According
to the British Heart Foundation, coronary heart disease (CHD) causes over 117,000
deaths a year in the UK: approximately one in five deaths in men and one in six
deaths in women.
What
is CHD?
Coronary Heart Disease begins
when the arteries leading to the heart become narrowed by a gradual build up of
fatty deposits which line their walls. As time passes, the artery may become so
narrow that it is unable to carry enough vital oxygen rich blood and nutrients
to the heart. CHD can become life threatening if one of the narrowed arteries
becomes blocked by a blood clot. This coronary thrombosis is what causes a potentially
fatal heart attack. In its early stages, CHD is symptomless. The first sign
of a problem is usually chest pain (angina). Often there is no chance to act on
any warning before a potentially fatal problem occurs. To help lower your chances
of becoming one of these terrible statistics, consider working these easy heart-health
pointers into your healthcare programme.
Take
exercise - little and often
Exercise
is essential to maintaining a healthy heart and lowering your risk of heart disease
- but this dosn’t necessarily mean that you have to take up jogging or start
working out in a gym. 30 minutes brisk walking at least 5 days a week will give
you the kind of aerobic workout that will benefit your heart by lowering the level
of ‘bad’ cholesterol andraising the ‘good’ cholesterol in your blood, so reducing
your heart attack risk. The effect on your cholesterol levels may take up to a
year to have an impact, so check now with your doctor and start striding out as
soon as possible!However, since statistics show that those with an active lifestyle
as opposed to a sedentary lifestyle have around a 45% lower chance of developing
CHD, your efforts will certainly be well worth it.
Eat
your greens, yellows and reds A diet rich in fruit and
vegetables helps to reduce your risk of heart disease. The antioxidants they contain
(which are particularly rich in brightly coloured foods such as peppers and tomatoes)
prevent the oxidation of
Get
your garlic Getting sufficient garlic, either in
your diet or through supplementation has a positive effect on lowering your risk
of developing coronary heart disease. Garlic supplements can give you the equivalent
of the recommended garlic intake (seven cloves a day) to help maintain a healthy
heart and circulation. Fish oils for heart
health Oily fish such as salmon, tuna, pilchards
and sardines contain Omega 3 fatty acids that help maintain a healthy heart and
circulation. It is recommended that you eat oily fish at least twice a week to
feel the benefits, or you may choose to increase your dietary intake with supplements
which include these essential oils, such as Omega 3 and cod liver oil.
cholesterol which lines the walls of the arteries. To protect
your heart, the minimum you should be aiming for is 5 portions each day. You can
however eat a lot more than this for all-round health benefits including weight
maintenance and immune system protection.
Watch
the fat While some oils, such as those found
in fish are beneficial in protecting the heart, fat in the diet is not generally
a good thing for this most essential organ. We all need some fats but the amount
we eat should be kept to within recommended limits. These focus on the proportion
of overall energy (calories) in the diet derived from fat, and this can prove
difficult to work out especially considering the way food is labelled and weighed.
It may be simpler to try the following: Try to reduce the amount of:
Saturated fats found in animal products such as meat, lard, butter, cream etc.‘Trans’
fatty acids found in fast food, commercially produced pies, cakes etc. Where possible,
try to increase your consumption of: Polyunsaturated fats found in sunflower,
corn and fish oils Monounsaturated fats found in olive oil and nuts.
