With Valentine’s Day less than two weeks away, the second month of
the year often causes pandemonium as couples all around the world, more
than at any other time, use all the love in their heart’s to make that
extra effort in showing their loved one how much they care.
There could be another reason to think about the heart this month
though – for those unaware, February is National Heart Month. The
month-long campaign is led by the British Heart Foundation as a way to
urge the nation to think more about heart health, as well as to increase
awareness about heart and circulatory diseases.
The campaign is one that is annually
supported by Medical Specialists® Pharmacy as heart and circulatory
diseases are the leading causes of death for adults in Britain. Heart
disease comprises of conditions such as coronary heart disease, heart
attack and heart failure. However, there are steps to take to help
prevent heart problems.
. Cut down on alcohol intake
The NHS recommends that men should not drink more than 3-4 units of
alcohol a day, whilst for women the figure stands at just 2-3 units a
day at most, and consuming more than this can have a detrimental impact
to your heart health. Excessive alcohol intake can raise the amount of
triglycerides (a type of fat) in the blood and also lead to abnormal
heart rhythms, high blood pressure, heart failure, stroke and obesity
from the additional calories you are taking in. Cutting down on alcohol
can be made easier through the help of Medical Specialists® Pharmacy,
who have recently began to supply the
alcohol dependency treatment Selincro to suitable patients, after being inundated with requests for it.
. Cut down on salt intake
It is recommended that an adult should consume no more than 6g of
salt per day – around one full teaspoon. As food labels sometimes only
give the figure for sodium, people might be unsure how much they are
getting but the following formula from the sodium figure listed, can
help: Salt = sodium x 2.5. Therefore, adults should consume no more than
2.4g of sodium per day; equal to 6g of salt. Unfortunately, many of us
in the UK consume far more than the 6g limit. On average, people in the
UK eat about 8.1g of salt (3.2g sodium) a day. Too much salt can
increase the volume of body fluids increases and raise blood
pressure. High blood pressure (hypertension) can then result in serious
problems such as heart disease or stroke.
. Cut down on sugar intake
The majority of food and drink products that contain plenty of added
sugars, also contain a high number of calories, often having very little
nutritional value. Consuming plenty of sugary food and drink on a
regular basis can result in weight gain and obesity, thus risking health
conditions such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Added sugars
should comprise of no more than 10% of the energy (calorie intake)
obtained from food and drink each day, which works out at around 70g for
men and 50g for women, but can vary according to age, size, and how
active a person is. Food and drink to consider cutting down on include:
sugary cereals, fizzy drinks, sugary squash, cakes, biscuits, chocolate,
sweets, cereal bars, cakes, ice cream, puddings and yoghurt.
. Stop smoking
Smoking causes damage to the lining of the arteries, thereby reducing
the space for blood to travel through, with the carbon monoxide
contained in cigarettes also effecting the amount of oxygen that can
reach the heart and other areas of the body, forcing the heart to work
much harder to supply the body with the oxygen it requires.
The dangers of smoking
are further explained on the British Heart Foundation’s website, but
smokers are at double the risk of suffering from a heart attack compared
to people that have never smoked and smoking is the main cause of a
multitude of cancers and lung disease.
Smoking cessation treatments such as Champix can help people quit smoking for good though and reduce the risk of heart problems.
. Keep active
Extra weight is widely accepted to be linked to increase the risk of
high blood pressure, high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes, and all of
these conditions then make heart disease or stroke all the more likely.
For those unsure if they are at a healthy weight, body mass index (BMI)
is usually one of the first port of calls to check this. A BMI of 25 to
29.9 is considered overweight, whilst a BMI of 30 to 39.9 is considered
to be obese. Exercise is a great way to shed the pounds but the simple
fact remains that much of the nation lives a sedentary lifestyle. The
NHS recommends that one step in treating obesity is to take up
activities such as fast walking, jogging, swimming or tennis for 150-300
minutes a week, but obesity treatments like Xenical – in conjunction
with a healthy diet – can help with weight loss too.
. Lower cholesterol
Adopting a healthy diet and regular exercise, as previously
highlighted, can lower the level of cholesterol in the blood, or prevent
cholesterol levels being too high to begin with. The higher the
cholesterol level, the higher the risk of stroke or heart disease and
therefore the overall risk of having a heart attack.
Statin medication such as Atorvastatin or Pravastatin
work to lower the LDL (‘bad’) cholesterol and raise the HDL (‘good’)
cholesterol, and may be prescribed to certain people with risk factors
for heart conditions, such as those with high cholesterol or high blood
pressure, older patients, smokers, or those with family history of early
heart disease.
The British Heart Foundation’s webpage has more information about
heart diseases and advice on how to beat them. Moreover, the charity
are encouraging the nation to show their support on 6 February by
wearing red and hosting an event to raise funds for their life-saving
research. Anyone can get involved, whether it is at the workplace,
school or with friends and family, and there are loads of
great ideas for fundraising and essentials such as the sponsorship form and event poster.
