Angiography showing the details of the coronary arteries of the heart. The injection of dyes that are opaque to X-rays allows the identification, localization, and assessment of the extent of damage caused by obstructive lesions in these arteries. Photo credit: SPL/Photo Researchers, Inc.
Doctors use heart disease as an umbrella term for a number of diseases that affect the arteries. Hypertension or high blood pressure is the primary cause of heart disease. Altogether, heart disease is the leading cause of premature death, killing one in three men and one in five women prematurely — a shame, when so much can be done to prevent it.
Arteries become narrowed by deposits of cholesterol that turn into plaques, which can bleed and clot, cutting the flow of blood; or by a blood clot that breaks off and travels from a large artery to a small one and blocks it. You are more at risk of this happening if you smoke, drink excessive amounts, are overweight or obese, don’t take regular exercise that raises your heart rate, eat a lot of saturated fats, or if you lead a stressful lifestyle.
It’s scary to be told you have high blood pressure or CVD. Every time your heart beats a bit faster than normal, you might worry you’re about to have a heart attack.
High blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes all make you more likely to get heart disease. A diet aimed at preventing high blood pressure and reducing the risk of heart disease would address your particular risk factors.
Foods to eat to lower high blood pressure
There are many resources that talk about lifestyle changes that will help to reduce blood pressure especially making changes to what we eat:
*Use the Mediterranean diet (lots of vegetables, whole grains, fish and olive oil, with very little red meat) as your eating template.
*Oily fish — salmon, mackerel, herring, trout, sardines — can help prevent clots and arrhythmia of the heart. Eat two or three portions a week.
*Include lots of avocados, nuts and seeds in your diet, and use olive or rapeseed oils for cooking and salad dressings.
*Garlic, onions and ginger all have anticoagulant properties, so add them to stir-fries and sauces.
Foods to avoid
*Saturated fats — meaning processed meats (sausages and burgers), red meat, butter, lard, cream, cheese, cakes, anything containing palm oil or coconut oil, biscuits, pastry.
*Keep salt intake low. Ready-prepared foods usually contain high levels of salt. For flavour, use “low-salt” salts, spices and herbs.
*Keep alcohol consumption below the recommended levels of two to three units a day for women and three to four for men. One to two units a day for men over 40 and postmenopausal women may slightly reduce the risk of heart disease.
Healthy Lifestyle Tips
If you haven’t exercised for years, are older than 40 or obese, don’t start a strenuous exercise programme without the supervision of a qualified instructor. Get your instructor to design a programme that starts gently and builds up gradually. The standard advice is to do 30 minutes of exercise five days a week, but even a 10-minute walk is worth doing.
Finally try to learn relaxation techniques to help you unwind.