Cardiovascular diseases are a group of disorders that affect the heart and blood vessels, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and heart diseases.

They often present without pain and symptoms. For that reason, they are often left untreated. This can lead to even more serious health problems, such as heart attack, stroke or other organ embolism, and kidney damage. What is especially dangerous about a cardiovascular disease is that you can have more than one at a time without knowing it.

Some conditions associated with cardiovascular diseases are:

• High blood pressure or hypertension: 

It often begins without symptoms. It happens when the pressure of the blood against the wall of the blood vessels is constantly higher than normal.

•Hardening of the arteries or atherosclerosis:. The arteries harden, becoming less flexible and making it more difficult for blood to pass through them.

•  Blockage of the arteries or atherosclerosis: The arteries become blocked when the inner layer that protects them is damaged allowing cholesterol plaques to accumulate inside.

• Heart attack: Occurs when a clot blocks part or all of the blood flow to the heart. When the heart muscle closes completely, it begins to die (myocardial infarction).

• Stroke: Occurs when a blood vessel supplying the brain with blood becomes partially or completely blocked, leading to a disability of the brain due to reduced blood flow. The obstruction to the brain results also in loss of body movement, speech, or other functions.

• Congestive heart failure: This condition occurs when blood that comes out with each heartbeat slows down due to abnormal heart function. The blood supply to the body’s tissues is not enough to meet the oxygen demand that the tissues need for biological work.

Risk factors for cardiovascular disease – Those we cannot modify:

• Age: The risk increases with age.

• Sex: in men, there is a greater risk under the age of 50. In women, the risk increases with age and upon reaching menopause, due to the decrease in the level of hormones.

• Genetic load: affects arterial hypertension. Members of families with a history of hypertension and heart disease.

Those that we can modify

•Tobacco: it is the most important risk factor.

• Hypertension: high blood pressure (above 140 / 90mmHg) overloads the heart and is the first risk factor for having a stroke.

•Sedentary lifestyle: physical activity and sports help maintain normal levels of blood pressure and cholesterol, as well as avoiding overweight.

•Overweight and obesity: abdominal obesity is the one that is most related to the development of these diseases.

•High cholesterol: high cholesterol levels (more than 200mg / dl) are associated with an increased cardiovascular risk.

•Diabetes mellitus: increased blood glucose levels damage the walls of the blood vessels. This also causes different organs to be damaged, such as the eyes, kidneys or the nervous system.

•Stress: emotional tension has been linked to an increased risk of suffering from it.

How can I prevent cardiovascular disease?

Having healthy habits can significantly reduce the risk of developing conditions

• Avoid all kinds of tobacco and 

second-hand smoke

• Start a regular exercise routine

• Eat healthy foods low in cholesterol and saturated fat.

• Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables.

• Decrease your daily salt intake

• Maintain a healthy weight

It is very important to keep in mind that the best thing to do in the case of cardiovascular disease is to prevent it.

At Gran Alacant Family Doctors 24h we have a medical team that can assist you by doing a check-up with a general medical exam, analytics, and in some cases an electrocardiogram, and thus detect conditions that can be controlled in time and therefore have better long-term health.

For more information visit Gran Alacant Family Doctors

www.familydoctors24h.com or our clinic on Calle Holanda 9, MASA Square, Gran Alacant T: 865 789 554