Here’s some BIG facts everyone needs to be aware of:
- According to the WHO in 2021 the leading cause of death worldwide was coronary heart disease (build up of plaque in arteries)
- In the UK alone 7.6 million people are living with heart disease, that’s over 10% of the population (according to the British Heart Foundation)
- Every 3 minutes in the UK someone dies from heart or circulatory disease (according to the British Heart Foundation)
- Every 1 in 3 worldwide deaths are related to heart disease
- A healthy heart can reduce your biological year by 6 years (so internally you will be 6 years younger)
Whoever is reading this needs to understand the magnitude of these statistics. Globally cancer kills around 10 million, heart disease is nearly double this amount, yet we all worry about getting cancer one day, but we don’t worry about heart disease. One important thing to mention though, is that sadly cancer for many is unavoidable, however heart disease can be avoidable with lifestyle choices. Exercise alone can reduce your risk of heart disease by 35%. So therefore the number one killer is actually ourselves, we are killing ourselves by not taking care of our bodies. As someone who has spent years researching heart health I want to share 10 easy practical tips to help reduce your risk of developing heart disease. Please note, I am not medically trained, but I’m someone who has lived with heart conditions since birth.
#1 – Stay active
As we just read moving your body can reduce your risk of heart disease by 35%. According to the British Heart Foundation 33% of the UK population do not meet the recommended levels of physical activity. The question many people ask, is what exercise should I do? And for how long? According to the statistics weekly we need 150 minutes of moderate intensity, or 75 minutes of vicarious intensity.
Moderate exercises:
- Brisk walking
- Riding a bike
- Dancing
- Hiking
Vicarious exercises:
- Swimming
- Running
- Walking up the stairs
- Skipping
So here’s a weekly recommendation:
5 x 30 minute sessions of moderate exercise: I personally might break this down into the following:
- Gym using the cross trainer 3x per week for 30 minutes
- 1 hour hike at the weekend
Or
3 x 25 minute sessions of vicarious exercise: I personally might break this down into the following:
- 2 swim sessions per week (lasting 25 minutes each)
- 1 session of walking up and down the stairs (lasting 25 minutes)
#2 – Healthy eating
Only 3 in 10 adults in the UK consume five fruit or vegetables per day. One important thing to mention is that five is the minimum, it’s actually encouraged to eat more. What we eat has a massive impact on developing heart disease:
- Consuming to much sodium (salt) can result in hypertension (high blood pressure)
- Consuming trans fats increases cholesterol which can cause plaque in your arteries, resulting in strokes and heart attacks. Trans fats are in most ultra processed foods, like sweet snacks, crisps, deep fried food, margarine and much more.
Harvard Health Publishing released an interesting article. They said that not eating enough nuts and seeds could increase your risk of heart disease by 8.5%, and not eating enough fruits and vegetables could increase your risk by 7.6%. It then said that consuming too much sodium could increase your risk by 9.5% and processed meats is 8.2%. One of the best diets to consume for heart health is the Mediterranean diet, as it’s rich in healthy fats and vegetables, but low in sodium and trans fats.
#3 – Monitor your blood pressure
High blood pressure is the leading cause of heart disease, an estimated 30% of adults in the UK have high blood pressure, and apparently half are not receiving effective treatment. According to the British Heart Foundation up to 8 million people in the UK are living with either untreated or undiagnosed high blood pressure. The thing that you need to know about high blood pressure is that it is predominantly asymptomatic, and if you do have symptoms you may not know it’s high blood pressure, as you may be getting headaches, which is related to many health conditions.
The most simple way to know if you have high blood pressure is to monitor yourself at home. This is the blood pressure monitor I use daily, it has very good reviews and is accurate. A healthy reading is between 90/60 and 120/80. Here’s how to correctly take a reading:
- Wake up and slowly wander around your home (you can drink, but don’t consume food or caffeine)
- Sit down on a chair and relax, with your arms and legs uncrossed
- Keep both your hands open, do not clench them into a fist
- Take deep breaths and sit for a minute before doing the reading
- Take a reading three times, use whichever reading is the lowest
I would suggest doing this for 1 week, if you notice your reading is not in the healthy range then please book a GP appointment.
#4 – Quit smoking and reduce alcohol consumption
According to the British Heart Foundation at least 15,000 UK deaths each year (from cardiovascular disease) are related to smoking. One of the biggest causes of heart disease is plaque build up in your arteries, as it means blood can’t flow as it should and it can result in blood clots. Smoking is one of the leading causes of plaque build up, and this could result in strokes and heart attacks. Smoking also increases your resting heart beat and your blood pressure, which we just read is the leading cause of heart disease. After one year of quitting smoking you reduce your risk of a heart attack by half – that statistic is huge!
A quarter of UK adults consume more than their weekly recommended alcohol intake. Consuming more than the recommended allowance could lead to the following:
- Abnormal heart rhythms
- Damage to the heart muscle
- Heart attack or stroke
- Increase blood pressure
- Weight gain – which can lead to heart disease
Everyone’s intolerance is different, but they recommend no more than 14 units per week. It is advised to space out your alcohol consumption and also to have alcohol free days. One example is a large glass of wine (12%) is 3 units, so that is approximately 4.5 large glasses of wine per week.
#5 – Sleep
I recently listed to a ZOE podcast by Dr Nour Makarem, who studies heart related diseases, but her research is mainly surrounding sleep and it’s link to heart disease. In the podcast she shared some really insightful pieces of information surrounding sleep:
- sleep regularity – we should be trying to go to bed and waking up at the same time each day (or within a 1 hour window). If this increases, especially to 2 hours or more it could double our risk of heart disease.
- Sleep duration is important for heart health – we should be getting 7-8 hours every night
- Better sleep hygiene will reduce your risk of heart disease – for example not consuming caffeine or alcohol before we sleep
- Follow your circadian rhythm – this is your internal body clock. You can take this test to discover your sleep chronotype.
Sleep benefits so many things, it allows us to be present with the people we love, it allows us to do well at work. But primarily it helps our physical body, which in the long term aids EVERY area of our lives.
#6 – Keep a healthy weight
- 29% of the UK are obese
- Plus 35% are overweight
- 1 in 9 cardiovascular deaths are because of a high BMI
We’ve discussed this already, but one of the biggest causes of heart disease is high blood pressure, if you are overweight or obese it increases your chances of high blood pressure, which therefore increase your chance of heart disease. It’s a shocking statistic that over half of the UK population are either overweight and obese, and therefore far more likely to die of a heart related disease. BMI in some cases isn’t always the best way to measure someone’s body fat, but measuring your waist circumference is a good way of determining if you need to lose body fat.
Women: 31.5 inches is a healthy waist circumference
Men: 37 inches is a healthy waist circumference
This can be achieved by doing the following (which we’ve already discussed):
- exercise
- healthy eating
- good sleep
#7 – Reduce stress levels
Stress does not cause heart disease, but the impact stress has on other areas of our life can lead to heart disease. Here are a few examples:
- prolonged stress can increase your blood pressure
- stress can lead to overeating and consuming excessive alcohol
- stress can stop us exercising and reduce the quality of sleep
It’s important to acknowledge if your stress is impacting other areas of your life. We all have moments of stress, but this doesn’t necessarily mean we comfort eat, don’t sleep or stop exercising. However for some of us stress can result in those actions, and if you notice it’s happening to you I would encourage you to speak with your GP.
#8 – Be mindful of other health conditions
There are several other health conditions which can lead to heart disease, such as:
- Diabetes – if your blood sugar levels are elevated for long periods of time, this can damage your vessel walls, resulting in heart disease (people with diabetes are 3-5 x more likely to die from heart disease than those who do not have diabetes)
- High cholesterol (lipid disorders) – it is estimated that half the UK are living with increased cholesterol. High cholesterol is linked with 1 in 5 of cardiovascular disease deaths.
- Kidney disease – impaired kidney function is associated with 1 in 9 cardiovascular disease deaths in the UK.
It is really important to see your GP on a regular basis for a routine health assessment. A healthy diet and exercise can do wonders at reducing the likelihood of getting diseases such as diabetes and high cholesterol.
#9 – Understand your family history
Heart disease can be genetic, so it is important to seek medical advice if their is a history of heart disease in your family. My grandfather died from heart disease, this lead to my father and his brothers all seeking medical advice from their GP. This resulted in my father taking extra steps to look after his heart. He started running, eating healthy and making sure not too drink too much. My uncles did not follow the same lifestyle, they continued drinking and smoking and this has resulted in heart attacks and other diseases. I personally know that with my heart condition it’s crucial I keep a healthy blood pressure and BMI, and so therefore I exercise and eat a balanced diet. Even if you have a higher chance of developing a heart disease (due to your family history), there are still steps you can take to reduce your likelihood of developing heart disease.
#10 – Take medication as prescribed
The final piece of advice is to ensure you are taking prescribed medication. Many people are diagnosed with a condition that could lead to heart disease, but yet they don’t take the medication the GP prescribes. An example is blood pressure, it can be managed by medication, obviously lifestyle modifications is always the best solution. However personally for me exercise and healthy eating wasn’t reducing my blood pressure, as I required a stent. So therefore medication was required, and if I didn’t take my medication it could have resulted in serious illness or even death (further down the line). Our heart is connected to every part of our body, so in order for our heart to be at its healthiest, so does the rest of our body.
I hope you have found this blog insightful in knowing how you can prevent heart disease. You’re not too young or too healthy to not need these tips. I can guarantee at least one of the tips I’ve given you are probably not implementing as you should. Our health is in our own hands, and if you want to feel younger as you age, these steps are crucial.
Resources:
https://www.bhf.org.uk/what-we-do/our-research/heart-statistics
https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/risk-factors/stress
Life with Helen Johnson 
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