What can you do to keep your heart as healthy as possible? Tips for men and women.
To smoke
30 percent of new cases of coronary heart disease (caused by narrowed coronary arteries) and 19 percent of new cases of stroke are due to smoking, according to figures from the Dutch Heart Foundation. Moreover, smokers from the age of 65 have a one to two-fold higher risk of dying from heart disease. However, it is never too late to stop: even in old age, the risk of a heart attack or stroke decreases by 50 percent already a year after the last cigarette. Quitting smoking can increase ‘good’ HDL (High Density Lipoprotein) cholesterol by 15 to 20 percent, comparable to the effect of some of the best drugs.
Raised blood pressure
A third of the number of new cases of coronary heart disease and stroke is caused by elevated blood pressure, according to the Dutch Heart Foundation. And 40 to 50 percent of Dutch people between the ages of 35 and 70 have high blood pressure.
Blood pressure is elevated at an upper pressure greater than or equal to 140 mmHg (millimeters of mercury) and a negative pressure greater than or equal to 90 mmHg. Has your doctor diagnosed you with elevated blood pressure? Then it is good to start to tackle your lifestyle: not smoking, eating healthy, exercising more, losing weight and using alcohol moderately. A lot of fruit and vegetables are especially important, because they contain potassium, which is important for healthy blood pressure. There are also products that are fortified with potassium.
If you are considering using them but also take blood pressure lowering medicines or if you are a kidney patient, please consult a doctor first, because then such products are not suitable. Use fresh foods instead of the often much too salty ready meals, because salt is bad for blood pressure. High blood pressure may also require medication to lower blood pressure.
Elevated cholesterol levels
20 percent of new cases of coronary heart disease are caused by elevated cholesterol, the Netherlands Heart Foundation has calculated. If you have a total cholesterol between 5 and 6.4 millimoles per liter (mmol/l), then the cholesterol is slightly elevated, between 6.5 and 7.9 it is elevated, and your cholesterol level is higher than 8, then it is greatly increased.
When the cholesterol level in the blood is too high, there is often too much of the ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol (Low Density Lipoprotein) in relation to the ‘good’ HDL cholesterol (High Density Lipoprotein) that keeps the arteries clean. The ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol is considered to be one of the main causes of the clogging of the arteries.
It may sound crazy, but one of the most important steps to lowering your cholesterol is very simple: replace saturated fats with unsaturated fats. Of all foods, those with a lot of saturated fats are the biggest cause of high cholesterol. Yet the adult Dutch person eats too much saturated fat. Saturated fats are found in butter, hard margarine, chocolate, full-fat dairy, full-fat cheese, sausage and fatty meats. Unsaturated fats are found in soft low-fat margarine and margarine, avocado, vegetable oils, nuts and fish.
In addition to a healthy lifestyle of exercise, not smoking and a healthy weight, the use of products with plant sterols can further lower elevated cholesterol. If you want to use this, consult your doctor first if you are taking cholesterol-lowering drugs. By the way: for family members who do not have elevated cholesterol, there is no reason to also use such products. They can keep their cholesterol healthy through a healthy diet with a lot of unsaturated fats and little saturated fats.
When living measures have insufficient effect, medicines are needed. Sometimes medicines are used immediately, for example if the cholesterol is seriously elevated or the elevated cholesterol is a hereditary issue.
overweight
When overweight, a number of processes in the body change, causing the cholesterol and blood sugar levels and blood pressure to rise. Belly fat in particular increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. The latest CBS figures show that a lot of health benefits can be achieved here: 49 percent of men and 37 percent of women aged 55 and older are moderately overweight. However, the women catch up with the men at a later age: over the age of 65, 17 percent of women are seriously overweight compared to 13 percent of men.
Losing weight pays off. The greater the weight loss, the greater the increase in ‘good’ HDL cholesterol. And 10 pounds less in overweight individuals can lower blood pressure by 5-20 mmHg. A healthy weight for your heart and blood vessels: a Body Mass Index (BMI) lower than 25 and a waist circumference of less than 102 centimeters (men) or 88 centimeters (women).
Too little movement
In 16 percent of new cases of coronary heart disease and in almost a quarter of new cases of stroke, too little exercise is the cause, says the Dutch Heart Foundation. And that while more than a third of men and women aged 55 and older do not exercise enough: less than half an hour a day.
With 30 minutes of moderately intensive exercise every day, however, a lot of direct health benefits can be achieved: you can help raise the ‘good’ HDL cholesterol. The blood pressure also drops with exercise.
stress
There is some evidence that people who react strongly to stress are more likely to have elevated LDL levels. Especially because they often live unhealthy and irregular lives. Therefore, compensate stress as much as possible with relaxation.
Diabetes
The same risk factors for cardiovascular disease also increase the risk of type 2 diabetes. And those with type 2 diabetes have a two to three times increased risk of cardiovascular disease. However, anything that lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease can also lower the risk of type 2 diabetes, so don’t smoke, eat a healthy diet, maintain a healthy weight and exercise regularly.
Heredity
If cardiovascular disease occurs in a family member (in the first degree) before the age of 60, you have an increased risk. For example, a high cholesterol level in the blood can be hereditary (familial hypercholesterolaemia).
Heredity is a risk factor that, of course, there is little that can be done about it. It is important that you and your children face the fact and discuss it with your GP. But just like with all other risk factors, the same applies to heredity: early detection, where necessary medicines and good lifestyle rules reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease!
Women & their hearts
Question: which of these symptoms of a heart attack does not belong in the list?
- An oppressive, pressing pain in the middle of the chest, which can radiate to the arms and jaws
- Unusual severe fatigue
- Dizziness
- shortness of breath
- Severe Sleep Problems
Answer: they are all correct! But only for women. Men are more likely to have the traditional symptoms, such as chest pain.
Women are more likely to die of a heart attack than men. 42 percent of European women die within a year of a heart attack, 24 percent of men. This is because doctors and the women themselves do not always recognize the female symptoms and women are therefore treated later. Another reason is that women on average live older than men and heart disease often develops later in life.
About 30 percent of men over the age of 65 have elevated cholesterol, compared to 45 percent in women of this age. Because of the decline in estrogen production after menopause, women are more likely to have elevated cholesterol. However, cholesterol levels are measured much less frequently in women than in men. Women should therefore be alert themselves and ask the doctor to check their cholesterol. To improve the screening of cardiovascular diseases in women, cardiologist Angela Maas of the Isala clinics in Zwolle set up a vascular consultation hour, especially for women between the ages of 40 and 60. They can come here with questions or complaints without a referral from their GP. For more information, go to www.vrouwencardioloog.nl.
Men & their hearts
Men still smoke much more than women, despite the fact that they have started to smoke fewer cigarettes over the years. According to the latest figures from CBS, one in three men (31 percent) and almost one in four women (23 percent) smoke.
Question: who are more likely to have high blood pressure, men or women?
Answer: men. For example, more than 50 percent of men and more than 40 percent of women over the age of 50 have high blood pressure.
Unfortunately for the male sex: most heart problems arise in men about ten years earlier than in women. Until the menopause, women are still protected by the female hormones. For example, the average age of men at hospital admission for a heart attack is 64 years, and that of women is 71 years.
More information?
Want to know more about cardiovascular disease? Call the Information Line of the Dutch Heart Foundation: 0900-3000300 (from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.), or look at www.hartstichting.nl.
Thanks to Ank van Drenth, doctor at the Dutch Heart Foundation.
Sources):
- Plus Magazine