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Heart diseases are a common health problem that can become life-threatening if not taken care of at the right time. You need to get screening tests done from time to time to know about your heart health because often, heart diseases do not show any symptoms. And when they do show symptoms, the disease has already progressed. Old-aged people are at greater risk of heart diseases as compared to adults. However, they can occur in young people too.
In this article, we will tell you the risk factors for heart disease and ways to prevent them. If anyone in your family has heart disease, you can take them to an Internal Medicine specialist in Lahore.
What are The Risk Factors for Heart Disease?
The risk factor for heart disease are:
- Being overweight or obese
- Smoking cigarettes
- Uncontrolled hypertension
- Uncontrolled high blood sugar
- Consuming a diet rich in bad fats
- High blood cholesterol
- Sedentary lifestyle
- Consuming too much alcohol
- High C reactive protein
- Living a sedentary lifestyle
Other risk factors for heart disease that you can not control are:
- Male gender
- Being postmenopausal
- Having a family history of heart diseases
- Congenital heart abnormality
- Old age
How Can You Lower the Risk of Heart Disease?
To lower the risk of heart disease, you can practice the following tips.
Quit smoking
Smoking cigarettes can be highly injurious to your health. It hardens your arteries, due to which plaque deposit can occur with ease, leading to their blockage. Therefore you need to quit smoking or at least lower its consumption. The more cigarettes you smoke in a day, the more risk for heart disease increases.
Physical activity
No more sedentary lifestyle. It means, to keep your heart healthy, you must do a daily physical activity for at least 20 to 30 minutes a day for five days per week.
Improve Cholesterol Levels
To improve your cholesterol levels, you need to lower down your fat intake. Moreover, you need to ensure a physically active lifestyle. The right levels of cholesterol vary according to your sex, age, and overall health. It also depends upon any comorbid heart disease you have.
Blood pressure
If you are hypertensive, you need to keep a check on your blood pressure. To keep your blood pressure levels under control, you need to visit a healthcare provider and take the medications as prescribed by them. You should not take high blood pressure readings lightly as it can lead to life-threatening complications. Keeping your blood pressure well under control can help lower the risk of heart diseases.
Blood Sugar Levels
If you have diabetes, you need to monitor your blood sugar levels. You need to keep them well under control. If they remain high, it can lead to life-threatening complications. Uncontrolled high blood sugar levels can put you at risk of developing heart disease. Therefore you need to keep it controlled. You must visit your healthcare provider for follow-up visits and take medications and insulin on time.
Quit Alcohol
Drinking too much alcohol can put you at risk of developing heart diseases. Therefore you must cut down its intake. Try to quit it. If you find it difficult to do that, you can seek professional help. However, do not stop consuming alcohol abruptly. It is better to taper off it.
Eat Healthily
Whatever you eat has a huge impact on your health. To maintain your heart health, you need to limit excessive salt and fat intake. Instead, incorporate fruits, vegetables, and fiber-rich foods.
Maintain a Healthy Weight
To keep your heart healthy, you need to maintain a healthy weight. If you are overweight or obese, shed those pounds healthily. Being overweight and obese can also put you at risk of other various health conditions. If you have a complaint of heart disease, you must visit Internal Medicine Specialist in Karachi.