Health
Your Risk Factors for Heart Disease
Know the type and number of risk factors you have for heart disease, which is the number one killer of Filipinos.
The best way to fight the disease knowing the enemy. A risk factor is something that increases your chances of getting a disease or condition. Some can be controlled, while some can’t.
Risk Factors You Cannot Control
Gender, age, family and personal history are risk factors that cannot be changed. However, modifying risk factors you can change will still lower your overall risk of developing heart disease.
1. Are you male, and is 45 and above?
Increasing age increases your risk for heart disease. In the middle decades of life, the risk of heart disease is 3-4 times greater for men than for women. For both men over 45 and women over 55, the risk gradually increases with age.
2. Do you have a personal history of heart disease, blocked arteries or stroke?
The risk of a heart attack is 5-7 times greater for people who have a personal history of a heart attack or stroke than for people who never had any. You can still lower your risk a lot by eliminating controllable risks and adopting a healthy lifestyle.
3. Did an adult family member have a heart attack or die suddenly at an early age (men: before the age of 55; women: before the age of 65)?
Genetics play a major role in heart disease.
Risk Factors You Can Control
Even if you have one or more of the risk factors above, you can still lower your overall risk by eliminating the risk factors below.
4. Are you usually physically inactive or do you not usually engage in physical activities like walking, jogging, aerobics, swimming or sports, about 30 minutes per day, three times a week?
A sedentary lifestyle increases your risk of heart disease. Regular physical activity can cut your risk of heart disease in half. Not only that, it will also improve your energy level and your ability to cope with stress.
5. Do you have high blood pressure (140/90 or higher)?
High blood pressure makes your heart work harder than it needs to. In time, high blood pressure makes your heart weak. When you reduce your blood pressure, you also lower your risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, and blindness.
You don’t know your blood pressure? It’s good to find out.
6. Are you overweight?
Being overweight or extremely overweight increases your risk of high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease. When you are overweight, just losing 10-15 pounds can significantly lower your risk.
7. Do you usually have a diet high in saturated fat and cholesterol (red meats, whole milk, cream, butter, cheese, creamy dressings, gravy, fastfood, desserts, fried foods)?
Eating foods high in fat and cholesterol can increase blood cholesterol levels. Cholesterol can clog the arteries and cause heart disease. Foods with low or no saturated fat such as bread, whole grains, fish, fruits, vegetables, peas or beans maybe protective to your heart.
8. Is your blood cholesterol at borderline or high level(200 mg/dl or 5.2 mmol/L and above)?
Too much cholesterol in the blood can result to clogged arteries and sooner or later coronary heart disease. A total blood cholesterol level of under 200 mg/dL is ideal and usually puts you at a lower risk for heart disease. A blood cholesterol level of 200-239 mg/dL is considered borderline to high and usually increases your risk for heart disease. A total cholesterol level of 240 mg/dL is high and increases your risk of heart disease. All adults aged 20 years or older should have their blood cholesterol level checked at least once in every five years.
9. Do you have diabetes, or abnormally high blood sugar or sugar in the urine?
If you are a diabetic, you have two to three times higher risk of getting heart disease than a person without diabetes. A healthy lifestyle, which includes weight loss if you are overweight, regular moderate physical activity such as walking, and a healthy diet high in dietary fiber and low in refined foods, can help reduce your risk for heart disease.
10. Do you currently smoke?
Smokers are twice likely to have a heart attack than nonsmokers. By not smoking, you can reduce your risk of a heart attack in half or even more.
Your Risk Factor/s: __ out of the 10 possible
0-1: You’re in good shape.
2-4: There is room for improvement.
>5: See your doctor ASAP.
The ideal is not to have any risk factor present because the more risk factors you have, the greater your chances of getting heart disease. But don’t lose heart (pun intended); you can control most of these risk factors. Just get busy.
» Health archive
Men's Health Philippines - June 2006 Issue
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