WHAT SHOULD WE DO TO PROTECT OUR CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH?

Obesity: According to the latest data, there are 400 million obese and 1.4 billion overweight people in the world, while in Turkey obesity is 30.3% in adults, 8.5% in ages 0 - 5, and 8.5% in ages 6 - 18. It reached 8.2%. Considering that waist circumference increases with obesity, blood glucose levels increase, susceptibility to hypertension increases, blood LDL cholesterol increases and HDL cholesterol decreases, obesity definitely deserves the first place in deteriorating cardiovascular health. Increasing weight and the increase in the burden on the heart negatively affect heart health.

Improper nutrition: Unfortunately, in the developing food industry, fast food is the most developing and self-expanding food. It became the food and ready-made food sector. Did you know that the word meaning of fast food has now been changed to bad nutrition in Europe? It has been proven that trans fats used in fast foods and ready-made foods have a vascular-clogging effect and therefore impair heart health. Not only trans fats, but also bad raw materials and preservative chemicals used in these foods threaten cardiovascular health. Since the high calories contained in fast food cannot be burned by the body, it causes fat accumulation and indirectly causes obesity and heart diseases. A high carbohydrate, high fat or high protein diet is also a factor that disrupts cardiovascular health. Excessive consumption of ready-made foods and salt also increases the risk of heart attack by causing arteriosclerosis.

Sedentary life: In my list from the perspective of a dietitian, inactivity is again cardiovascular disease. It is one of the most important factors threatening health. Especially the new generation, technological developments Because he was born, he is under a greater threat in this regard. Considering that the age of heart attack has decreased to 13-14 years of age, the situation does not seem to be ignored at all. We encounter cases of embolism in people who do not move because they play computer games for a long time. In addition, considering that we have very little movement during the day, inactivity reduces HDL cholesterol, which protects the cardiovascular system, and negatively affects our heart health. An expert used the phrase that people's movement is now U-shaped. They go down from home by elevator, drive to work, take the elevator to their office and perform the same routine again in the evening. When you think about it, you can understand how true it is. While we accept that a step count of less than 5000 is a sedentary lifestyle, the number of people whose daily step count is between 1000 and 2000 is considerable.

Hypertension: High blood pressure is one of the health problems that has increased recently. It can be thought that one of the main reasons is excessive sodium intake due to the increase in the use of ready-made foods. Hypertension causes arteriosclerosis and vascular occlusion. Vessels clogged with plaque prevent sufficient blood flow to the heart muscle, causing muscle damage and ultimately causing heart attack and heart failure. Every 20mmHg increase in systolic (systolic) blood pressure and 10mmHg increase in diastolic (lower blood pressure) blood pressure doubles the death rates due to coronary heart disease and stroke.

Smoking: The risk of heart attack in smokers is 2 - 5 times higher than in non-smokers. Among the heart disease risk factors, smoking is among the factors that are easy to change or control. It was first put forward in the 1950s that smokers had a higher risk of developing lung cancer as well as a higher risk of developing coronary heart disease. In smokers, the vascular structure deteriorates and arteriosclerosis develops over time. Veins that deteriorate over time will disrupt the nutrition of the heart, increasing the risk of having a heart attack. In smokers, HDL level decreases and LDL increases. Amount of carbon monoxide ingested by cigarettes The increase in bees also causes deterioration of the inner surfaces of the veins. A study conducted simultaneously in different countries of the world revealed that smokers have a higher risk of having a heart attack and that the risk of heart attack increases if the number of cigarettes smoked increases. According to the results of this study, when the risk of those who have never smoked is accepted as 1;

Stress: The acceleration in heartbeat and increase in blood pressure observed in a person experiencing stress plays both a leading and progressive role in the development of "atherosclerosis", a disease known as a type of arteriosclerosis. On the other hand, increased smoking and alcohol consumption due to stress cause the current situation to worsen; In some people, increased calorie consumption due to stress brings with it the risk of developing metabolic syndrome and diabetes. The effects of stress on women, which also causes existing heart failure and rhythm disorders to worsen and to a decrease in response to treatment, are more serious than men.

Age: In men The risk begins to increase over the age of 45 and over 55 for women. 80% of those aged 65 and over die from coronary heart disease.

Gender: The risk of coronary heart disease is higher in men. Heart attacks occur at an earlier age in men than in women. The death rate from heart disease increases in women after menopause. It is thought that the reason for the difference in this regard is due to the vascular protective effect of the estrogen hormone in women, while the risk of heart diseases increases in men as a result of an anomaly in the Y chromosome.

Diabetes: Diabetes is now considered equal to coronary heart disease and this It thus falls into the highest risk category. Diet and exercise play an important role in diabetes control, in addition to drug treatment.

Family history: Heart disease in first-degree relatives (mother, father, sibling). Those with this disease have a higher risk of contracting the disease.