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Skip to main content. Home Heart. Diet and heart disease risk. Actions for this page Listen Print. Summary Read the full fact sheet. On this page. Characteristics of heart disease Risk factors for heart disease Dietary fats and cholesterol levels Blood pressure and salt sodium Reduce your heart disease risk with healthy eating Foods important for heart health How to reduce your risk of heart disease with healthy eating Where to get help.
Characteristics of heart disease Heart disease results from the narrowing of the arteries that supply the heart with blood through a process known as atherosclerosis. Risk factors for heart disease There are many factors that can increase your risk of heart disease.
Risk factors that can't be changed Risk factors within your control Age Smoking status Gender Diet Ethnicity Cholesterol levels Family history of heart disease Blood pressure Body weight Diabetes management Physical activity levels Depression and social isolation.
Give feedback about this page. Was this page helpful? Yes No. View all heart. In the next two decades, the increasing burden of cardiovascular diseases will be borne mostly by developing countries. There tends to be a delay between the exposure to risk factors such as poor nutrition, insufficient physical activity and tobacco use and the onset of cardiovascular diseases.
This risk is increased by biological factors such as obesity , high blood pressure, diabetes and low cardio-respiratory fitness.
Cardiovascular disease death rates therefore tend to reflect risks encountered at some point in the past. Table 10 Summary of strength of evidence on lifestyle factors. A high intake of dietary fats strongly influences the risk of developing cardiovascular disease CVD.
Saturated fatty acids commonly found in dairy products and meat raise cholesterol levels. Moreover, studies have also shown trans fatty acids , found in industrially hardened oils, increase the risk of coronary heart disease. While they have been eliminated from spreads in many parts of the world, trans fatty acids are still found in deep-fried fast foods and baked goods.
The most effective replacement for saturated fatty acids in the diet are polyunsaturated fatty acids PUFAs which can lower the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
In particular, they are found in soybean and sunflower oils as well as in fatty fish and plant foods. Polyunsaturated fatty acids have many positive effects, notably on blood pressure, heart function, blood clotting, and inflammatory mechanisms. Most of this evidence is a result of fish consumption studies. In one particular study, a group of patients who survived a heart attack were given fish oils over several years. Cholesterol , which is an essential component of cell membranes and certain hormones , is produced by the liver, but it is also present in dairy products, meat and eggs.
A high amount of a certain type of cholesterol Low Density Lipoprotein or LDL in the blood can lead to its deposition in the arteries that can restrict blood flow and may cause heart problems.
It is not clear whether dietary cholesterol is associated with cardiovascular disease, but it is recommended to avoid excessive intake.
Your chances of developing atherosclerosis are based on several different risk factors. But other factors that influence the onset of atherosclerosis are either partially or fully under your control. Chief among these are your eating habits and how much exercise you get, as well as whether you smoke. But there are still steps you can take to reduce these risks, from leading an active and healthy lifestyle to taking medications as prescribed by your doctor.
If you smoke, quitting is the single most important step you can take to reduce your risk for atherosclerosis and other heart disease risk factors , according to the Mayo Clinic. Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death and illness in the United States, accounting for about 1 in 5 deaths each year, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
One major way that smoking takes its deadly toll is by harming your blood vessels. Cigarette smoke contains a number of toxic chemicals that enter your bloodstream, as noted in a article published in the journal Current Medicinal Chemistry 4. These chemicals raise your risk for atherosclerosis in a number of different ways, such as increasing inflammation in your arteries and making platelets in your blood coagulate clot more easily. If you smoke or use tobacco in another form, talk to your doctor about coming up with a strategy to effectively quit.
Your diet is an especially important factor in your risk for atherosclerosis, and heart disease generally. A heart-healthy diet includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, lean meats and poultry, low-fat dairy products, nuts, seeds, and legumes dried beans and peas. Vegetables Good choices include fresh and frozen varieties of almost any vegetable, with special attention to getting a variety of colors and textures.
This exam may include listening to your heart. Certain sounds may indicate you have a problem with blood flowing through your arteries. Your doctor also may check your pulse in your leg or foot. This will show him or her how well your blood is traveling through your arteries. If he or she feels a weak pulse or no pulse in one of those areas, it may mean you have a blocked artery.
An important way to prevent atherosclerosis is by living a healthy lifestyle. Maintain a healthy weight, eat a balanced diet, and exercise. They may also help control your blood sugar, which is important if you have diabetes. If you smoke, stop smoking. This is the most important step you can take to decrease your risk of atherosclerosis. Your doctor has a way to calculate your risk of developing atherosclerosis based on your age, sex, cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and other factors.
They also remove cholesterol buildup from your arteries. Your doctor will likely recommend lifestyle changes, such as a healthy diet and exercise, to treat atherosclerosis. For example, if you are 50 to 59 years of age and have a high risk for heart disease, your doctor may want you to take a low dose of aspirin each day. Aspirin helps keep your blood from forming clots that can clog your arteries. If you have severe atherosclerosis or have been diagnosed with cardiovascular disease, your doctor may recommend a procedure to open your blocked arteries or surgery to go around bypass the blockage.
This article was contributed by: familydoctor. This information provides a general overview and may not apply to everyone. Talk to your family doctor to find out if this information applies to you and to get more information on this subject.
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