How to prevent heart disease and its recurrence

Based on WHO data in 2015, heart and blood vessel (cardiovascular) disease causes 17.7 million deaths worldwide. Even so, the good news is there are many ways you and your family can do to prevent heart disease. So, what are the precautions for heart disease that you need to know? Check out the reviews below.

The right way to prevent heart disease and its recurrence

The heart is an important organ that pumps blood throughout the body. That is why maintaining heart health is important. If not, various types of heart disease, such as atherosclerosis, arrhythmia, or heart attack can strike you at a later date.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the key to preventing heart disease is adopting a healthy diet. The reason is, by living a healthier life, you can maintain normal blood pressure, as well as normal cholesterol and blood sugar levels. This means, you reduce the various risks of cardiovascular disease.

This precaution is not only for healthy people, but also for heart sufferers who don't want their disease to recur.

To be clearer, let's talk one by one how to prevent heart disease by adopting the following healthy lifestyle.

1. Eat foods that are healthy for the heart

Preventing heart disease and controlling the disease so that it does not recur can be done by paying attention to food menu choices every day. "You can reduce the risk of this disease by eating foods that are good for the heart every day," says Julia Zumpano, RD, LD, a cardiology dietitian at the Cleveland Clinic website.

Various types of foods that help maintain heart health and prevent recurrences of cardiovascular disease, including:

Fish rich in omega 3, such as salmon, tuna, or milkfish have the potential to prevent inflammation of the blood vessels.
Nuts high in omega 3, such as almonds or walnuts can keep your heart healthy.
Berries, citrus fruits, grapes, cherries, tomatoes, avocados, pomegranates and apples are rich in antioxidants to reduce free radicals. You can enjoy fruit that is healthy for the heart and supports the effectiveness of drugs to cure heart disease directly or made juice.
Oats, flaxseeds, and chia seeds are high in fiber and good omega-3s that have the potential to improve heart health.
Soybeans, edamame, peanuts, and black beans are rich in isoflavones, B vitamins, and fiber that are good for the heart.
Vegetables, such as spinach, lettuce, carrots, broccoli, and sweet potatoes contain vitamin C, potassium, and folate to support heart function.
Other foods that you can consume to maintain heart health and prevent the recurrence of heart disease symptoms are sweet potatoes, yogurt, chocolate and not drinking too much coffee.

2. Limit or avoid dietary restrictions

In order to maintain heart health and prevent recurrence of heart disease, you can avoid the following restrictions:

Foods high in fat and cholesterol

One of the causes of cardiovascular disease is the buildup and blockage of plaque in the arteries. This plaque is formed from excess cholesterol, fat, or calcium.

Most of the substances that make up the plaque come from food that is consumed every day. For example, fast food, fried foods, fatty foods, and foods high in cholesterol. If these foods are consumed frequently, plaque in the arteries can build up and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.

It would be better, choose foods that are baked, boiled, or steamed. Even if fried, the ingredients used are olive oil. Then, when eating beef or chicken, set aside the fat and don't forget to combine it with other proteins, such as fish.

Smoke

If you are a smoker, try to quit smoking and stay away from secondhand smoke from now on as a way to avoid heart disease. In fact, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), the risk of heart attack and stroke can drop dramatically right after people stop this unhealthy habit.

Drink alcohol and soft drinks

Alcohol can increase blood pressure and triglyceride levels in the body. When consumed in excess, alcohol can increase your risk of obesity, alcoholism, and heart disease.

Therefore, limit your alcohol consumption, to help maintain heart health and prevent heart disease.

Apart from alcohol, you also have to reduce the habit of drinking soft drinks. The reason is, this drink contains high sugar, can increase body weight, and in turn can increase the risk of heart disease.

Drinking occasionally is not a problem, as long as you don't drink too often and limit the portion to prevent heart disease or recurrence of symptoms.

Snack on salty foods

The way to prevent further heart disease is to reduce the consumption of salty foods, such as potato chips and other savory snacks. Foods that are high in salt can increase the risk of hypertension (high blood pressure).

If you already have hypertension, your risk of developing heart disease will be even greater. If you continue to stubbornly eat foods high in salt, your heart function will get weaker and your arteries will be damaged. Over time, this condition will cause heart failure, in which the heart has difficulty supplying oxygen-rich blood flow throughout the body.

Although salt is needed by the body so that cells, tissues and organs can work properly, its intake should not be excessive. So, cut back on habits snackingsalty food to prevent heart disease.

3. Exercise regularly and stay active

Exercise can help improve heart and lung health, maintain normal cholesterol levels and normal blood pressure, and maintain a healthy weight. Conversely, if you are lazy to exercise, the risk of various diseases will be even higher, including cardiovascular disease.

Therefore, avoiding heart disease can also be done by exercising at least 30 minutes a day, at least 5 days a week.

All exercise is basically good. However, there are some that are highly recommended for maintaining heart health and for heart disease patients such as walking, jogging, riding a bicycle, swimming, yoga, or lifting weights.

Physical activity is actually not limited to just exercise. When you're at the office, take a short break to get up, move your feet and hands, and do a light warm-up to get your heart pumping.

4. Maintain ideal body weight

Obesity is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Therefore, if you want to prevent heart disease, the way you have to do is to maintain an ideal body weight.

The trick, adjust your diet by not overeating. A study published in American Heart Association states that overeating can increase the risk of heart attack in people who have heart problems.

This is because food releases many hormones into the bloodstream which can increase heart rate, blood clots, and blood pressure. This can make the heart work harder and trigger blockages, which can eventually lead to a heart attack or stroke.

In addition to eating portions that need to be limited, also balance it with physical activity such as exercising regularly every day. You can do this heart disease prevention by exercising regularly and avoiding too much food.

In addition, reduce the habit of watching TV for too long, especially while snacking on salty foods. To keep track of your ideal body weight, calculate your Body Mass Index (BMI) using a BMI calculator.

5. Drink plenty of water

Diligently drinking water is a pretty potent way to prevent heart disease, but it is often underestimated. This heart disease prevention measure is carried out because dehydration (lack of body fluids) is bad for the heart.

When you are dehydrated, the amount of blood in your body decreases. To compensate, the heart will beat faster.

The body also stores more sodium making the blood thicker and making it difficult for it to circulate properly. The heart's performance in pumping blood will be even heavier. That is why, you must drink enough every day to support heart performance.

6. Learn to manage stress

Stress is a natural thing and can be experienced by everyone. The problem is not what causes stress, but how you respond to it.

When you are under stress, your body produces the hormone adrenaline, which makes your heart work harder. As a result, in the long term blood pressure can increase and potentially cause various heart problems.

So, the way to prevent heart disease related to this is to be smart in managing emotions. You can take precautions for stress-related heart disease by trying meditation, yoga, or deep breathing techniques. If you feel too stressed, don't hesitate to visit a psychologist.

Sex often occurs because the sex life deteriorates for people with heart disease and vessels. Michael Blaha, MD, MPH, researchers from the John Hopkins Center answered the concerns of heart disease patients about this.

According to him, having sex is safe for patients with cardiovascular disease because the risk of a heart attack during this activity is very low, which is less than 1 percent. In addition, the duration of sexual activity also tends to be shorter when compared to physical activity, such as sports.

So, is Viagra safe to use for heart sufferers who want to improve their sex life? Viagra or phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor (PDE5) drugs are drugs to improve sexual performance and are safe to use for people with heart disease.

However, the use of the drug must still be supervised by a doctor. Given, there are side effects that may occur if the drug is used appropriately.

7. Bask in the sun

The preventive measure for heart disease and its recurrence is routine sunbathing in the morning sun. Why? The reason is that sunlight has the potential to reduce inflammation caused by plaque on the blood vessels of the heart.

In addition, other benefits of morning sunlight for the heart are lowering cholesterol levels and blood pressure and strengthening the heart muscle to pump blood. Try sunbathing in the morning for 10 minutes every day, but make sure the sun is hitting your skin directly.

8. Follow specific guidelines for fasting

If you are a heart sufferer and want to fast without the distraction of recurring symptoms, then you don't need to worry. The reason is, some heart patients can still fast comfortably and safely, namely:

Make sure you get permission from your doctor to fast. Consult your doctor a month or 2 months before entering the month of Ramadan. The goal is to ensure that your body is in good health and able to fast and adjust the timing of taking heart disease medication.
Sahur and iftar with a diet recommended by a doctor or nutritionist. In addition, avoid various dietary restrictions that trigger symptoms.
Enough water intake as usual, so you are not dehydrated and your heart can work properly. The simple trick is to follow the 2-4-2 guidelines or 2 glasses at dawn, 4 glasses when breaking the fast (2 glasses after ta'jil and 2 glasses after tarawih), and 2 glasses of water before going to bed. Unless you are a patient with heart failure, usually your water intake will be limited.
Don't forget to rest and check your health regularly.

9. Routine health checks

You can do heart disease prevention efforts with routine health checks. This includes checking blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar.

This is because high cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure can increase your risk of developing cardiovascular disease. By doing this, you can monitor your overall health.

You need to start this method of preventing heart disease when you are 20 years old. Remember today, cardiovascular disease does not only affect the elderly. Adults over 20 years of age can also develop this chronic disease due to poor lifestyle practices.

If you already have diabetes, check your blood sugar to be adjusted accordingly. Likewise with people who have hypertension (high blood pressure). Consult further with your doctor about this. Always follow doctor's recommendations, especially in the rules for taking medication and implementing a lifestyle.

10. Understand the symptoms of heart disease

Understanding the symptoms of heart disease, including how to prevent the disease. The reason is, being aware of symptoms early will make a person get the right treatment more quickly. That means, the severity of symptoms as well as complications of heart disease, such as heart attack, heart failure, or stroke can be avoided.

Chest pain, such as pressure and discomfort
Shortness of breath, aka shortness of breath
Irregular heartbeat
The body is weak and the head feels dizzy and makes you feel like you might pass out

If you experience symptoms or find people around you showing these symptoms, seek medical attention immediately. You can also call the medical team at 118 or 119 for emergency conditions.