Heart disease is the leading cause of death in both men and women around the world. Heart conditions take about one million lives per year. Nearly half of the deaths caused by heart disease occur without prior symptoms or warning signs. Fortunately, certain simple every day habits can help you lower your risk of heart disease and live a healthier life.
Keep reading if you want to know the worst habits that put your heart at risk and several recommendations on how to deal with them.
1. Poor sleeping regimen
Sleeping enough is very important for energy levels, mental health, good appearance, and for heart health. An erratic sleeping schedule stresses your body even more. By living in a state of constant stress you increase your risk of cardiovascular disease and other heart conditions. Lack of sleep causes disruptions in processes like blood pressure, inflammation, and glucose metabolism.
Inflammation and high blood pressure are major causes of heart diseases. These conditions make your heart work harder. This increases the chances of a heart attack. To maintain the health of your heart you need to get enough sleep every day. For adults, that’s seven to nine hours of night’s sleep.
2. You live with daily stress
Meeting deadlines at work or paying an unexpected bill can be the causes of stress. If you are feeling the effect of stress all the time, your body can feel the consequences. Constant stress may cause your heart rate rise and trigger inflammation. Stress increases the risk of alignments like diabetes, back pain, and high cholesterol levels. By being stressed all the time you run the risk of heart and overall health problems.
You need to decrease stress levels to promote the proper work of your heart. You can say “no” to some obligations that make you feel stressed. You may also try meditation and relaxing techniques.
3. You have excess weight
Excess weight is a major risk factor for heart problems. Carrying excess weight in the abdominal area is especially dangerous for cardiovascular health and heart-related events. Excess weight is often associated with high cholesterol levels and diabetes. These conditions increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases. While the men with excess weight are at a 6% higher risk of heart conditions, women are 10 to 20% more likely to suffer from heart attacks.
You need to keep your weight under control. Eat a healthy diet and exercise to prevent overweight. To decrease the risk of heart issues you need to practice a healthy lifestyle.
4. You consume too much caffeine
If you consume too much caffeine it can result in a dramatic spike in your blood pressure for a short period of time. Even if you don’t have blood pressure problems they will eventually appear in the future. Caffeine blocks a hormone that keeps your arteries widened and makes your adrenal glands produce more adrenaline. All these negatively affect the health of your heart.
If you have a history of heart problems, consult your doctor before you consume caffeine. If you don’t have blood pressure issues but feel caffeine negative effects, it is time to reduce coffee intake.
5. You are a smoker
Smoking is a major cause of heart issues. One out of three deaths from heart conditions is related to tobacco use. If you are a cigarette smoker, you need to be aware of what health consequences this habit causes. Smoking raises the levels of triglycerides in the blood and causes blood thickening. It makes you more likely to have a blood clot and stroke.
The only way to prevent health problems related to tobacco is to quit smoking completely. It isn’t easy, so you may ask for professional help. By quitting smoking you can decrease your risk of heart attacks and death from heart conditions by 50%.
The bottom line
You need to take care of your heart health. Heart conditions kill about 610,000 people in the United States every year. Fortunately, identifying your bad habits and eliminating them can decrease the risk of premature death from heart disease. Improve your lifestyle to live a happier and healthier life.
