You can take actions that make heart disease largely preventable. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, heart disease is unfortunately still a leading cause of death in the United States, so understanding your risk and taking proactive preventive steps are important to help you lower your risk and live a longer, healthier life.
Understand Your Risks
Some prominent risk factors for heart disease include:
· High blood pressure
· High cholesterol
· Obesity
· Prediabetes and Diabetes
· Smoking
· Sedentary lifestyle
· Family history of heart disease
· Unhealthy eating habits
· Age
Preventative Steps to Lower Your Risk
While you can’t change things like your age or your family history, try adopting healthier habits by:
· modifying your diet to choose healthier food options,
· upping your exercise level and
· quitting smoking.
You can also help reduce your risk by making sure you have:
· regular blood pressure and cholesterol checks,
· monitor your weight and
· manage your stress levels.
There are also health disparities and inequities among populations that may put you at more risk and are important to consider. For example, high blood pressure is more common in Black and Latinx adults, and rural populations tend to have higher rates of death from heart disease and stroke than their urban counterparts. LGBTQ+ older adults are also at a heightened risk for developing heart disease. Studies have shown that shining a light on and working to combat structural racism and inherent bias and making equitable health care more accessible to everyone can help change these statistics.
At Revan, we’re committed to helping you achieve optimum heart health and making sure everyone has access to equitable, quality health care , no matter what. Schedule a visit with us now and together we can make a plan for your continuing preventive and holistic care.
Revan Health provides welcoming, respectful family medicine services for all from infants to geriatrics. We understand the pain and frustration that comes with not feeling heard by your family care provider. We believe access to respectful care is key to improving medicine adherence and overall life satisfaction for our patients. Like us on Facebook or visit us at revanhealth.com.
Sources:
https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/heart-healthy-living
https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/science/health-disparities-and-inequities