Cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension, atherosclerosis, stroke or stroke can be avoided by adopting a healthy lifestyle, either through regular physical exercise, eating or quitting smoking, for example.
Cardiovascular diseases are a major cause of death, so although some risk factors that increase the likelihood of an individual developing cardiovascular disease, such as age, family history or gender, can not be changed, the individual can prevent future cardiovascular problems.
In this way, 7 tips to decrease the risk of cardiovascular diseases include:
1. Do not smoke and do not go places with cigarette smoke
Smoking is one of the most important risk factors for the development of cardiovascular diseases because some tobacco chemicals can damage the heart and blood vessels, leading to a narrowing of the arteries, called atherosclerosis, which can lead to a heart attack.
In addition, carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke replaces some of the oxygen in the blood, increasing blood pressure and heart rate, forcing the heart to work harder to provide enough oxygen.
2. Exercise regularly
Exercising for about 30 to 60 minutes, 2-3 times a week, such as swimming or walking, for example, helps control weight and improves blood circulation, and may reduce the risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes.
Activities such as gardening, cleaning, climbing and descending stairs or walking the dog or baby also help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, especially in individuals who have some limitation to do some physical exercise.
3. Have a healthy diet
To prevent the onset of cardiovascular disease, it is important to avoid or reduce the consumption of foods with saturated fat or trans fat, which are the two types of fat that are harmful to health and that increase the risk of heart attack, stroke or atherosclerosis, for example.
Therefore, it is important to avoid or reduce the consumption of:
- Red meats, fatty cheeses;
- Sauces, sausage;
- Fritters, sweets;
- Soft drinks, seasonings, margarine.
On the other hand, one should increase the consumption of:
- Fruit, vegetables;
- Soybeans, flaxseed, avocado;
- Fish, such as salmon or mackerel;
- Nuts, olives, olive oil.
Learn more at: What Not to Eat to Ensure Cardiovascular Health.
4. Drinking alcohol moderately
Consumption of alcohol, other than the recommended and especially long-term use, may harm the heart and may cause hypertension, heart failure, stroke, or heart attack.
In this way, it is acceptable for men to drink up to 2 glasses of 100 ml of alcohol a day, one at lunch and one at dinner, especially red wine, and women 1 glass of 100 ml per day. White drinks are not recommended and red wine should be preferred because it contains resveratrol, which is even good for health. Remembering that each individual should be analyzed individually so that the consumption of alcoholic beverages is released.
5. Maintain ideal weight
Being overweight is associated with high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes, increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease such as stroke or heart attack. Therefore, even a small weight loss can help lower blood pressure, lower blood cholesterol levels or reduce the risk of diabetes.
To verify if you are at the ideal weight, you should calculate the body mass index (BMI), which should be 18.5 and 24.9 kg / m2. To calculate your BMI, see: Ideal BMI values.
In addition to the BMI, it is also important to evaluate the abdominal circumference that is useful to measure the amount of abdominal fat, and the abdominal circumference of the man should be less than 94 cm and in the woman less than 80 cm.
6. Controlling blood pressure, cholesterol, and diabetes
High blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes can damage the heart and blood vessels, increasing the risk of developing heart attack, stroke or heart failure, for example.
Thus, it is important to maintain normal blood pressure, ie up to 139 x 89 mmHg, total cholesterol lower than 200 mg / dl and blood glucose, ie fasting blood sugar lower than 99 mg / dL.
Individuals already hypertensive, with high cholesterol or diabetes require more rigorous controls of Blood Pressure (around 110 X 80) and LDL cholesterol (around 100), properly doing the treatment instituted by the doctor and the nutritionist-oriented diet.
7. Sleep well and control stress
People who do not get enough sleep have a greater risk of developing obesity, high blood pressure, infarction, diabetes or depression. Therefore, adults should have about seven to eight hours of sleep per night, and they should lie down and wake up at the same time each day.
Already stress can make the heart beat faster, increasing the number of heartbeats per minute and the arteries and veins get harder, decreasing blood flow. In this way, it is important to avoid being stressed, being able to resort to massage, techniques or relaxation exercises, such as yoga.
See other ways to lower your risk of cardiovascular disease in:
- 9 medicinal plants for the heart
- What not to eat to ensure cardiovascular health
