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Heart diseases are the first cause of death globally:
they are responsible for approximately 17 million deaths per year.
These diseases can be largely prevented,
but it is necessary to know how to do it.
In order to learn how to prevent heart diseases, we will analyze a series of factors
that are harmful for the cardiovascular system,
which, due to their pernicious action, constitute serious risks and thus are called “risk factors”.
There are many risk factors. Some of them,
called non-modifiable, are fixed,
that is to say, they cannot be modified.
These are: age, inheritance, and gender.
However, there are other very important risk factors,
called modifiable, that can be controlled
through prevention and a healthy lifestyle.
Let's see which those factors are.
Many times, our daily activities
lead us to have a sedentary lifestyle.
In these cases, in order to prevent cardiovascular diseases,
cholesterol problems and diabetes,
and to reduce blood pressure and stress,
it is advisable to make the most of every opportunity
to set our bodies in motion.
Overweight increases the activity of the heart,
and represents an important risk factor.
In addition, a healthy diet is essential for
the prevention of certain diseases such as diabetes.
This is the reason why we should limit
the consumption of animal fat,
whole dairy products, high sugar contents, and sodium;
and increase the consumption of fish, vegetables, and fruits.
Finally, our diet is a key aspect
to regulate high blood pressure;
It is estimated that 30% of the
population suffers from this disease,
and only a third of that portion is treated successfully.
In this case, we must be especially cautious when using salt:
in general, we consume between 10 and 15 grams of salt per day,
although our body needs not more than 2 or 3.
In cases of high cholesterol levels
and high blood pressure, it is essential to undergo a pharmacological
treatment indicated by a doctor.
Lastly, smokers’ risk of developing a
heart disease is 2 to 4 times higher than that of non-smoker people.
Passive exposure to tobacco smoke
increases the risk of suffering from a
heart disease, even for non-smokers.
To conclude, a special mention for the
asymptomatic stage of cardiovascular diseases.
Even though a healthy lifestyle has an impact
on preventing cardiovascular diseases,
it happens that for a long period, which
may last 10, 20 or more years,
the risk factors may progressively harm
and deteriorate the cardiovascular system
without evidence of any symptomatology.
During this period, a person may feel great;
even so, it is crucial to undertake regular medical examinations.
It is useful to detect potential irregularities
in order to prevent the progress of the disease,
since when the first symptom appears,
it is usually too late, and in those cases,
science is not useful for healing but just for palliative care.
For this reason, regular medical examinations are carried out at our plants,
thanks to which it is possible to detect
heart-related issues and treat them right on time.