Tagbilaran City - Heart, which many people believe is responsible of falling in love with other people, it is also responsible for making us alive 24/7. This is an organ where it works involuntarily even when you’re sleeping it’s still doing the job. It is located at the center of circulatory system, which is a network of blood vessel that delivers blood to every part of your body. Your heart is a muscle, and its job is to pump blood, blood carries oxygen and other important nutrients that all body organs need to stay healthy and to work properly.
However, due to unhealthy foods, sedentary lifestyle, and some risk factors, heart disease is still the No.1 cause of death worldwide and also a major cause of disability. There are risk factors that you cannot change such as age especially when you reach 45 and older, and family history if you have a close family member who had heart disease at an early age.
Preventing heart disease (and all cardiovascular diseases) means making smart choices now that will pay off the rest of your life. It’s mostly preventable by changing your lifestyle and managing risk factors. Fortunately, there are many things you can do to reduce your chances of getting heart diseases, lets dive into them with details.
Controlling your blood pressure is very important to be checked regularly, and more often if you have high blood pressure because it is a major risk factor for heart disease.
Keeping your cholesterol and triglyceride levels under normal range is also needed because high cholesterol can clog your arteries, which raises your risk of having coronary artery disease and heart attack.
Lifestyle changes is the key to heart health such as maintaining a healthy weight, eating heart-healthy foods, regular exercise which strengthen your heart and improving blood circulation, avoid smoking or quit smoking, limit alcohol consumption, and manage stress because it will trigger heart related diseases.
You’re never too young – or too old – to take care of your heart esp this Feb-ibig month! // PNFP Arnold R. Bongcac, Jr., RN
