Rajshahi Bureau: (2 Oct, 2016) Experts at a scientific seminar said the number of heart attack cases was on rise with the people facing mounting health risk during the last couple of years.
In this context, they identified hypertension, uncontrolled diabetes, obesity and cigarette smoking as the major risk factors for the disease.
They pointed out some other factors like lack of exercise as well as habit of eating fast food, taking soft drinks or various drugs and drinking alcohol as largely responsible for heart ailments. Local unit of National Heart Foundation arranged the seminar on heart attack in its conference hall on Friday to mark the World Heart Day- 2016. Unit members Prof Dr Shahadat Hossain Raoshan and Prof Dr Shamsuzzaman Chowdhury presented two keynote papers on heart attack along with its preventive measures.
The keynote speakers said modification of life-style, proper control of blood glucose and hypertension and treatment of lipid disorders can help manage the risk factors of heart attack.
There are several ways you can help reduce your risk of developing coronary heart disease (CHD), such as lowering your blood pressure and cholesterol levels. There are also a number of ways you can do this, which were discussed elaborately.
They said the country’s health sector has attained a significant success in managing the heart diseases with collaborative efforts of both public and private sectors.
Besides, they urged all concerned to have faith on the local heart disease management facilities instead of going frequent abroad for treatment at the cost of huge money. With the unit president Golam Rabbani in the chair, Prof Dr Entajul Haque, Dr Entekhabul Alam, Dr Ahsanul Habib Chowdhury and Dr Jamil also spoke.
What Are the Risk Factors for Heart Disease?
There are several risk factors for heart disease; some are controllable, others are not. Uncontrollable risk factors include:
Male sex
Older age
Family history of heart disease
Post-menopausal
Race (African-Americans, American Indians, and Mexican-Americans are more likely to have heart disease than Caucasians)
Still, there are many heart disease risk factors that can be controlled. By making changes in your lifestyle, you can actually reduce your risk for heart disease. Controllable risk factors include:
Smoking
High LDL, or "bad" cholesterol and low HDL, or "good" cholesterol
Uncontrolled hypertension (high blood pressure)
Physical inactivity
Obesity (more than 20% over one's ideal body weight)
Uncontrolled diabetes
High C-reactive protein
Uncontrolled stress and anger
What Can I Do to Lower My Risk of Heart Disease?
Making changes in your lifestyle is a proven method for reducing your risk of heart disease. While there are no guarantees that a heart-healthy lifestyle will keep heart disease away, these changes will certainly improve your health in other ways, such as improving your physical and emotional well being. Also, because some risk factors are related to others, making changes in one area can benefit other areas.
Here are some ways you can reduce your risk of heart disease.
Quit smoking . Smokers have more than twice the risk for heart attack as nonsmokers. If you smoke, quit. Better yet, never start smoking at all. Nonsmokers who are exposed to constant smoke (such as living with a spouse who smokes) also have an increased risk. So taking measures to eliminate this exposure to smoke is important.
Control diabetes. If not properly controlled, diabetes can contribute to significant heart damage, including heart attacks and death. Control diabetes through a healthy diet, exercise, maintaining a healthy weight, and taking medications as prescribed by your doctor.
Get active. Many of us lead sedentary lives, exercising infrequently or not at all. People who don't exercise have higher rates of death and heart disease compared to people who perform even mild to moderate amounts of physical activity. Even leisure activities like gardening or walking can lower your risk of heart disease. Most people should exercise 30 minutes a day, at moderate intensity, on most days. More vigorous activities are associated with more benefits. Exercise should be aerobic, involving the large muscle groups. Aerobic activities include brisk walking, cycling, swimming, jumping rope, and jogging. If walking is your exercise of choice, use the pedometer goal of 10,000 steps a day. Consult your doctor before starting any exercise program.
Eat right . Eat a heart-healthy diet low in salt, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, and refined sugars. Try to increase your intake of foods rich in vitamins and other nutrients, especially antioxidants, which have been proven to lower your risk for heart disease. Also eat plant-based foods such as fruits and vegetables, nuts, and whole grains.
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