Cardiovascular health is highly important to take care of, yet heart disease continues to be on the rise. Although medicine has come a long way and fewer people are dying of heart issues, there is still a high number of patients living with damaged hearts and brains.
When it comes to cardiovascular health, you have both modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors. Risk factors which you can’t change include gender, age, and a family history of heart disease. In comparison, the list of modifiable factors is longer, which means you still have ample opportunities to reduce your risk of vascular disease.
Modifiable risk factors include weight, activity level, smoking status, stress, sleep, and diet.
Vascular disease can go unnoticed for quite some time, but if you begin to experience any of the related symptoms, then you need to seek out medical attention immediately. These symptoms include chest pain upon exertion, shortness of breath, and heart palpitations. Identifiers of a stroke include droopiness of the face, being unable to raise your arms above the head, and slurred speech.
If you’re over the age of 40 with a family history of vascular disease, then you will want to go for regular check-ups to monitor your heart health. Even if you don’t have a history of heart disease, it’s still wise to control those modifiable risk factors to keep your risk at bay as much as possible.
Also read: Natural ways to improve heart rate and get your heart pumping