Preserving the Heart

The heart is a marvelous organ from the time we were in our mother’s womb to the day of our death. The heart is a very resilient organ indeed which continues to beat away without rest. It is one of the most important organ for us and it’s our responsibility to save it from any diseases.

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Health disease is one of the commonest cause of illness and death in our country as well as the whole world. Because disease in the heart is one of the most frequent causes of early death globally. According to the world health organization, nearly two-thirds of the people who have a heart attack die before they can reach medical care. Even with access to modern advanced treatment 60% of stroke patients either die or become disabled. So, we must start looking after our hearts from an early age to prevent complications in the future.

Heart diseases doesn’t develop over days or months, but over many years of constant harm to the heart caused by various reasons. If anyone suffer from heart disease, we will have seen how the  disease can make simple activities of daily life difficult and stop one from taking part in normal activities due to fatigue, exhaustion and in advanced cases, suffer from heart pain and oedema of the extrimities.

We all have o know the causes of heart disease properly to make ourself active to prevent them, because saying goes prevention is always better than cure.

Heart disease is caused by :

• Unhealthy and imbalanced diet
• Smoking and other tobacco use
• Lack of physical activity and not taking regular exercise 
• High blood pressure (Hypertension)
• Being overweight and obesity
• Uncontrolled Diabetes

To reduce the risk of heart disease, one have the responsibility to consider the following points : 

A healthy Hearty diet : Many people groan when the words "healthy diets" is mentioned to them. This is because of the misconceptions they have about the actual meaning of a healthy diet. When medical professionals talk about a balanced diet, they do not mean one needs to subsist on boiled or blend food only. 

The following diet tips will help oneself to adopt a healthy hearty diet:

Having more fruits and vegetables : The fruits and vegetables are a good source of fiber, vitamins and minerals, yet low in sodium, calories and fat. Much of the fat comes from what type of fat one use to prepare for eating.

Reduce total fat intake especially saturated fats : Fat foods, convenience foods, such s instant noodles, hawker options like laksa, fried kway teow, chicken rice etc should be avoided. High intakes of saturated fats have been shown to increase ones cholesterol level.

Eating more fish : Studies have been shown that the omega-3 fats in fish can improve HDL levels and lower the risk of heart disease. Fish high in omega-3 fats include salmon, herring, cod and tuna.

Reduce salt intake : Limit the use of table salt, avoid adding additional slat to cooked before trying it. Also avoid preserved foods such as salted fish, eggs and vegetables.

Take part in regular physical exercise : The heart is actually made of muscles, so participating in physical exercises and activities regularly helps to keep the heart healthy and strong. The type of exercise is not to be physically exhausting. Just 30 minutes of brisk walking or taking part in simple exercise that makes a light sweat 5 times a week is adequate. But if suffering from chronic illness please consult a doctor before starting physical exercise.

Quitting cigarette smoking : Cigarette smoking is the most important preventable cause of premature death. Cigarettes smokers have a higher risk of developing a number of chronic disorders and heart diseases. When it acts with other factors, it greatly increases risk. Smoking increases blood-pressure, decreases exercise tolerance and increases the tendency for blood to clot. Smoking also increases the risk of recurrent coronary heart disease after bypass surgery. So, Smoking must be quitted. 

Lose weight and obesity : Being over-weight or obese increases the risk of many disease including hypertension,  Dyslipidemia, Coronary heart disease, Stroke, some Cancers etc. Eat healthy and be more active not only to ensure a healthy heart but also make feeling good from inside by weight loss.

Stress managing and regular check-up : Stress causes blood pressure to rise and this increases risk of stroke. It'd be foolish to ask on to stop stressing as this is impossible in the fast pace of modern life today, but try to identify things that stress oneself and learn to manage them.

If anyone is afraid of heart disease may exist in himself or have in family members, then it is a good idea to have regular check-up especially around the age of over 40 years. As, it is the fact with all medical illness that the earlier an illness is identified, the better the chance of the illness being healed.