Today's trend is the World Heart Day, and many people will wonder, what's this day about?
It's a day organized by the World Heart Federation on September 29 every year to stress the importance of having a good awareness and staying updated about cardiovascular health and diseases. This day emphasizes on the preventive steps and methods that we have to implement in our day to day activities to prevent heart attacks.
World Heart Federation
It's a non governmental organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland. This organization is dedicated to the worldwide fight against diseases of the heart and stroke, with more emphasis to the low and middle income countries. It has a united community of over 200 members organizations that foward the strength of medical societies and heart foundations from over 100 countries encompassing the regions of Asia, Europe, Americas, East Mediterranean and Africa.
Each year 17.3 million people die of cardiovascular diseases, 80% in the developing world.
What are Cardiovascular Diseases?
These are diseases or conditions that affect the heart and the blood vessels. A few mentions of the diseases include
- Coronary Artery diseases(the usual and common heart attack?
- Stroke
- Heart failure
- Hypertension
- Rheumatic heart disease
And the list goes on and on....
What causes Heart Disease?
It occurs when plaque which is a fatty or waxy substance that made of cholesterol, fats and minerals develop and accumulate in the arteries and blood vessels connected to the heart. This plaque now blocks the important nutrient and oxygen from reaching the heart and this now triggers a heart disease.
There are several risk factors that determine whether one is prone to develop heart disease and they include
- age
- Heredity
- Obesity
- Diabetes
- High cholesterol and blood pressure
- Sedentary lifestyle
- Smoking
- Unhealthy diet
- Depression
How to prevent Cardiovascular heart disease?
They include
- Eat wisely and have a healthy eating plan( Eat lots of fruits especially)
- Be physically active by doing exercises even if it's a little
- Don't smoke and or if you do smoke, reduce it.
- Know your family history.
- Regulate your stress.
- Watch your weight
- Have your sugar level checked.
- Learn the warnings of a heart attack or stroke.
Heart Attack Warnings
- Discomfort around the chest areas
- Discomfort in the upper part of the body
- Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort
- Other signs such as nausea, lightheadedness and breaking cold sweat.
Stroke Warning
- Numb and Drooping face
- Arm weakness on one or two sides of the body
- Speech difficulty (slurred speech or inability to speak.
- Trouble walking, dizziness and loss of balance
- Confusion
If a person shows any of these symptoms, do not hesitate to call 911, even if the symptoms go away, get them to the hospital as soon as possible..
[Credit] by Zoylo on YouTube
So fellow readers, What do you think of Heart Diseases?
When was the last time you exercised?
When was the last time you had a full body checkup?
Let's hear your answers in the comment and we discuss.....
