Every year in our country, more than 100 thousand people are at risk of cardiovascular diseases. This terrible disease can affect everyone. In order to carry out a successful fight against the disease, it is necessary to know the reasons due to which it arose. Risk factors for cardiovascular disease are divided into 2 categories.
Eliminated factors
These are factors that a person is able to exclude on his own, taking appropriate measures to maintain his health. First of all, smoking is considered to be eliminated factors. According to statistics, smokers die from heart disease 2 times more often than those who do not smoke. In addition, smoking causes a large number of other dangerous diseases. The fact is that nicotine enters the blood when inhaling cigarette smoke, which contributes to the clumping of platelets. This in turn leads to the formation of blood clots in the vessels.
Those who abuse alcohol are at risk for heart disease. After alcohol enters the body, an increase in blood pressure occurs, which puts a heavy load on the heart muscle. In addition, alcohol reduces the force of contractions of the heart and causes changes in its structure.
Very high weight can be one of the reasons for the risk of cardiovascular disease. The load on all organs and systems, including the heart, is excessive for a person with a large weight. The risk of heart disease is significantly higher in people with low motor activity. Moderate exercise normalizes blood pressure and heart rate, increasing the functional state of the heart muscle.
Another cause of heart disease is stress. In a stressful state, the human nervous system does not function fully. Severe stress adversely affects the heart, causing serious health problems.
Fatal factors
These are factors that cannot be changed. First of all, they include gender. According to statistics, men are much more likely to have heart problems than women.
The disease more often affects people after the age of 65. However, it should be borne in mind that the likelihood of the onset of the disease increases by 70% in those people who, in addition to the age factor, have other factors that affect the functioning of the heart. If there are no additional conditions for the development of the disease, then only 4% of the age increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.
In addition, genetic data play a role. Those who had relatives in the family who suffered from heart diseases suffer from such diseases 25% more often.
Risk assessment
In international medical practice, a special scale for the risk of cardiovascular disease is used. This scale is designed to identify the level of probability of getting sick in the next 10 years. First you need to calculate points for each individual factor. Then the received points are summed up. Based on the results, conclusions can be drawn on how likely the occurrence of heart disease is. Indicators on a scale are taken into account depending on the age of the patient.
The scale takes into account a factor such as cholesterol in the blood. Information on cigarette smoking over the past year and on the presence of diabetes is taken into account. A score is also calculated based on heredity, information is taken into account whether there were cases of heart disease in the family.
For those who scored less than 20 points in the sum of all indicators, the probability of getting sick tends to zero. Those who scored more than 60 points, the risk of getting sick is more than 30%.
Prevention
A complex of simple measures will prevent the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases. It is necessary to start monitoring heart health from childhood, when the basics of health are laid .
It is necessary to monitor nutrition, abandon bad habits, play sports. Important is the avoidance of stressful situations. In addition, regular medical examinations and diagnostics are needed to detect the disease as early as possible. At the slightest pain in the heart area, you should immediately consult a doctor. Timely prevention of heart disease will increase the life expectancy of men by an average of 13 years, and women - by 9.