Your diet may cause heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States, and coronary heart disease is the most common type of heart disease. Diet and lifestyle are closely associated with the development and treatment of coronary heart disease.
Anatomy
Coronary heart disease, sometimes called coronary artery disease, is caused when cholesterol and other substances build up in the bloodstream and accumulate on the inside walls of the arteries that deliver oxygen-rich blood to the muscles of the heart. Arteries become narrow, increasing blood pressure within these arteries and decreasing the amount of blood reaching the heart. Lack of oxygen injures heart muscles, resulting in chest pain or even heart attack.
Causes
Coronary heart disease describes damage to the coronary artery. Smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and sometimes radiation therapy causes this damage, according to MayoClinic.com. Nutrition plays an important role in the prevention and treatment of these conditions, so diet is a major factor in coronary heart disease.
Hypertension Control
The USDA states Americans consume too much salt and not enough potassium. This diet causes an increase in blood pressure and its consequences, like heart disease and stroke. A healthy person should limit sodium intake to 2,300 mg a day, and people at special risk for heart disease, like those with hypertension, African-Americans and older adults should decrease their salt intake to less than 1,500 mg a day.
Potassium counteracts the effects sodium has on blood pressure. Eat more foods high in potassium, like white beans and dried apricots, to increase the amount of potassium in your blood.
Cholesterol
High levels of low-density lipoprotein, or "bad cholesterol," can increase your risk for coronary heart disease, as can low levels of high-density lipoprotein, the "good cholesterol." A reduced-fat diet lowers blood cholesterol levels. A healthy person should get no more than 35 percent of his total daily calories from fat, and less than 7 percent should be from saturated fats, according to MayoClinic.com Avoid trans fats, like those found in many commercially baked doughnuts and cakes.
Prevention/Solution
A low-fat, low-sodium diet helps prevent damage to arteries that leads to coronary heart disease. Eat plenty of foods high in fiber, especially soluble fiber like that found in oatmeal and bananas. Maintaining a healthy weight by eating a low-calorie diet reduces the onset of Type 2 diabetes, which is a risk factor for the development of heart disease.
