How to Avoid Getting Heart Disease When You’re Older
A heart rhythm disorder, which is also known as arrhythmia happens when the heart’s system malfunctions. This results in the normal heart beat being affected. The heart can either start beating too fast, too slow, at irregular intervals or sometimes stop beating all together. A heart rhythm disorder is something that needs to be taken seriously as it can indicate heart disease or other potential heart failure problems. A heart specialist and possibly a cardiac surgeon should be seen as soon as possible if you support heart rhythm disorder in yourself or someone you know.
How does a heart rhythm disorder happen?
The arrhythmia can occur because of problems with the SA or AV nodes or the ventricular conducting system. It’s an electrical wiring problem, for lack of a better term. You can get arrhythmia because of electrolyte abnormalities as well as hormone level abnormalities like thyroid issues. Certain medications can also cause irregular heart beats.
What are some symptoms of heart rhythm disorder?
It is possible to have irregular heart beats and never know about it. On the other hand, some people are immediately aware of an extra heart beat or when the heart literally skips a beat. Some of the initial symptoms can be noticed as palpitations which make the heart feel like the heart is fluttering or realizing that your heart is beating too fast or too slow or irregularly. Other symptoms can also occur like feeling light headed, nausea or vomiting, chest pain and the inability to breathe properly. This is because of the decreased amount of blood being pushed out to the body. Severe cases can cause the patient to fall unconscious.
How can you avoid heart rhythm disorder?
While sometimes, heart issues are inevitable, there are definitely things that you can do when you are younger in order to decrease the chance of arrhythmia. Here are some ways to avoid these heart problems:
- Eat healthy-This doesn’t mean just cutting out sugar and carbs. You must eat a balanced and nutritious diet in order to be healthy.
- Get active– Start off with walking every day and build up from there. Even 30 minutes a day is better than nothing.
- Maintain your weight– Stay at your recommended weight for your height in order to cut down on the fat surrounding your heart.
- Don’t smoke– This includes avoiding second hand smoke if someone around you is smoking.
- Watch your blood pressure– Make sure that you are effectively controlling your cholesterol as well as your blood pressure, especially as you get older. This includes understanding the numbers when you get your blood pressure taken.
- Drink moderately– It’s better not to drink alcohol at all but if you must drink then make sure you are drinking in moderation.
- Take care of stress– This is more important that you think. Stress can cause us to eat unhealthy foods as well as cause depression and other issues that could relate to arrhythmia.
Heart disease could really happen to anyone but there a few factors that make you more at risk than others. They are as follows:
- Women over the age of 55.
- Men over the age of 45.
- If a close male relative had heart disease before age 55.
- If a close female relative had heart disease before age 65.
Getting older automatically increases your risk of heart disease but it is preventable if you take care of your heart properly.
There are so many recipes available nowadays that are known to be heart healthy and rich in heart enhancing foods. Take advantage of these recipes and try out some new food, even if you aren’t the one at high risk. It’s never to early to start trying to pay attention to your heart and keep it in good condition. You’ll also need to look out for type two diabetes. If you have diabetes, this means there is too much sugar in your blood and if you don’t take care of it then it could cause serious health problems, one of which includes heart disease. Make sure you take the steps to prevent type two diabetes, especially if someone in your family has it. Eating healthy and balance and staying active can keep your heart healthy and in top functioning condition.
