What I am about to share with you in the upcoming series of articles is going to change your perspective completely about your health and, especially your heart.
I’ll start with a few facts regarding our present situation.
Do you know “Cardiovascular diseases and anomalies are the number one cause of deaths globally”; Taking an estimated 17.9 million deaths each year, quoted by none other than WHO itself. Wait! If you don’t believe me, here’s a report by WHO.
Another ghastly fact, is 1/3rd of these deaths occur prematurely in people under 70 years of age. That means, almost 6 million people die every year, without even living half of what the human body is designed for.
The image below, you will see, how deaths due to Cardiovascular Disease (CVDs) have increased drastically from 1990 to 2017. Not only that, in the year 2017 deaths due to natural disasters are about 0.2% whereas deaths due to CVDs are 31.8%.
That’s a whopping difference of 31.6 %.
So basically, the risk of dying due to bad heart health is 150 times than due to the effect of climate interruptions because of Global warming or any other nature natural phenomenon.
So, what causes these Cardiovascular Diseases?
To be honest, the reasons are many. For example, when there is a build-up of fatty plaques (made of cholesterol, macrophages, calcium and other substances from blood) in our arteries, it thickens and stiffens artery walls and narrows the arteries.
This may inhibit blood flow through arteries to our organs and tissues. This is Atherosclerosis, which is also the most common cause of life-threatening CVDs like heart attacks and strokes.
Or there can be other factors which can lead to this mild or even critical heart conditions;
- Smoking and tobacco intake: We all know that smoking kills. Even though it’s mentioned on the packs, people choose death over health. “I’ll just have this one, I will quit tomorrow, for sure” and before we know we are addicted and tomorrow never comes.
And, Atherosclerosis (sounds like a great calamity and can also be an end of the world, for someone) will not wait. - High Blood Pressure: Living a stress-free life is very important. Life does not just work and money, there’s always more to it. We tend to push work as the most important aspect; much like a pressure cooker which is always on the stove.
It won’t take long before things burst out. - High Cholesterol and High Triglycerides: A poor diet will always have adverse effects on health. We reap what we sow.
- Obesity: This can be a real “pain in the bottom”, quite literally. It could be a result of genetics (Damn you, genes!!!) or a very poor lifestyle. And if it’s the lifestyle, one can always choose to make amends. It’s never too late if you’re breathing.
- Diabetes or High Blood Sugar: This is a very alarming condition and could be a result of obesity, inactivity, unhealthy diet or genetics (Damn you again, Genes!). One should really play safely in such a scenario, and I recommend taking professional advice.
I can continue to list factors. And I feel, our focus should be more on, “what can be done now?”
And that is what will follow. Till then, focus only on having a balanced and healthy diet.