Heart Disease – Know Your Risk

Priya Seetal

What is heart disease?
What are the risk factors for heart disease?
Behaviours that increase the risk of heart disease
How do genetics and family history affect the risk of heart disease?
Do age and sex affect the risk of heart disease?
How do I decrease my risk of heart disease?
Symptoms of a heart attack and stroke

September is heart awareness month. For many years in South Africa, this month has been used to raise awareness about heart disease and highlighting the importance of a healthy lifestyle and appropriate treatment. Knowing if you are at risk, and following a healthy lifestyle are the key factors in the prevention of heart disease.

What is heart disease?

Heart diseases or cardiovascular diseases are a group of disorders of the heart and blood vessels. They include:

  • Coronary heart disease – a disease of the blood vessels supplying the heart muscle
  • Cerebrovascular disease – a disease of the blood vessels supplying the brain
  • Peripheral arterial disease – a disease of blood vessels supplying the arms and legs
  • Rheumatic heart disease – damage to the heart muscle and heart valves from rheumatic fever, caused by streptococcal bacteria
  • Congenital heart disease – birth defects that affect the normal development and functioning of the heart caused by malformations of the heart structure from birth and
  • Deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism – blood clots in the leg veins, which can dislodge and move to the heart and lungs.

Heart disease can lead to heart attacks and strokes that are mainly caused by a blockage that prevents blood from flowing to the heart or brain. The most common reason for this is a build-up of fatty deposits on the inner walls of the blood vessels that supply the heart or brain. Strokes can be caused by bleeding from a blood vessel in the brain or from blood clots.

Key facts about heart disease

  • It is the leading cause of death globally.
  • According to the latest figures from the World Health Organisation, an estimated 17.9 million people died from CVDs in 2019, representing 32% of all global deaths. Of these deaths, 85% were due to heart attack and stroke.
  • Over three quarters of these deaths take place in low- and middle-income countries.
  • Most cardiovascular diseases can be prevented by addressing behavioural risk factors such as tobacco use, unhealthy diet and obesity, physical inactivity and harmful use of alcohol.
  • It is important to detect heart disease as early as possible so that management with counselling and medicines can begin.

What are the risk factors for heart disease?

According to the Centre of Disease Control and Prevention in the United States the following increases your risk of suffering from heart disease:

High blood pressure. High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. It is a medical condition that happens when the pressure of the blood in your arteries and other blood vessels is too high. If it is not controlled, it can affect your heart and other major organs of your body, including your kidneys and brain. High blood pressure is often called a “silent killer” because it usually has no symptoms. The only way to know whether you have high blood pressure is to measure your blood pressure and seek medical attention is it is high.

Unhealthy blood cholesterol levels. Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance made by the liver or found in certain foods. Extra cholesterol can build up in the walls of the arteries, including those of the heart. This leads to narrowing of the arteries and can decrease the blood flow to the heart, brain, kidneys, and other parts of the body.

There are two main types of blood cholesterol: LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol, which is considered to be “bad” cholesterol because it can cause plaque buildup in your arteries, and HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol, which is considered to be “good” cholesterol because higher levels provide some protection against heart disease.

High blood cholesterol usually has no signs or symptoms. The only way to know whether you have high cholesterol is to get your cholesterol checked.

Diabetes mellitus. The risk of death from heart disease for adults with diabetes is higher than for adults who do not have diabetes. Talk with your doctor about ways to prevent or manage diabetes and control other risk factors.

Obesity. Obesity is excess body fat and is significantly associated high blood pressure. It is linked to higher “bad” cholesterol and triglyceride levels and lower “good” cholesterol levels.

 

Behaviours that increase the risk of heart disease

The following behaviours can increase your risk for heart disease.

  • Eating a diet high in saturated fats such as fatty meat, chicken skin and processed meats.
  • Too much salt (sodium) in the diet can raise blood pressure.
  • Not getting enough physical activity. Regular physical activity can lower your risk for heart disease.
  • Drinking too much alcohol as it can raise blood pressure levels and the levels of triglycerides -a type of fat found in the blood which can increase the risk for heart disease.
    • Women should have no more than 1 drink a day.
    • Men should have no more than 2 drinks a day.
  • Smoking as it damages the heart and blood vessels Exposure to secondhand smoke can also increase the risk for heart disease, even for nonsmokers.

How do genetics and family history affect the risk of heart disease?

When members of a family pass traits from one generation to another through genes, that process is called heredity. Genetic factors likely play some role in high blood pressure, heart disease, and other related conditions. However, it is also likely that people with a family history of heart disease share common behaviours that are associated with an increased risk of heart disease.

The risk for heart disease can increase even more when heredity combines with unhealthy lifestyle choices, such as smoking cigarettes and eating an unhealthy diet.

Do age and sex affect the risk of heart disease?

Heart disease is the number one killer of both men and women. It can happen at any age, but the risk goes up as you age.

How do I decrease my risk of heart disease?

Avoid smoking, reduce salt intake, eat more fruit and vegetables, do regular physical activity and avoid harmful use of alcohol are the most effective ways that have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease.

If you do have heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and high blood lipids then medication prescribed by your doctor must be taken in order to reduce the risk of getting a heart attack or stroke.

 

Symptoms of a heart attack and stroke

It is important to know the symptoms of a heart attack or stroke as early detection and treatment is key to preventing death or suffering

Symptoms of a heart attack:

  • pain or discomfort in the centre of the chest; and/or
  • pain or discomfort in the arms, the left shoulder, elbows, jaw, or back.
  • In addition, the person may experience difficulty in breathing or shortness of breath;

The most common symptom of a stroke is sudden weakness of the face, arm, or leg, most often on one side of the body. Other symptoms include sudden onset of:

  • numbness of the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body;
  • confusion, difficulty speaking or understanding speech;
  • difficulty seeing with one or both eyes;
  • difficulty walking, dizziness and/or loss of balance or coordination;
  • severe headache with no known cause; and/or
  • fainting or unconsciousness.

 

 

 

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