Heart health is a broad term. It includes all types of cardiovascular disease, which involve the hardening and narrowing of blood vessels in a process called atherosclerosis, which can be manifested through chest pain, heart attack or stroke. In fact, 40 percent of deaths in the United States are a result of heart disease, according to the Mayo Clinic. Fortunately, you can take steps to keep your cardiovascular system working properly.
Risk Factors
Males have a higher risk for heart disease than females. African-Americans have a higher risk than Caucasians and many other groups. People with a family history of the disease are also more likely to develop it themselves. These are factors you cannot do anything about. Other risk factors, however, are modifiable. They include smoking, obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, according to the American Heart Association. Type 2 diabetes, which has both genetic and lifestyle components, is also a major risk factor.
Prevention/Solution
Spending 30 minutes to an hour five times a week on moderately intense physical activity can help you maintain cardiovascular health, according to the Mayo Clinic. Walking, running and swimming can be good choices, but even common activities such as housekeeping and walking up stars are beneficial. At meal times, focus on vegetables, fruits and whole grains. Omega-3 fatty acids also may decrease your blood pressure and your risk of heart attack, the Mayo Clinic notes. Certain fish, including herring, salmon, mackerel and sardines, are high in Omega-3's, as are walnut oil, flaxseed oil and soybean oil.
Statistics
More than 81 million people in the United States have cardiovascular disease in one or more forms, according to the American Heart Association. That includes nearly 74 million with high blood pressure, more than 18 million with coronary heart disease and nearly 6 million with heart failure. In 2006, the latest year for which data were available, more than 830,000 people died of cardiovascular disease. By comparison, about 560,000 died of cancer and 122,000 died in accidents.
Expert Insight
Medical science tends to blame heart disease on modern lifestyles--office work instead of manual labor, driving instead of walking, processed foods instead of farm-grown vegetables. But in late 2009, researchers reported finding evidence of atherosclerosis in Egyptian mummies up to 3,500 years old. That, they said, suggests a need to more carefully scrutinize the potential risk factors for the condition. One of the researchers, Dr. Michael Miyamoto of the University of California San Diego, told the Los Angeles Times: "We are observing the footprint of the same disease process in people who lived thousands of years ago. Perhaps atherosclerosis is part of being human."
Conventional Wisdom Challenged
Scientists have long portrayed saturated fat, which is prevalent in dairy products and meat, as the enemy of a healthy heart. But research published in early 2010 found no link between higher levels of saturated fat consumption and risk for heart disease. The research team, led by Dr. Ronald Krauss of Children's Hospital Oakland Research Center in California, examined data from 21 previous studies and published the results in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Dr. Robert Eckel, a professor of medicine at the University of Colorado, told Reuters that the thinking on heart-healthy eating is moving away from a focus on specific nutrients and toward broader dietary patterns.
