Matters of the Heart — Part 1 of 3
A deep dive into cardiovascular health — significance, definitions, & risk factors
This content was presented as part of a series I am offering this month at Vintage House Sonoma - check out upcoming classes!
Significance
February is American Heart Month, a time when we celebrate love and (hopefully) the amazing organ that is our heart.
Surprisingly, heart disease continues to be the leading cause of death for both men and women in the US,1 even though we’ve learned so much about risk factors and both lifestyle and pharmaceutical management.
Heart disease, or more broadly, cardiovascular disease, encompasses several conditions that affect the heart muscle and/or the blood vessels that circulate blood throughout the body.
Cardio = heart Vascular = blood vessels
Blood delivers oxygen, nutrients, and immune cells and removes waste products that would otherwise be toxic.
Every cell in your body depends on adequate blood flow to survive.
In that sense, taking care of your cardiovascular health is taking care of your whole body health.
Definitions:
The most common cardiovascular diseases include:
Heart Attack: Sudden blockage of blood flow to the heart muscle.
Stroke: A blocked or ruptured blood vessel in the brain.
Coronary Artery Disease (CAD): Narrowing of arteries caused by the buildup of plaque (atherosclerosis).
Heart Failure: Weakened heart muscle, which includes symptoms such as fluid accumulation (edema), fatigue, & shortness of breath.
Peripheral artery disease (PAD): Narrowing of arteries and decreased circulation in the arms and legs.
Arrhythmias: The heart beats too fast, slow, or irregular; Atrial Fibrillation (AFib) is the most common.
Risk Factors:
Cardiovascular disease risk factors include both non-modifiable and modifiable.
Non-Modifiable Risk Factors (Things we can’t change, but are important to be aware of):
Age — Risk increases with age.
Sex at birth — Men are at an increased risk earlier in life, and women are at increased risk postmenopause.
Genetics / Family history — Especially for early heart disease in close relatives.
Modifiable Risk Factors (Things we can change):
Smoking — Injures blood vessels, increases blood pressure, & increases risk of atherosclerosis.
Nutrient intake — Excess salt, sugar, & unhealthy fats increase blood pressure, cholesterol, & inflammation that promotes atherosclerosis.
Alcohol — Excessive intake raises blood pressure.
Inactivity — Reduces blood circulation & weakens the heart muscle.
Sleep — Poor sleep quantity & quality increases blood pressure, blood sugar, & inflammation.
Stress — Chronic stress increases blood pressure & inflammation.
This is a lot of information, I know, which is why I am going to end here for today. I will follow this up with a piece about the objective markers that you can use to evaluate your cardiovascular health now and ongoing (blood pressure, labs, etc.). Subscribe to stay tuned!
Thanks for being here,
~Allison
Thank you getting this topic rolling! Looking forward to the next post. Thanks