TEN HEALTHY TIPS TO REDUCE THE RISK OF HEART DISEASES

1. Be Responsible for Your Health
   In America and many part of the developed world, Cardiovascular diseases is one of the major cause of death. According to the United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 710,000 people in the United States die of heart disease each year. The first concrete step to reduce the risk or prevent heart disease is to take responsibility for your health.

2. Understanding the Risks
   The most important healthy tips against heart diseases is understanding the risk factor. The real fact about cardiovascular disease is the older you become the greater your risk of contracting them (esp. the coronary heart disease). Another important risk factor is your genetic makeup.

3. Avoid Smoking
   One-third of smoking-related deaths are caused by coronary heart disease or chronic airway obstruction. For example, the nicotine in tobacco combines with carbon monoxide in tobacco smoke to damage the lining of blood vessels and make blood platelets stickier. Platelets form part of the damaging plaque build-up in artery walls (see Arteriosclerosis). These effects in combination contribute to the development of heart disease. In addition to heart diseases, smoking also increases the risks of lung diseases, and stroke.

4. Uphold a Healthy Blood Pressure
   Maintaining a healthy blood pressure is key to reducing the risks of heart diseases. Heart blood pressure also known as hypertension is a deadly killer that dwells in our heart without any symptoms. It also causes inner lining of the blood vessels. So the higher your blood pressure, the greater your risks. As mention earlier, hereditary and old age are important risk factors that raises the risk of high blood pressure. It is always a good practise to measure your blood pressure at home because it indicates accurately your risk than having the blood pressure taken at a physician’s office.

5. Observe your Cholesterol (Blood Lipids/Body Fats)
   High blood lipids is a major cause of cardiovascular diseases. The lower the bad cholesterol in your blood lipids the better the prognosis (your diagnosis’s result). One of the best ways to maintain a healthy cholesterol level in the blood lipids is to maintain a low-saturated-fat, low-cholesterol diet; stay physically active; recheck cholesterol within 5 years. Also, your cholesterol rises with age. Good medication is always very necessary to lower the bad cholesterol and to raise the good cholesterol. Drug Therapy is also strongly recommended.

6. Control your Calories
   One of the most alarming health issues in America today is obesity. The major cause of obesity is when you consume more calories than your body burns. The accumulation of too much fat in the body is associated with a variety of health problems. Studies show that individuals who are overweight or obese run a greater risk of developing diabetes mellitus, hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke, arthritis, and some forms of cancer. Public health officials are concerned that obesity is reaching epidemic proportions. Healthy diet can reduce the risk of abdominal obesity. The Body Mass Index (BMI) is a great way to examine your body weight if it is still in the healthy range. The BMI formula is:
   BMI = Weight (kg) / Height (m) x Height (m)
   Having a BMI between 18 to 22.9 is believed to be healthy.

7. Regular Exercise
   One of the most effective ways to combat obesity is regular exercise. According to health researchers, exercising two miles a day is an ideal habit to boost someone’s health. Clinical and epidemiological studies have demonstrated that regular aerobic exercise reduces the risk of death due to heart disease and stroke, aids in reducing weight, helps prevent diabetes mellitus, strengthens bones, and enhances immune function. The psychological benefits are also broad, and most studies suggest a positive relationship between physical fitness and mental achievement.

8. Take Proper Medication
   One of the most interesting hype in the world of medicine today is alternative medicine and the popularity of alternative medicine is very comprehensible, it gives the patients options to be empowered to take responsibility of their own health. However, taking alternative medicine just for the fact that is ‘natural’ is not enough justification for its efficacy and it is important to note that research data are rather insufficient for alternative medications, vitamins and supplement. In addition, they are not also regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

9. Ease Stress and Anxiety
   Stress is an unpleasant state of emotional and physiological arousal that people experience in situations that they perceive as dangerous or threatening to their well-being. A person who is stressed typically has anxious thoughts and difficulty concentrating or remembering. Stress can also change outward behaviours. Stress notoriously contributes to cardiovascular diseases and, can cause sudden death or heart attack in extreme cases. Physicians believes firmly that stress is a contributing factor in a wide variety of health problems. These problems include cardiovascular disorders such as hypertension (high blood pressure); coronary heart disease (coronary atherosclerosis, or narrowing of the heart’s arteries); and gastrointestinal disorders, such as ulcers. There are numerous ways that aid coping with or reduce stress, such as regular exercise, adequate sleep, meditation, laughing, volunteering or attending religious services.

10. Be Well-Informed
    We are in a world where change is constant and rapid and the world of medicine is not an exception as new techniques and new insights brought by recent scientific and technological breakthrough develop constantly. However a huge number of research studies that make it into scientific publications are not well-conceived or designed one of the major reason is due to a lack of a sufficient number of participants. In addition, many of these information broadcasted by the media are sponsored by organisations or individuals with vested interests in achieving favourable results.

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