World Heart Day is a reminder for many people across the world to take a step back, and start working towards ensuring their own heart health, as cardiovascular disease (CVD) continues to be the leading cause of deaths across the world.
Lifestyle factors like the absence of physical activity, poor dietary regimes, high consumption of sugar, salt, and high intake of saturated and/or trans fats contribute significantly to increase the risk for heart diseases.
Organised by World Heart Federation and celebrated on 29 September every year, the World Heart Day aims to raise awareness specifically about CVD and how they can be prevented.
And, taking a pledge to follow the six steps below will set you on the path to become a Heart Hero.
Step 1: Be conscious of what you eat!
The first step in ensuring that is by being more conscious of what you eat. This year, pledge to treat your body with more respect, by and be more careful of what your family and you eat and strive to make your diet healthier. Include healthy foods like almonds, fruits or oats and avoid unhealthy snacking to see the change.
Step 2: Exercise, exercise and exercise!
With your doctor/physical trainer’s approval, try and include some form of exercise as a part of your daily routine and make an active effort towards leading a fitter lifestyle. Whether it’s a brisk walk, a short jog, time at the gym, swimming, zumba or yoga – choose a form of fitness that makes you feel great, and embrace it.
Step 3: Learn and be aware of your cholesterol levels!
CVD account for 28% of all deaths in India, more than any other cause. People with Southeast Asian genetic makeup have a higher risk of CVD, characterized by elevated levels of harmful LDL (low-density lipoproteins) or ‘bad’ cholesterol and lower levels of beneficial HDL (high-density lipoproteins) or ‘good’ cholesterol. Therefore, it’s important to start being more careful and aware of your LDL cholesterol levels, so you can take make timely changes to help your heart.
Step 4: Watch that weight!
Abdominal fat is often linked to increased blood sugar levels, high blood pressure, and elevated levels of triglycerides which are risk factors that contribute to heart diseases. By being more conscious about your family and your weight, you move one step closer to a healthier lifestyle.
Step 5: Work towards keeping your stress under check!
Nowadays, stress has become a regular feature of our lifestyle. Almost 86% of the respondents in a recent global survey claimed that they were facing stress. For many, this is also accompanied by emotional eating, or stress eating – which is prompted by one’s feelings and not by the body’s need for food. That said, to aid overall well-being, it’s important to work towards keeping your stress under control and one way to do that is by making time for yourself to do the things that make you feel happy.
Step 6: And finally, say no to smoking!
Smoking can increase the risk of heart disease as the chemicals in the cigarette smoke damages the lining of the blood vessels of the heart which in turn leads to inflammation and narrowing, that can cause angina or a heart attack. According to World Heart Federation smoking is estimated to cause nearly 10 % of CVD and is the second leading cause of CVD, after high blood pressure.
Quitting smoking may also have a positive impact on your health because as per a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) heavy cigarette smokers can reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease by 39% within five years if they quit. So give your heart the best gift it could have ever asked for in 2019, and pledge to quit smoking to raise your loved ones and your well-being.
