Preventing Heart Disease: Tips and Strategies for a Healthy Heart

            Did you know that heart diseases are the leading cause of death for men and women from all racial and ethnic groups across the United States? Digging in a little bit, every 36 seconds a person dies due to some cardiovascular disease. Every year, a staggering 659,000 people die from heart diseases. According to a report from the American Heart Association, $363 billion was spent from 2016 to 2017 for heart disease-related expenses. 

           Did you know you can reduce the chances and even prevent yourself from having heart disease? We will guide you through some common heart problems and how you can put a little bit of effort and prevent a serious attack on your heart. Stay tuned…

           Some of the most common heart diseases that you should know of are:

• Coronary artery disease
• Heart arrhythmia – refers to an abnormal heart beating
• Dilated Cardiomyopathy – refers to an abnormally enlarged heart secondary to other diseases like hypertension.
• Heart failure – refers to a beatless heart.

Of these diseases, coronary artery disease is the most lethal one taking the lives of over 360,000 people each year. Surprisingly, death from heart disease can occur at any age and sometimes without any symptoms. Some of the common symptoms of heart diseases are:

• Angina or chest pain
• Shortness of breath
• Tachycardia or fast heartbeat 
• Dizziness or lightheadedness 

In this article, we will focus on the most common etiology of death from heart disease – coronary artery disease (CAD) and its prevention. 

           Coronary artery disease refers to a condition in which a major blood vessel to your heart becomes damaged or diseased. There could be several reasons for the coronary artery damage but cholesterol-related damage and inflammation is the most common cause. Excess cholesterol tends to deposit on the walls of arteries, especially if you are sedentary most of the time. These deposits of cholesterol are called plaques and this damage to the artery is called atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis eventually increases over time increasing your chance of getting coronary artery disease. 

           If this atherosclerotic plaque blocks a major artery you can get a heart attack, and this becomes a leading reason for deaths each year. As you may know, cholesterol levels are proportionate to your diet and physical activity. Eating fatty, processed food and lack of activity can increase the bad cholesterol in your blood eventually leading to coronary artery disease. 

On the flip side, living a healthy active life while enjoying whole foods can lower your chances of getting any heart disease. 

 Prevention of Heart Disease

           There are several ways you can keep your heart in a healthy state. Most of these tips generally come under the ‘healthy-life style’ tag; however, some of these tips are recently shown to provide significant preventive management of heart disease, especially the coronary artery disease and atherosclerosis. 

• Exercise or physical activity is essential for maintaining good health and especially a healthy heart. Exercising helps condition your heart and makes it more resistant to stressful conditions like low oxygen. Exercise also helps reduce the levels of bad cholesterol in your blood, reducing atherosclerosis and coronary artery damage. Interestingly, physical activity is shown to keep a normal hormonal balance, which can promote the health of your heart. 
  Adding 30 minutes of aerobic exercise has been shown to improve circulation through the coronary arteries. For full benefits, you should aim around 30 mins for five days a week.
• As for all of your body parts, your heart needs fuel. If you feed it with good fuel, you’ll increase its life and it will work efficiently. On the other hand, binge eating, eating a high-fat excess diet, and no intake of whole foods can increase your risk of having some cardiovascular disease. Try to eat more vegetables and fruits while limiting the intake of processed food; it will help you tremendously.

Some foods are especially rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory ingredients and are related to lowering down the occurrence of heart disease. We will discuss some of these beneficial add-ons now.

• Curcumin is the active ingredient of turmeric (Haldi). Turmeric has been used for centuries in areas like South Asia for its medicinal purposes and did you know that it is used frequently in South Asian cuisine? Recently, curcumin has been studied for its health benefits especially the disease-lowering effects on the heart. Studies have shown that curcumin has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects on multiple parts of our body including the heart.
  Clinical trials have shown the curcumin reduces the inflammatory process in the arteries, thus lowering the atherosclerotic plaques and coronary artery disease. Studies have also shown that curcumin lowers the bad cholesterol roaming in your blood, reducing heart damage.
  You can add turmeric to your diet or you can now find curcumin supplements to get all the benefits it gives.
• Vitamin D3. You must have heard of the multiple benefits of vitamin D3 (calcitriol), but did you know that vitamin D can be very useful in preventing heart diseases? Research has shown that people who do not have enough vitamin D3 intake are often associated with some heart disease. A study from the American College of Cardiology in 2016, stated that patients who had chronic heart failure benefit from the use of vitamin D3. 
  Other research has shown that vitamin D3 has anti-inflammatory properties that can reduce the risk of atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease as well.
  You can increase the vitamin D3 levels in your body by taking ample sunlight or taking vitamin D3 (calcitriol) supplements. Supplementing vitamin D3 has shown to be beneficial for most people as taking ample sunlight is not that easy, especially in the cold months of the year. 

     Heart diseases can be debilitating for people and their loved ones. Prompt intervention in the early disease process can significantly lower the risks of disease progression and fatality. Incorporating a healthy lifestyle will not only prevent heart diseases, it will also make your heart stronger and sustainable.

      If you have any symptoms like angina, shortness of breath, dizziness, and/or confusion you should contact your doctor immediately and get the adequate treatment you need.

References

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Underlying Cause of Death, 1999–2018. CDC WONDER Online Database. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2018. Accessed March 12, 2020.
    
2. Virani SS, Alonso A, Aparicio HJ, Benjamin EJ, Bittencourt MS, Callaway CW, et al. Heart disease and stroke statistics—2021 update: a report from the American Heart Associationexternal icon. Circulation. 2021;143:e254–e743.
    
3. Fryar CD, Chen T-C, Li X. Prevalence of uncontrolled risk factors for cardiovascular disease: United States, 1999–2010 pdf icon[PDF-494K]. NCHS data brief, no. 103. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics; 2012. Accessed May 9, 2019.
    
4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. About Multiple Cause of Death, 1999–2019. CDC WONDER Online Database website. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2019. Accessed February 1, 2021.
    
5. Li C, Miao X, Li F, et al. Curcuminoids: Implication for inflammation and oxidative stress in cardiovascular diseases. Phytother Res. 2019;33(5):1302-1317. doi:10.1002/ptr.6324
    
6. Wongcharoen W, Phrommintikul A. The protective role of curcumin in cardiovascular diseases. Int J Cardiol. 2009 Apr 3;133(2):145-51. doi: 10.1016/j.ijcard.2009.01.073. Epub 2009 Feb 23. PMID: 19233493.
    
7. Mogharrabi M, Rahimi HR, Hasanzadeh S, et al. The effects of nanomicelle of curcumin on the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP-2, 9) activity and expression in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD): A randomized controlled clinical trial. ARYA Atheroscler. 2020;16(3):136-145. doi:10.22122/arya.v16i3.1938
    
8. Kerry J. Stewart, Ed.D. John Hopkins (2021). 3 Kinds of Exercise That Boost Heart Health. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/3-kinds-of-exercise-that-boost-heart-health

9. Klaus K. Witte, Rowena Byrom, John Gierula, Maria F. Paton, Haqeel A. Jamil, Judith E. Lowry, Richard G. Gillott, Sally A. Barnes, Hemant Chumun, Lorraine C. Kearney, John P. Greenwood, Sven Plein, Graham R. Law, Sue Pavitt, Julian H. Barth, Richard M. Cubbon, Mark T. Kearney. Effects of Vitamin D on Cardiac Function in Patients With Chronic HF: The VINDICATE Study, Journal of the American College of Cardiology,Volume 67, Issue 22,2016.Pages 2593-2603,ISSN 0735 1097, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2016.03.508. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0735109716016946)

Also in Wisdom News