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January 10, 2006
Nine Factors that Affect Your Heart's Health
Abdominal obesity
Abdominal obesity more than doubles heart attack risk in both men and women. It's not a big butt that will get you in trouble, it's a big belly. Abdominal fat is hormonally active, begetting diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
Alcohol
Another platelet blocker. Modest amounts of alcohol reduce a man's heart attack risk by 12% and a woman's by 60%. All forms of alcohol help in small amounts. Too much beer or hard liquor, more than a drink a day, can promote heart disease, cancer and alcoholism.
Bad cholesterol/good cholesterol
High cholesterol roughly quadruples heart attack risk. It works this way: Bad cholesterol (LDL) carries fats into the artery wall; good cholesterol (HDL) carts it away. A sedentary lifestyle and fatty diet increase LDL and lower HDL. Exercise and a healthy diet switch that ratio and keep arteries clear.
Diabetes
Diabetes is especially deadly for women, quadrupling their risk of having a heart attack. Men aren't much better off; diabetes doubles their risk. Like smoking, diabetes causes platelets to stick together, resulting in scores of tiny clots. These clots clog the microscopic blood vessels that feed nerves and arteries, which is a key reason diabetes destroys circulation. Diabetes also raises the level of harmful fats in the blood.
Eating fruits and vegetables
Eating fruits and vegetables daily cuts heart risk by 30% to 40%. They lower bad cholesterol, improve blood sugar and replace foods that might not be as healthy.
Exercise
Moderate exercise reduces a man's heart risk by 23% and a woman's by twice that amount. We're not talking about marathons. Even just a nice walk in the park. Exercise improves cholesterol, staves off diabetes by improving blood sugar and promotes blood vessel growth.
High blood pressure
High blood pressure nearly triples a man's risk of having a heart attack and more than doubles a woman's. Narrowed blood vessels force the heart to work harder, slowly wearing it out. The blood's friction against artery walls also can promote the rupture of plaques, which can lead to heart attacks.
Psychosocial stress
Stressful life events, behavioral disorders and depression nearly triple heart attack risk. Depressed people with heart disease are four times more likely to have a heart attack or die, and depression is prevalent among 20% of people with heart disease in the USA.
Smoking
Smokers are two to three times more likely to have a heart attack than people who don't smoke. Cigarette smoke damages the artery wall, paving the way for inflammation and cholesterol build-up. It narrows arteries. It also activates platelets, sticky cells that cling together and promote clotting. When cholesterol deposits burst inside arteries, clots form. If a clot tears loose, you're going to have a heart attack.
Posted by Lisa at January 10, 2006 08:23 AM
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