Control Risk Factors to Lower Risk for Heart Attack or Stroke
January 1, 2019
Control Risk Factors to Lower Risk for Heart Attack or Stroke
As part of American Heart Month, Logan Memorial Hospital wants to keep you informed about cardiovascular disease and ways to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke.
Claiming nearly a million lives each year, cardiovascular disease has been the leading cause of death in the United States every year since 1900 (except during the 1918 flu epidemic). This condition affects approximately 80 million American adults, that’s one-third of the U.S. adult population. Despite the widespread nature of this disease, there are steps that you can take to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
“There are nine major risk factors of cardiovascular disease,” said Dr. Kushal Singh, a physician at Logan Memorial Hospital. “These factors can put people at an increased risk of heart attack and stroke. They include age, heredity (including family history and race), gender, smoking cigarettes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, physical inactivity, being obese or overweight and having diabetes. A person can’t change his or her age, heredity or gender; however, the other risk factors can be controlled by patients. Focus on these six items to lower the risk for heart attack and stroke.”
Controlling Risk Factors
The first step in the fight against cardiovascular disease is to have an annual physical with your primary care physician. He or she can assist in creating a plan to reduce cardiovascular disease risks. Certain risk factors seem to be particularly problematic in today’s society including being overweight, controlling diabetes, and smoking.
“Americans are struggling more and more with their weight,” Dr. Singh said. “Approximately sixty-seven percent of adults are overweight, with half of those actually considered obese. And, perhaps even more frightening, nearly 32% percent of children and adolescents ages 2–19 are overweight or obese. Statistics tell us that at least 70% of children who are overweight will grow up to be overweight adults.”
Closely connected to the problem of weight is the increasing incidence of diabetes. It has been projected that diabetes prevalence will more than double between 2005 and 2050. About a third of the more than 15.1 million people with diabetes don’t know they have it, and another 59.7 million have prediabetes, which greatly increases their risk of developing diabetes. At least 65 percent of people with diabetes die from some type of cardiovascular disease.
Perhaps the best-known risk factor of cardiovascular disease is smoking, which raises the risk of coronary heart disease death two to three times. In spite of the awareness of these risks, almost 46 million U.S. adults are daily smokers. In 2007, 1.0 million people started smoking cigarettes daily. Of these daily smokers, nearly 41% were under age 18.
Other Steps to Control Cardiovascular Disease
Here are a few practical steps people can take to fight cardiovascular disease, according to Dr. Singh.
- Limit your intake of fat and sugars
- Try to avoid foods with saturated fats and trans fats
- Limit your intake of sodium and salt
- Eat plenty of whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables and low-fat dairy products
- Stop smoking
- Start an exercise program that keeps you physically active 30 to 60 minutes a day
- Choose meat and poultry that are lean and include more fish in your diet
- If you drink alcohol, limit your intake to 1-2 glasses a day
Every Second Counts
Most importantly, people need to become aware of the symptoms of both heart attack and stroke and the importance of taking quick action. Dr. Singh said, “We want to make sure that everyone knows that heart attacks and strokes are life-and-death emergencies — and that every single second counts. Everyone should know the symptoms, and if they see or have any of them, immediately call 9-1-1.”
Today heart attack and stroke victims can benefit from new medications and treatments unavailable to patients in years past. For example, clot-busting drugs can stop some heart attacks and strokes in progress, reducing disability and saving lives. But to be effective, these drugs must be given relatively quickly after heart attack or stroke symptoms first appear. Not all of these signs occur in every heart attack or stroke, and sometimes they go away and return.
Heart Attack Warning Signs
- Chest discomfort. Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and comes back. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain.
- Discomfort in other areas of the upper body. Symptoms can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.
- Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort.
- Other signs may include breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness.
Stroke Warning Signs
- Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
- Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
- Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
- Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
- Sudden, severe headache with no known cause
Discuss your concerns about heart disease and strokes with your physician.