Heart disease and cardiovascular disease – how to prevent it? Moving is healthy!

Another serious disease is atherosclerosis, which results in the narrowing of the lumen of the arteries due to the formation of atherosclerotic plaque made mainly of cholesterol. Reduced blood flow due to the appearance of atherosclerotic plaques growing out of the lumen of the arteries can lead to hypoxia in various internal organs and, consequently, to necrosis. Blockage of blood flow in the vessels carrying blood to the legs, brain and heart muscle is a particular risk. The result of these changes in more serious cases may be a stroke or myocardial infarction.

Heart disease and cardiovascular disease – prevention methods:

Prevention brings much more benefits in many areas of social life than the treatment of many diseases. Prevention of cardiovascular diseases should be implemented from an early age, as research clearly indicates a reduced risk of civilization diseases in later years. Risk factors that can lead to serious health problems throughout our lives include:

• inadequate diet,
• little physical activity,
• smoking tobacco,
• alcohol abuse,
• abnormal body weight,
• stress,
• inappropriate blood pressure due to many reasons and many others.

The implementation of healthy habits in the everyday lifestyle gives us a chance to avoid more serious consequences in the form of a disease that develops “silently”.

In order to wipe out the dangers of inadequate lifestyle, you should follow, among others, the following tips:

• Regular and healthy eating – the diet should be varied and balanced in such a way as to provide the body with all the necessary ingredients that will allow you to stay healthy and fit for many years. Therefore, it should be rich in fruits and vegetables as well as in whole grains, and low in products containing saturated fatty acids (mainly of animal origin). The menu should contain as little confectionery as possible (rich in simple sugars), such as biscuits, donuts, some hard margarines, butter, fatty meat and cold cuts, fast food (burgers, fries). Following these recommendations will help you maintain a relatively constant blood glucose level, reduce insulin resistance and the risk of developing excess weight. In addition, we will avoid the so-called qualitative malnutrition (which results, for example, from a deficiency of vitamins and microelements). It is worth noting here that from the scientific point of view, the healthiest diet is currently the Mediterranean diet – which is confirmed by numerous scientific studies.
• Limiting alcohol consumption – the consumption of alcohol is not recommended by doctors, because in general the negative effects of its consumption far outweigh the benefits.
• Quitting smoking – smoking causes changes in almost the entire body, leading to premature death. Passive smoking, i.e. being in an environment where other people smoke, increases the risk of coronary heart disease and death from it by about 20%.
• Systematic physical activity – is the basis of effective prevention of cardiovascular diseases, mental diseases, diabetes and many others. It allows you to maintain the elasticity of blood vessels at the appropriate level and thus reducing blood flow resistance. In people with impaired lipid metabolism, very beneficial changes occur due to exercise, causing an increase in HDL cholesterol, having antiatherosclerotic properties. The heart, like every muscle, needs systematic daily training, which should last at least 30 minutes. What form of exercise it will be will depend on the ability and condition of the person. Moderate intensity exercise is recommended. In the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, endurance effort is recommended, such as jogging, walking, cycling, roller-skating or swimming.