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Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death globally, taking anestimated 17.9 million lives annually. More than four out of five deaths occur from heart attacks and strokes, with one-third of that group aged less than 70 years.
Heart disease is included in the group of cardiovascular disease disorders but is limited to the heart and its surrounding blood vessels.
Heart disease can involve any heart structure, including blood vessels, such as coronary blood vessels, the electrical system, heart muscle, heart valves, and chamber walls.
Conditions that are commonly associated with heart disease typically occur in greater frequency, from coronary heart disease relative to valvular heart disease and congenital heart disease.
This condition is the most common type of heart disease. It happens when the arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle become narrowed or clogged with atherosclerotic plaque.
As a result, reduced blood flow to the heart muscle prevents an adequate supply of oxygen and nutrients to the heart and its structures. This situation eventually results in injury and damage to the heart muscle that can cause chest pain (angina), which is often a prelude to a future heart attack.
VHD is a disorder involving any heart valves that act as synchronized conduits to direct blood flow through the heart in one direction. The heart comprises dual chambers on the left and right sides. The tricuspid and pulmonary valves are on the right side, directing oxygen-poor blood into the lungs for oxygenation. On the left side are the mitral and aortic valves, which direct oxygen-rich blood from the heart to the rest of the body.
Disruption of single-directional flow can occur when the valves do not function according to their intended design. This situation can lead to higher internal chamber pressures, which can eventually hamper normal heart muscle activity and cause heart failure.
Heart valve malfunction can occur from congenital heart defects, age-related degeneration, heart attacks, and other medical conditions, like high blood pressure and autoimmune disease.
Infections can also damage heart valves, such as streptococcal upper airway infections, as seen in rheumatic fever, and by direct infection of the valves, as seen in endocarditis. Connective tissue disorders like Marfan syndrome or Ehlers-Danlos syndrome are also known to cause heart valve damage.
Some defects won’t offer telltale symptoms until later in life or when discovered during routine medical checks.
Congenital heart defects can occur in the fetus during its development in the uterus during pregnancy.
Certain medical conditions experienced by the mother during pregnancy can increase the risk of congenital heart defects in the baby, such as poorly controlled diabetes, which carries a fivefold risk.
Somemedications taken during pregnancy are associated with an increased risk of congenital heart defects.
Small changes in genes can contribute to congenital heart disease. These changes involve variations in the genetic code and alterations in the number of copies of specific genes.
Significant narrowing of the coronary artery's internal diameter occurs when there is extensive buildup of atheromatous plaque along the inner arterial wall. Progressive narrowing of the artery can eventually lead to ischemia, which is the critical point where the reduced blood flow cannot adequately deliver enough vital nutrients and oxygen to meet the metabolic needs of the heart muscle (myocardium). This critical juncture results in the injury and damage of myocardial cells that trigger the sudden onset of chest pain.
Atheromatous plaquing of a coronary artery promotes local tissue inflammation. The irritated tissue cells will release cell byproducts that can provoke the forming of a blood clot. The blood clot will block the upstream flow of blood to the myocardium, damaging local or regional sections of the heart. With prolonged blockage of the artery, the myocardial cell damage becomes irreversible. This infarction of the myocardial wall can be partial or full-thickness, and the extent of wall damage will determine the remaining heart muscle activity. Extensive myocardial damage can result in heart failure and death.
Risk factors are typically medical conditions and lifestyle elements that are known or suspected to contribute to the development of heart disease.
The best way to examine risk factors is to divide them into conventional, modifiable, and nontraditional risks.
The following markers will have high serum levels.
Modifiable risk factors bear the most focus as these are elements where individuals can initiate proactive measures to prevent or reduce their influence on heart disease.
Diet and lifestyle changes are integral in addressing modifiable risk factors contributing to heart disease.
To support your heart health and reduce the risk of heart disease, scientists suggest following a diet that provides plenty of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, fish, poultry, and vegetable oils.
Red and processed meats, refined carbohydrates, sweetened foods and beverages, sodium, and transfats are among the foods that contribute to poor heart health.
A sedentary lifestyle is terrible for your general health, increasing your heart disease risk. Lack of exercise contributes to weight gain and increases the risk of developing many chronic diseases.
Research supports a more active lifestyle. A study of healthy women with no heart disease found that sitting for prolonged periods increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Smoking is a significant heart disease risk factor. One out of every five smoking-related deaths isattributable to heart disease.
According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, smoking contributes to heart disease by:
So it’s only sensible not to smoke or at least consider quitting if you are a smoker.
The jury is still out on whether moderate drinking is good for your heart (the red wine controversy). According to the Centers for Disease Control, one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men is moderate alcohol use. It is best not to use alcohol at all, but if you do, do so in moderation.
Drinking that exceeds the limits of moderate alcohol use is linked to high blood pressure, heart failure, stroke, and cardiomyopathy.
As a source of empty calories, alcohol leads to weight gain, which brings with it a whole list of health problems.
The American Heart Association (AHA) hasadded sleep to its heart health checklist as part of an 8-item list to improve lifestyle habits.
The new sleep metric suggests 7-9 hours daily for optimal cardiovascular health in adults and more for children, depending on age.
Research has shown a link between too little sleep and hypertension, coronary heart disease, and diabetes. Sleeping fortoo long or too short a time promotes an association with heart disease and also affects heart-related risk factors, including weight and blood pressure.
Research at Columbia University found that poor sleep can indirectly affect the heart by increasingfood cravings and pushing preferences for foods high in saturated fat and sugar.
The Cardiac Diet, also known as the Heart-Healthy Diet, is based on recommendations from healthcare professionals and organizations like the American Heart Association (AHA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The recommendedevidence-based guidelines are:
According to a2019 scientific review, nutrition science has shown that a healthy diet adopts high consumption of non-starchy vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes in addition to moderate consumption of nuts, seafood, lean meats, low-fat dairy products, and vegetable oil.
Trans fats, saturated fats, sodium, red meat, refined carbohydrates, and sugar-sweetened beverages are minimized or avoided altogether.
The researchers found the three diets that closely resemble this ideal are DASH, the Mediterranean, and vegetarian.
Fresh fruits are all good for your health and your heart. Berries, in particular, have been found to support heart health. Berries like raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, and blueberries are high in antioxidants, which protect against oxidative stress and inflammation that can otherwise contribute to the development of heart disease.
Fresh is best, but frozen or dried fruit without added sugar is also good if unavailable. Refrain from buying canned fruit in syrup.
Here, we are talking about leafy greens like kale, cabbage, spinach, and bok choy, which are overflowing with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. These can lower blood pressure, reducing the risk of heart disease.
These vegetables contain nitrates, which can help relax and widen blood vessels,reducing blood pressure and lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Whole grains are good sources of dietary fiber, which can help improve blood cholesterol levels and lower the risk of heart disease, stroke, and obesity. A diet high in fiber helps to control cholesterol levels in the bloodstream. Cholesterol can clog up the arteries and is a risk factor for coronary heart disease.
Fiber is so crucial for health that even if, for some reason, you’re cutting down on carbs, you should try adding supplementaryfiber powder to fulfill your daily fiber needs.
Plant-based proteins such as legumes, nuts, whole grains, and seeds are healthy protein choices that lower the risk of cardiovascular disease. Fatty fish is also an excellent choice for a heart-healthy diet.
Eating one serving a day of beans, peas, chickpeas, or lentils can significantly lower LDL “bad” cholesterol and, therefore, the risk of cardiovascular disease. Eating these foods can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by 6%.
Numerous studies have revealed that nuts protect against a range of diseases. A study conducted at Maastricht University in the Netherlands found that consuming nuts may protect against diseases, including cancer,heart disease, and diabetes.
Another study found that people who regularly eat nuts of all kinds are less likely todevelop cardiovascular disease or coronary heart disease than those who never or seldom eat nuts.
Chia seedsare therichest plant source of omega-3 fatty acids. These acids help increase HDL cholesterol levels, which protect against heart attack and stroke. Chia seeds are also an excellent source of protein. They are complete proteins, which is rare for plant sources of protein.
Another heart-healthy seed isflaxseed. Research has shown that flaxseed might helplower high blood pressure, which plays a role in heart disease.Flaxseed-enriched diets have induced 0% to 18% decreases in LDL (low-density lipoproteins) and 0% to 11% decreases in total cholesterol.
These include oily fish, lean meat and poultry, and low-fat dairy. Salmon, mackerel, tuna, and sardines are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which protect against heart disease.
Research has shown that consuming two to three servings of fish per week reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseaseby approximately 10%.
For a heart-healthy diet, avoid the following foods, some of which may currently be your favorite.
Okay, as a recap…heart disease is part of the group that makes up cardiovascular disease (CVD), where CVD is the leading cause of global death.
Heart disease comprises three distinct structural anomalies: coronary artery disease (CAD), valvular heart disease, and congenital heart disease, whereby CAD is the most commonly encountered.
CAD can be associated with ischemia of the myocardium, resulting in episodes of chest pain or heart attack.
There are known elements that increase an individual's risk of heart disease. Still, only the modifiable risk factors can be addressed individually by proactive measures that reduce their impact.
Dietary and lifestyle changes are essential to nullifying the negative influence of modifiable risk factors.
Eating healthy meals is the stalwart solution to reducing or preventing heart disease, along with exercise, avoiding tobacco and alcohol, and getting better sleep.