Welcome To My World: Heart disease

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Thursday, 9 February 2012

The Importance of Maintaining a Healthy Weight

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Being overweight not only looks unsightly and makes you feel less attractive it also poses a far greater risk, a risk to your health. Therefore, there are many reasons why it is important that you maintain a healthy weight by eating well-balanced meals and getting regular exercise. Being over weight has been linked with many conditions affecting not only our physical health but also our mental health, studies have shown that those people who are overweight and don’t get regular exercise are more at risk of developing depression than those that exercise on a regular basis and eat a well balanced and varied diet. Experts have agreed that the more overweight a person is then the more likely they are to suffer severe health problems, however once the person takes steps to start losing weight and changes their lifestyle, then the percentage starts to drop. If you are overweight then even just by losing 10 or 20 pounds you can begin to reduce the increased associated risks to your health and make improvements. You should defiantly consider losing weight if you are overweight and any of the following conditions apply to you.

If there is a history in your family of certain chronic diseases – people who have relatives with heart conditions or diabetes have been known to develop these conditions if they are overweight.

There are any pre-existing medical conditions – high blood pressure, high cholesterol and levels of high sugar are all signs of illness due to being overweight.

Having an apple shape – if you carry more weight around your stomach then you are at a higher risk of developing diabetes, some forms of cancer or developing heart problems.’

Illness associated with being overweight

Problems with the gallbladder and especially gallstones

High blood pressure

Developing certain types of cancer

Developing diabetes

Developing gout

Developing problems with the breathing such as sleep apnea, which causes a person to pause when breathing while asleep

Chest problems such as asthma or bronchitis

Gallbladder problems

Although it is not clear why, being overweight can have an affect on the gallbladder, gallstones are a very common problem in someone who is overweight and causes severe problems with those who are obese.

Heart disease

If you are overweight you are twice as likely to suffer from high blood pressure that is the major cause of and a big risk factor in heart disease and strokes. Being overweight can lead to a condition known as angina, angina is felt as pain in the chest caused by a decrease in oxygen to the heart. If you are severely overweight or obese then this has been linked to causing sudden death without any warning signs from a stroke.

Diabetes

Being overweight has been linked to type 2 diabetes and is a known contributor to health death, heart disease and blindness; people who are overweight are twice as likely to suffer from type 2 diabetes as those people who are of normal weight.

Lowering your cholesterol

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Keeping an eye on your cholesterol levels and maintaining a healthy level is essential if you want to remain healthy. There are many ways in which we can reduce the amount of cholesterol to ensure it remains at levels within the guidelines and to avoid illnesses such as heart disease. Here are some ways you can successfully lower your cholesterol level.

Changing your diet and eating your way to a lower cholesterol level is the easiest way, tips for doing this include:

Burn off at least as many calories as you eat during the course of a day

Make sure that you get at least 30 minutes of exercise every day of the week

Eat a wide variety of foods that are rich in nutrients

Include at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables per day in your diet

Eat lost of high-fiber, wholegrain foods in your diet

Include fish in your diet at least twice a week

Cut foods poor in nutrients out of your diet

Cut down on the amount of trans-fat and saturated fat foods in your diet

Remove the skin from chicken and eat only lean meat in your diet

Only include fat free and low fat dairy products in your diet

In order to reduce trans fat in your diet cut out foods containing partially hydrogenated vegetable oil

Include very little or no salt in your diet

Only drink alcohol in moderation

Always read nutritional labels on food

You can keep your levels of cholesterol under control by exercising on a regular basis and here are some tips for getting started on a fitness program:

Start off slowly and gradually build up until you are getting 30 minutes of exercise per day

Make your daily workout become a part of your life by doing it at the same time everyday whenever possible

Make sure you drink enough water to ensure that you don’t dehydrate

Enjoy your workout by joining a gym or working out with a friend

Keep a journal of your workout and write down the benefits you feel after exercising

Walk instead of taking the elevator, leave the car at home or walk or cycle to work

Vary your routine, go swimming one day, cycling the next, walking e.t.c

If you feel unwell then take a break from exercising and pick up your routine when you are feeling better

You should also aim to make changes to your lifestyle in order to keep your levels of cholesterol down and here are some tips for making those changes:

Get nutritional and physical advice from a healthcare professional

Always read food labels so you know how much fat, sodium and other ingredients you are eating in your diet

If you smoke or drink then seriously consider giving up

Be Active to Maintain Health

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Walking Your Way to a Healthier You

Walking is the best form of exercise you can have to obtain better health and a fitter you and it will cost you nothing. It is a form of exercise which can be taken up by anyone regardless of age or physical condition providing you start off sensibly, as with all forms of exercise you are not used to doing.

The first steps to getting healthier should be taken slowly and it is advisable if you do not exercise on a regular basis to start off with no more than a 10-minute walk most days of the week. This can then be gradually increased to walking 3 times a day for 10 minutes or twice a day for 15 minutes at a time. There are many ways you can fit this into your daily routine without too much trouble; just consider when and where you could alter your routine to walk instead of taking the car or bus.

The benefits of walking are numerous to your health and wellbeing and simply by altering your routine and walking 30 minutes or more each and every day you can

See an increase in your overall fitness and the tone of your muscles
Feel good and look better
Find that your level of energy increases
Feel a lot less stressed and are slower to start feeling stressed
Find that your pattern of sleep changes and you sleep better and feel more rested on waking
Begin to reduce the risk of heart disease
Reduce the risk of developing certain types of cancer
Find that depression starts lifting and you don’t feel down as easily as you once did
Your outlook on life in general and the way you deal with things changes for the better
You lose weight and look better
You find that your muscles, joints and bones are stronger
You reduce the risk of developing diabetes

You can start gaining all these and more benefits simply by increasing the amount of walking you do per day and being more active. In order to gain the best health and fitness from walking you should aim to walk at a moderate pace, a moderate pace means that while you shouldn’t be over exerting yourself you should be walking faster than strolling along. This means that while you are walking, you should be able to hold a conversation without getting breathless and your temperature should rise a little, but you shouldn’t be sweating to the extreme.

Not only will you feel better and look better once you have been on your new regime for a while, you will feel many more benefits health wise and be well on the way to leading a more productive, happier and healthier way of lifestyle.

Tuesday, 7 February 2012

Lowering your blood pressure

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You should have your blood pressure tested at least every 2 years, because high blood pressure can lead to problems such as damaging your blood vessels. High blood pressure can increase your risk of heart disease, heart attack, developing kidney failure and stroke. Having your blood pressure checked takes only a few minutes and should there be a problem your doctor can treat it and recommend changes to your lifestyle that you should follow. Here are some simple tips to making changes in your lifestyle to keep your blood pressure within a normal range.

Stop smoking

If you smoke then you should try to quit, when you inhale the smoke from cigarettes and other tobacco products, your blood vessels become restricted and you will have a faster heartbeat. If your heart beats faster than this causes a temporary rise in your blood pressure, by quitting smoking you not only help to lower your blood pressure but you also reduce the risk of heart disease and heart attack.

Lose weight

Losing weight and getting enough exercise can help towards keeping your blood pressure down. If you are carrying too much weight around your heart will have to work harder and faster and this can cause your blood pressure to rise which increases your chances of developing heart disease and stroke.

Limit your alcohol intake

Limiting the amount of alcohol you drink is also important, in some people alcohol raises their blood pressure by a lot, while others it doesn’t seem to affect as much. You should drink no more than 1 glass of wine per day or one can of beer and if your blood pressure does rise through drinking, then you should quit drinking altogether.

Avoid excessive sodium

Some people can be affected by sodium and it causes their blood pressure to rise. If you have been diagnosed with high blood pressure then it is important to reduce the amount of sodium in your diet. You shouldn’t add extra salt to your food and always check food labels for the amount of sodium foods contain.

Lower stress levels

If you live a very stressful life and easily become stressed then this can cause your blood pressure to rise, it is important to learn ways of dealing with stress and not let it build up. There are many self-help techniques that you can learn to help you combat stress, such as meditation, deep breathing exercises, yoga and visualization.

Blood pressure medication

If your doctor has diagnosed you as having high blood pressure then along with making changes to your lifestyle - the most effective way of dealing with it - they might also prescribe medication. There are many different types of medication used in the treatment of high blood pressure. In some cases, if your condition can only be controlled by medication, then it could mean that you have to take medication for the rest of your life to help keep your blood pressure under control. However the earlier you start making changes to your lifestyle towards leading a healthier life, through stopping smoking, getting enough exercise and eating healthy, the better your chances that you won’t need to be on medication for life.

Welcome To My World

Thursday, 9 February 2012