Heart Disease Relating to Weight

According to the British Heart Foundation, Coronary Heart disease is one of the biggest causes of death for people living in the UK. By keeping to a healthier weight, relative to your height, blood pressure can be reduced and what you eat can affect your health.

Importance of Diet

A healthy diet can substantially reduce the risk of developing such Coronary Heart disease and can help you to survive an attack. There are various methods to try and prevent or reverse the effects of Coronary Heart disease.

Eating five portions of fruit and vegetables each day can greatly reduce the risk or coronary heart disease by helping to prevent the build up of atheroma on the inside walls of your arteries. This occurs when the arteries become narrowed by a gradual build up of fatty material within their walls. This condition is known as atherosclerosis. The fatty material is called atheroma. Eventually, the artery becomes so narrow that the heart may no longer receive oxygen- containing blood when it needs it. This is called angina. It is painful as the heart muscle is deprived of oxygen. In the event that a blood clot blocks the artery, a heart attack occurs.

Fat Consumption

Reducing fat consumption will lower the levels of fat in your blood and help to maintain good health and reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. Replacing some saturated fats with polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats helps to increase the amount of protective cholesterol and reduce the amount of harmful cholesterol in your blood. Eating oily fish a few times a week provides you with omega 3 fatty acids which can help to regulate the heartbeat and reduce the level of fatty substances in the blood. It also prevents blood clots from forming in the coronary arteries.

Lack of Exercise

Physical inactivity is the most common cause of heart disease. Seven in ten adults in the UK do not take enough regular exercise but eight in ten consider themselves to be fit. Regular physical activity halves the risk of developing coronary heart disease. People who have been physically active are twice as likely to survive a heart attack as those having had less or no physical activity. It is great to exercise as this reduced the risk of strokes, helps to lower blood pressure, reduced the risk of developing diabetes and can help to reverse the effects should you already have it and helps you to lose weight and maintain weight control.

Healthy Weight

Sustaining a healthy weight reduces the workload on the heart which helps to keep blood pressure low. Reducing your salt intake also helps to lower blood pressure. Drinking 1-2 units of alcohol per day helps to protect you from health problems but excessive drinking can damage the heart muscle.