Risky Business
It can be hard to avoid risk factors for heart disease, but it pays to give it a try. Although we cannot change our age, sex or heredity, we can pay closer attention to other risk factors and lower the risk for CVD. For example, one of the reasons men are more at risk than women may be because, on average and historically, they have smoked more and have dealt more with job-related stress. However, the trend is now changing. Statistics are now showing incidences of CVD in women are rising and more women than men are now dying from CVD. In 1995, about 455,000 males and 505,000 females died from CVD. This may be due in large part because women are now smoking more and are being subjected to more stress after entering the job market.
So what lesson can we learn from this? Well, with gender, at least, other risk factors may be involved and lowering them can lower your overall risk.
Smoking, high cholesterol levels, and hypertension are primary and changeable risk factors in the incidences of CVD. Let us begin our study by looking at the risk factors of smoking.
If anyone has not heard of the link between smoking and heart disease, they are probably dead - if not physically, then perhaps mentally! Smokers' risk of heart attack is more than twice that of non-smokers' and smokers' risk of sudden cardiac death is two to four times that of non-smokers'.
So what should you do? Stop smoking! I know these words are difficult to hear for those who smoke, as well as an extremely hard thing to do, but this will limit the risk of cancer, emphysema, heart attack, and stroke.
Lipid levels (cholesterol and triglycerides) are one of the bad boys of CVD risk. As LDL cholesterol (the "bad" cholesterol) levels increase, CVD risk increases. When other risk factors are present, risk increases even more. A person's lipid levels are also affected by age, sex, heredity, and diet.
Lowering your weight can raise your "good" cholesterol levels and lower your "bad" cholesterol levels. It also helps to prevent diabetes and strengthens your heart. Exercise has the same benefits as losing weight and it will also help you to lose weight!
Changing your diet is one of the biggest things you can do. Avoiding foods high in cholesterol, saturated fat, trans-fatty acids, and all fat, will go a long way in reducing cholesterol levels, reduce risk of cancers, and help you to lose weight. Try eating more fruits, vegetables, and fiber. These foods help maintain healthy cholesterol levels, and substances found in fruits and vegetables, known as phytochemicals, work to prevent cancers. Increasing the fiber in your diet will lower cholesterol, and is linked to lower incidences of some cancers and heart disease. It can also help you to lose weight. Decreasing your sodium intake and increasing your potassium intake can help you to maintain a healthy blood pressure too.
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