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Preventing Cardiovascular Disease affects

Actively preventing heart disease is preferable to treating it!

 Prevention is a less stressful, and less invasive method of staying healthy.

...however prevention may be a moot point, as heart disease is a chronic disease, meaning that while it can be treated, it cannot be cured, similar to diabetes. Once you are afflicted with heart disease, it will become a lifelong condition to manage.

...so we speak of prevention in terms of the CVD affects or symptoms, and actively reducing their affects on our health and vitality.  



What is Cardiovascular Disease (CVD)?

It is a general term for a series of conditions and symptoms within the body which cause changes within the cardiovascular system. They cause insufficiencies in blood, oxygen and nutrient transfer.

CVD may include:

  • Coronary heart disease includes atherosclerosis or arteriolosclerosis where the arteries are negatively affected while leading to blockages, to chest pain, to heart attacks (MI's). 
  • Stroke
  • Arrhythmias
  • High blood pressure
  • Peripheral Vascular disease (PVD)
  • Type II Diabetes
Those over age 70 may tend to pass off symptoms of heart disease as just a part of old age or simply nothing to be concerned about. But having symptoms, including shortness of breath, ongoing fatigue, irregular heart beats that are too fast or slow, chest pain or dizziness, should always be checked out. They may be signs of heart disease that can be controlled with some intervention. 
How to maintain cardiovascular health while aging:
Lifestyle changes or interventions are the best way to either prevent or control existing heart disease and lower the risk for complications of the pre-existing heart disease. Some things cannot be changed, like family history, but most people have control over their own diets, physical activity and lifestyle!
Seniors can change their risk of heart disease:
-       Get regular exercise! It doesn’t have to be complicated, start with walking at a brisk pace for at least 30 minutes a day as many days as possible every week.  even shorter amounts of exercise than these recommendations can offer heart benefits. break up your workout time into three 10-minute sessions.

-    Strength training is very important to maintaining and vein increasing body muscle. Not for vanity but for vitality. the body requires the muscle metabolism to maintain the arteries and veins and pump blood and nutrition throughout the body. Prevention of sarcopenia is very important to the cardiovascular system.

-        A heart-healthy diet, this includes lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat or fat-free dairy products, lean meats, and fish. Avoid too much red meat, and palm oils, margarine or anything “hydrogenated” to avoid trans and saturated fats. It is also best to avoid processed foods, including pre-packaged crackers, cookies, cereals, cheese, store-bought breads and lunch meats or bacon. An anti-inflammatory diet is the best way to keep the arteries healthy.

-        Sleep! People who don't get enough sleep have a higher risk of obesity, high blood pressure, heart attack, diabetes and depression. Set a sleep schedule and stick to it by going to bed and waking up at the same times each day. 

-          Controlling body weight, stress levels, tobacco use and blood pressure or blood sugar are also necessary to reduce the risk of heart disease, and can be improved by the controlling the above three points (diet, exercise and sleep).

written by the team at the BODiWORKS Institute





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