – the risk of heart attacks and strokes is greatly increased. The more risk factors, the higher the risk.
Other important risk factors
^Metabolic syndrome^
When a person has central obesity (too much weight around the waist), abnormal blood fat levels (e.g. high triglyceride level or low HDL cholesterol) high blood pressure and high blood sugar at the same time, this is known as metabolic syndrome. People with metabolic syndrome are at high risk of developing diabetes or having a heart attack or stroke, and require careful medical attention.
^Irregular heartbeat^
With irregular heartbeat, or atrial fibrillation, the heart does not contract as strongly as it should. This can cause blood to pool in the heart and form clots. When the blood clots dislodge, they may move to the brain, where they can become trapped in a narrow brain artery, blocking the blood fl ow and causing a stroke. Up to 20% of strokes may be caused by atrial fibrillation.
Many people are unaware that their heartbeat is irregular. If you are concerned
about this, your doctor can easily check by listening to your heartbeat.
Sometimes, an irregular heartbeat can be returned to normal with medicines or special medical procedures.
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