PREVENTIVE MEASURES
Healthy eating habits, exercise, and smoke-free living are of utmost importance against malevolent cardiovascular diseases. When the symptoms already show up, it transcends into the next phase, and becomes chronic. The experts strongly urge us to take preventive measures to protect our heart.
Rıdvan Aktan, Lecturer at IUE Vocational School of Health Services, pointed that cardiovascular diseases due to vascular occlusion was among the leading cause of death, and that 42% of females and 38% of males died before the age of 75. Aktan stated that life style, use of tobacco products, unhealthy eating habits, inactive life, and psychosocial stress were closely related to cardiovascular diseases. “World Health Organization states that more than three fourths of deaths caused by cardiovascular diseases are preventable by proper life style changes. Among the risk factors for coronary heart disease are having a family history, smoking, stress, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, diabetes, and being overweight,” said Aktan.
‘Move to eliminate the risks’
Aktan stated that preventive diet reduced blood lipids and decreased the risk of diabetes and high blood pressure, and leading an inactive life had a negative influence on this type of disease. Aktan stated the following:
“Inactive life style enables risk factors such as high levels of blood lipids, insulin resistance, and high blood pressure in addition to overweight. Brisk walking every day or at least five days a week, swimming, bicycling, dancing and similar activities all help reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. High intensity work outs, especially for the elderly and people with chronic heart disease, are wrong. Therefore, individuals in medium risk group (males over 45 and females over 55) need to be administered a stress test in order to determine exercise intensity.”
‘Identify risks, prolong your life’
Aktan indicated that smoking increased the prevalence of the diseases, and that it was responsible for 50% of the preventable deaths. He said that correct assessment of risk factors and elimination of those would help prevent cardiovascular diseases.
