KEARNEY — Heart disease is the leading cause of death in men and women and people of most racial and ethnic groups in the United States.
February is American Heart Month, and it is worth taking the time into learning why heart disease can be so dangerous.
“The term ‘heart disease’ refers to several types of heart conditions. The most common type of heart disease in the United States is coronary artery disease (CAD), which affects the blood flow to the heart. Decreased blood flow can cause a heart attack,” according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
One person dies every 37 seconds in the United States from a cardiovascular disease, according to the CDC. Around 647,000 Americans die from heart disease each year, which is one of every four deaths.
Heart disease costs the United States about $219 billion each year from 2014 to 2015, which includes the cost of health care services, medicines and lost productivity due to a death.
The CDC says coronary artery disease is the most common type of heart disease and killed 365,914 people in 2017. Around 18.2 million adults over the age of 20 have some type of coronary artery disease and about two in ten deaths from coronary artery disease happen in adults less than 65 years old.
Heart attacks are also common and happen to someone in the United States every 40 seconds. Every year around 805,000 Americans have a heart attack, of these, it is the first heart attack for 605,000 people.
So the facts show the dangers of heart disease and how deadly it can be. Some of the risk factors include high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol and smoking. Around 47 percent of people have at least one of these three risk factors, according to the CDC.
High blood pressure: “High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart disease. It is a medical condition that happens when the pressure of the blood in your arteries and other blood vessels is too high. The high pressure, if not controlled, can affect your heart and other major organs of your body, including your kidneys and brain,” the CDC states.
High blood pressure is often called a “silent killer” because it usually has no symptoms. The only way to know whether you have high blood pressure is to measure your blood pressure. You can lower your blood pressure with lifestyle changes or with medicine to reduce your risk for heart disease and heart attack.
High blood cholesterol: According to the CDC, cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance made by the liver or found in certain foods. Your liver makes enough for your body’s needs, but we often get more cholesterol from the foods we eat.
If we take in more cholesterol than the body can use, the extra cholesterol can build up in the walls of the arteries, including those of the heart. This leads to narrowing of the arteries and can decrease the blood flow to the heart, brain, kidneys, and other parts of the body.
There are two main types of blood cholesterol: LDL, low-density lipoprotein, cholesterol, which is “bad” cholesterol because it can cause plaque buildup in your arteries, and HDL, high-density lipoprotein, cholesterol, which is considered to be “good” cholesterol because higher levels provide some protection against heart disease, states the CDC.
High blood cholesterol usually has no signs or symptoms. The only way to know whether you have high cholesterol is to get your cholesterol checked. Your health care team can do a simple blood test, called a “lipid profile,” to measure your cholesterol levels.
Tobacco Use: Cigarette smoking can damage the heart and blood vessels, which increases your risk for heart conditions such as atherosclerosis and heart attack. Carbon monoxide from cigarette smoke also reduces the amount of oxygen that your blood can carry, according to the CDC.
Several other medical conditions and lifestyle choices can also put people at a higher risk for heart disease, which are diabetes, obesity, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and excessive alcohol use.
Diabetes: The CDC’s website states, your body needs glucose, sugar, for energy. Insulin is a hormone made in the pancreas that helps move glucose from the food you eat to your body’s cells for energy. If you have diabetes, your body doesn’t make enough insulin, can’t use its own insulin as well as it should, or both.
Diabetes causes sugar to build up in the blood. The risk of death from heart disease for adults with diabetes is higher than for adults who do not have diabetes 2 Talk with a doctor about ways to prevent or manage diabetes and control other risk factors, the CDC states.
Obesity: Obesity is excess body fat. Obesity is linked to higher “bad” cholesterol and triglyceride levels and to lower “good” cholesterol levels. Obesity can lead to high blood pressure and diabetes as well as heart disease. Talk with your health care team about a plan to reduce your weight to a healthy level, according to the CDC.
Unhealthy Diet: Eating a diet high in saturated fats, trans fat, and cholesterol has been linked to heart disease and related conditions, such as atherosclerosis. Also, too much salt and sodium in the diet can raise blood pressure, the CDC warns.
Physical inactivity: Not getting enough physical activity can lead to heart disease. It can also increase the chances of having other medical conditions that are risk factors, including obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes. Regular physical activity can lower your risk for heart disease, according to the CDC.
Excessive Alcohol Use: Drinking too much alcohol can raise blood pressure levels and the risk for heart disease. It also increases levels of triglycerides, a fatty substance in the blood which can increase the risk for heart disease, the CDC recommends women should have no more than one drink a day and men should have no more than two drinks.
There are several ways to prevent heart disease.
Healthy meals: The CDC recommends people Choose healthy meals and snacks to help prevent heart disease and its complications. Be sure to eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables and less processed foods.
Physical activity: Physical activity can help you maintain a healthy weight and lower your blood pressure, blood cholesterol, and blood sugar levels. For adults, the Surgeon General recommends two hours and 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise, like brisk walking or bicycling, every week. Children and adolescents should get 1 hour of physical activity every day, the CDC states.
Check your cholesterol: The CDC recommends a person’s health care team should test your blood levels of cholesterol at least once every 4 to 6 years. If you have already been diagnosed with high cholesterol or have a family history of the condition, you may need to have your cholesterol checked more often. Talk with your health care team about this simple blood test.
More information about heart disease, its risks and ways to prevent it can be found at the CDC website, https://www.cdc.gov/
