Heart Disease

What Is a Heart Disease?

A cardiovascular disease (CVD) is any disease which affects the heart or the blood vessels. Some of these diseases are vascular diseases since they involve the blood vessels. The phrase heart disease should normally refer to those diseases which directly affect the heart; however, it’s usually used interchangeably with CVD – even though, strictly speaking, it’s not correct. Namely, the former is a subclass of the latter.

Either way, your heart is a vital organ, and its health should be your number one priority. In fact, coronary heart disease is the “UK’s single biggest killer.

But, now you can stop it!

All you need to know are the risk factors and how you can prevent them!

Risk Factors

There are numerous risk factors for heart disease. Some of these are immutable; however you can control others.

• Age: the older you get, the higher the chance you will suffer from some heart disease;
• Genetics: some people are genetically predisposed to suffer from a heart disease;
• Sex: on average, men are more likely to suffer from a heart disease than women, especially pre-menopausal women;
• Tobacco: the WHO attributes 1 in 10 CVD to smoking;
• Diet: high intake of salt and fat and low intake of fruits and vegetables are a CVD risk;
• Physical Inactivity: not enough physical activity is one of the four leading risk factors for mortality globally;
• Diabetes: diabetes is often linked to CVD.

Prevention

Doctors say that you can prevent about 9 in 10 CVD diseases if you avoid certain risk factors. So:

• Stop smoking: it reduces risk by 35%;
• Be careful with your diet: manage your weight and regulary check your cholesterol levels;
• Exercise: 30 minutes a day works wonders;
• Check your blood pressure and ask your doctors how you can lower it;
• Limit your weekly alcohol intake;
• Don’t stress out over unimportant things; and very few are actually important.

Useful Links

For more information, please have a look at these two links:

• The British Heart Foundation: a UK charity organisation with a mission “to win the fight against cardiovascular disease” and a vision of “a world in which people do not die prematurely or suffer from cardiovascular disease.” Founded in 1961, it is currently the biggest funder of heart disease research in the UK, investing around £100 million on a yearly basis.
• Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke: NICHS is Northern Ireland’s local charity for the care and prevention of chest, heart and stroke illnesses. It offers both practical and emotional support to affected people and their families, funds relevant research and does health promotion work.