Heart Health: Supporting the Central Part of Your Body

Author: Vivian Benjamin

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) has long been in our midst. Globally, 9.6 million deaths among men were due to CVD in 2019. Similarly, this disease killed 8.9 million women around the world in that same year. People aged between 30-70 years old are mostly impacted by heart disease. China tops the list of the number of deaths from heart disease. It is continued by India, Russia, the US, and Indonesia.


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Lately, after the pandemic (Covid-19) many people have been affected with a condition called “long Covid-19”. Long Covid-19 means people affected by this virus develop a wide range of symptoms that impact their overall well-being. This condition could last for weeks, months, and years post-infection.



According to a recent study, patients who were diagnosed with Covid-19 and have been admitted to the hospital have been reported with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, after a year of being affected by the virus. These patients develop myocardial infarctions, heart failures, heart muscle inflammation (pericardium, myocardium, endocardium), arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm), blood clots, and stroke. Based on the same study, people who weren’t hospitalised were also noted to have the risk.



Therefore, educating people to care for their hearts is significant. Treatments for cardiovascular diseases may change according to new updates in studies, however; the prevention for the disease remains the same.



Risk factors?
Heart disease has modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors. Non-modifiable risk factors include age and family history. Modifiable risk factors consist of poor diet, lack of physical activity, stress, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, smoking, alcohol, and air pollution (when you breathe in polluted air, it can damage your blood vessels and impact your heart’s electrical system).
 
 

There are 4 types of cardiovascular disease:

•    Coronary heart disease – angina, myocardial infarction (heart attack), heart failure
•    Stroke
•    Peripheral arterial disease
•    Aortic disease

An Overview of the Heart
The cardiovascular system is separated into:

•     Circulatory system – heart and blood vessel
•     Lymphatic system - lymph nodes and lymph vessels

The heart pumps blood into 2 anatomically separate systems of blood vessels, which are pulmonary circulation (the right side of the heart pumps blood to the lungs) and systemic circulation (the left side of the heart pumps blood into all parts of the body).



The circulatory system is important to provide an uninterrupted blood flow to your cells. The lymphatic system is part of the immune system in the body, although it is still complementary to the cardiovascular system.



The human heart is a hollow, muscular organ situated in the centre of the thorax. It inhabits the space between the lungs (mediastinum) and the diaphragm. Your heart weighs about 300 grams, nevertheless; the size is influenced by age, gender, the extent of physical activity, body weight, and heart disease. The heart is known to pump blood and oxygen to the lungs and all body parts. It is composed of 3 layers – Pericardium, Myocardium, and Endocardium. 




Causes?
When you talk about heart disease, where does it all start? It starts in your heart and blood vessels. Poor diet leads to lipid (plague) building up in the arteries, inherently causing narrow arteries. When your arteries get clogged, blood that carries oxygen and nutrients to the heart muscles gets interrupted; this leads to the death of tissues in the muscles.



As a result, people are diagnosed with coronary heart disease. However, at times heart damage can be due to dysfunction in heart electrical impulses, inflammation, valve disease, blood disorders, infections, and congenital (presented at birth).



To manage your heart health, you need to support your blood health. Most people around the world have anaemic (low haemoglobin) therefore; we need to manage our haemoglobin level with proper diet and supplements. Having a good blood flow to transport nutrients and oxygen is essential for your body. Remember, the heart transport blood throughout the body, so if it’s impacted, your other parts of the organ will get damaged as well.





Supporting your heart from the inside
1. Nutrition
As you and I know, a poor diet leads to many diseases that affect the body. Only food has the power to either damage the body or heal the body. All praise goes to the Mediterranean diet, which has proven to be beneficial not only for heart health but also for overall well-being. 



The diet is rich in fruits and vegetables, unsaturated fats (healthy fats), and whole grains. The Mediterranean diet has become very popular in the medical and nutrition industry. Many healthcare professionals are encouraging people to consume this diet. Let’s explore further into this diet. What is a Mediterranean diet? It is a traditional eating pattern among the Mediterranean populations during the 50s and 60s of the 20th century.



It consists of:

•     Low consumption of meat (beef, pork and lamb were reserved for special occasions)
•     Very low consumption of processed meat and whole-fat dairy
•     Moderate consumption of fermented dairy products
•     Very high consumption of healthy fats such as olive oil
•     High consumption of seeds, nuts, legumes, vegetables
•     Moderate consumption of fish and seafood
•     Moderate consumption of red wine

At that time, the Mediterranean people used to consume a variety of food that is locally grown. They also use extra virgin olive oil in their cooking and salads. Extra virgin olive oil and red wine contain several bioactive polyphenols, with anti-inflammatory properties. Olive oil (unrefined) is attributed to unsaturated fatty acids, which protect your heart. 



Presently, eating healthily proves to be a challenge because we are so busy in our lives. Processed food seems to be a choice for many people, as it doesn’t take too much time to prepare it. However, it is not beneficial for your body. My advice – take time to cook your food, in a healthy way and with healthy ingredients. If you are pressed for time, try freezing your food after it is cooked.



If the Mediterranean diet isn’t your choice, because you may have a certain allergy, health condition, and other food preferences you can always talk to a dietician or a nutritionist to support you.





Supporting your heart from the outside
1. Physical activity
Sedentary behaviour and physical inactivity are among the leading cause of heart disease around the world. Recent studies have shown that exercise has the potential to decrease inflammation and improve metabolic health. It reduces the development of type-2 diabetes by improving glucose tolerance and decreasing lipid concentrations.



Apart from that, exercising regularly decreases blood pressure, improves myocardial perfusion (blood flow to the heart), and increases high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. By exercising you not only keep your body fit but also have a healthy weight. Obesity is a risk factor contributing to damage to the heart.





2. Managing blood pressure, sugar level, and cholesterol level
High cholesterol levels, sugar levels, and blood pressure can all be managed with a diet. Physical activity also helps maintain good levels of cholesterol, glucose and blood pressure. Most importantly, cutting down on alcohol and smoking is advised to manage these conditions.





3. Stress
Recognizing and acknowledging that you are stressed is the first step towards managing your stress level. Stress doesn’t directly impact your heart health, but it is linked with negative feelings, which causes anxiety. Anxiety affects your heartbeats. Besides that, having lots of stress in your daily life will lead you to practice unhealthy habits, such as drinking alcohol, smoking, and consuming food high in fat and sugar.





4. Sufficient sleep
Sleep loss is common among people worldwide. Not many of us do get quality 7-9 hours of sleep every day. Nevertheless, recent studies have indicated that sleep deprivation is associated with high blood pressure, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Insufficient sleep increases the heart rate, vasoconstriction of blood vessels, and salt retention, which in turn damages your heart.



 
 



All in all
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality universally. Many adults and the aged are living with this disease. Primary prevention is always better than secondary prevention. What I mean is – nourishing yourselves from the inside and the outside is essential to prevent developing heart disease. I hope these bits of advice will inspire you to take charge and boost your heart health.






 




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References
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