STATE OF YOUR HEART

Cardiovascular disease is currently World’s leading killer, causing one death every 2 minutes.

Fortunately, most heart disease is actually preventable, just by making a few simple lifestyle adjustments. Certain risk factors that are unavoidable, such as family history and ethnicity, but the World Health Organisation estimates that up to 80% of heart-disease-related deaths could be prevented just by doing the following: eating healthily, regular physical exercise, quitting smoking and reducing alcohol consumption. These simple steps can all significantly reduce lifestyle-based risk factors.

ATRIAL FIBRILLATION

Although most people are aware of serious threats to the heart (such as a heart attack or a stroke), there’s one of lesser-known condition that can seriously affect your heart without you ever realising: atrial fibrillation. 

People with this condition experience issues with their heart’s electrical system, which affects the way their heart beats, reducing the efficiency of blood flow around their body.The causes vary from person to person, but it is often associated with long-term heavy alcohol use, or damage caused by previous heart attacks. However, some people will also experience the condition for no specific medical reason.

Symptoms may include a “fluttering” heartbeat, shortness of breath, or simply feeling unusually weak and tired. However, many people do not experience any symptoms at all, allowing it to go unnoticed for long periods of time.

Atrial fibrillation can drastically increase your chances of developing blood clots – as the blood is not flowing as effectively, it can “pool” in various areas throughout the body, eventually forming into blood clots. This can have very serious consequences, such as cutting off blood flow to particular areas of the body, or the clot dislodging and potentially causing a stroke.

Treatment will vary from patient to patient, but may incorporate surgery, electric shock therapy or medication. If you are prescribed blood-thinning medication as part of your treatment, your doctor is also likely to suggest that you regularly test your blood’s coagulation levels, to ensure that you are not at risk of a clot.This may be carried out at your doctor’s surgery, but there are also home testing kits available.

PREVENTION

One of the best things you can do to look after your heart’s health is to make sure that you’re exercising regularly and maintaining a healthy weight. Unfortunately, lots of peopleare currently overweight. Obesity places a strain on the heart and it can also contribute to the development of other health issues – type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol–all of whichcan also cause serious problems. 

It’s also known that taking low-dose aspirin regularly can be very helpful in reducing the riskof heart attack and stroke. Aspirin affects the platelets within your blood, thereby reducing the chances of blood clotting within your arteries and causing a serious incident. If taking aspirin for this purpose, it’s best to look for a brand that includes a coating to prevent stomach irritation – but make sure you speak with your doctor to see if aspirin is appropriate for your individual circumstances. 

Your doctor will be able to assess your individual situation, so with heart-related disease ranking as one of World’s biggest killers, don’t become another statistic! And remember – if it’s still beating, it’s not toolate to start taking care of your heart.