Healthy Hearts Depend on Healthy Lifestyles
Cancer is one of the most terrifying words out there. If you or a family member have experienced it, you may be imagining days of chemotherapy, trials, tribulations, and the sadness and grief associated with death. We’ve previously touched on avoiding carcinogens, but they need no detailed explanation – the concept can be really scary.
Now what if we told you there was an even bigger killer out there — one whose death tolls are larger than all types of cancers combined? And what if we told you the main causes are all around us, everyday? Still don’t know what we’re talking about?
It’s heart disease, and it’s the number one cause of death in Australia. Also known as cardiovascular disease, heart disease includes numerous health-related issues, many of which are related to a process called atherosclerosis. There are four primary types of cardiovascular disease that comprise a majority of sufferers:
- Heart Valve Problems: Valves that don’t open or close properly can dramatically impact the heart’s ability to pump blood efficiently. When your heart can keep up with the tasks at hand, heart disease can impact your health and your life.
- Arrhythmia: This is any abnormal rhythm to a heartbeat. Too fast, too slow — there are many different types of arrhythmias out there, but they all basically impact how well the heart can pump blood to the body.
- Heart Attack: A heart attack occurs when the blood flow to a part of the heart is blocked by a blood clot
- Stroke: An ischemic stroke (the most common type) happens when a blood vessel that feeds the brain gets blocked, usually from a blood clot.
Even if you don’t personally know someone who has suffered from these complications, then we presume you’ve heard of these 4 conditions already. Worse yet, the problem is not going away anytime soon, and new research published in the Medical Journal of Australia identifies 20% of the population as being at high risk.
There are a ton of heart disease treatments out there on the market today, and many of them have proven efficacy in combating heart disease. On the other hand, there is ongoing debate about existing treatment options, such as the split in opinions over widespread use of statin drugs to lower cholesterol levels, with plenty of medical professionals taking the contrary view (that they are being prescribed too often).
If you’re worried about the health of your own heart, talk with your doctor.
Article: Why Your Heart Disease Risk May Not Be as High as You Think
Lacking new breakthrough drugs, researchers are turning their attention to preventative methods rather than reactive measures as being our best strategy to help lower the death toll from heart disease.
The dietary causes of heart disease are still being researched. But one thing that is not controversial is that lifestyle factors play a major role — factors like exercise and diet. Adding more exercise to your week could thus improve your life expectancy, as well as avoiding processed foods with high sugar, high salt and trans-fats.
HSG offers Women’s and Men’s Health Seminars which emphasise positive lifestyle changes that prevent disease. With repercussions for your staff’s health and your company’s wallet, there’s more than one reason why these seminars are essential for your organisation. Call 1300 889 073 today to learn more.
