Yesterday was the European Day for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Health, as good an excuse as any to dedicate today’s blog entry to remembering some basic tips to take care of our hearts and avoid the risks associated with cardiac pathologies.
According to José Albors, head of the Cardiac Surgery Service of the Ribera health group at the Vinalopó hospital and one of the coordinators of the group’s Heart Area, the secret of a healthy heart is education in healthy habits from childhood, “in addition to a good primary care network, able to detect risk factors in patients in time”.
What are the cardiac risk factors
But what are the main risk factors that can damage the heart of an apparently healthy patient? Dr. Albors points out three: hypertension, cholesterol and diabetes.
High blood pressure forces the heart to work harder to properly pump blood throughout the body. This causes the left ventricle to thicken, which increases the risk of a heart attack, heart failure, or sudden death.
Excess cholesterol causes the appearance of plaques in the arteries of the heart, narrowing the passage of blood and even obstructing circulation, which significantly increases the risk of suffering a heart attack.
As for people with diabetes, heart problems are pathologies associated with this condition, so symptom control must be stricter.
In addition, adds Dr. Albors, it is important that older people pay attention to the symptoms or risk factors they have to go to their doctor when necessary and that he can perform a physical examination and refer them, if necessary, to a heart specialist.
Take care of women’s hearts. symptoms
This epigraph goes far beyond the romantic meaning. And the fact is that, beyond what many citizens may think, heart disease is not only a matter for men. “The first cause of mortality in both sexes is cardiovascular disease,” says Dr. Pablo García. In the case of women, however, their condition is sometimes more serious when they arrive at the specialist because, due to their profile, many do not pay attention to the symptoms that warn of a possible heart problem and attribute it to stressful situations , anxiety or tiredness.
Dr. García gives us three keys to go to the Emergency Room or to a specialist to rule out serious illness, depending on the intensity of symptoms:
- Chest pain: if we feel a strong pain in the chest, especially when it starts with an effort or with emotions.
- Palpitations: especially if they are of an intense nature or last for more than 20-30 min. In these cases it is important to have an electrocardiogram, to rule out an arrhythmia or other pathology.
- Fatigue: especially if we have high blood pressure or if in similar situations we had not experienced this feeling before.
To help raise public awareness of the importance of heart disease prevention, the Ribera health group has launched an original campaign, Ritmes de Vida, which has involved the design and construction of the first arrhythmic metronome in history, which swings to rhythm of a sick heart, that of Adrián, a patient with arrhythmia, who is also a musician. Like Adrián, other musicians, known and anonymous, collaborate in this campaign by recording short pieces of music that they improvise to the rhythm of Adrián’s heart. Learn about the campaign in depth at this link and collaborate, if you want, by sending your video.
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