What is bad for the heart: habits that kill it

You are well aware that a healthy diet and regular exercise can improve heart health. However, did you know that there are also such habits that simply negate all your efforts spent on this good cause?  People rarely think about what can negatively affect the health of the heart, agrees estet-portal.com. That is why doctors warn – The following habits are not just bad, they are bad for your heart. Listen to your body, maybe you need to change your lifestyle?

What is bad for your heart?

Cardiovascular diseases – most common cause of death worldwide. Without realizing it, we often perform habitual actions that directly destroy the activity of this system.  Coronary heart disease affects 21% of women and 20% of men in developed Europe. Often our concern for health remains only at the stage of striving for it, that is, – talked and forgot. And, as a rule, we do not notice when the point of no return to a healthy life comes. Sometimes, our habitual actions adversely affect the state of our heart, these are:

• Static lifestyle,
• Alcohol abuse,
• Stressful situations,
• High salt intake,
• Lack of sleep.

You sit all day

Compared to people who lead an active lifestyle, adherents or hostages of a sedentary lifestyle who spend five or more hours a day in a sitting position double the risk of heart failure. It is imperative for such people to move – at least every hour for 5 minutes.

Even these 5 minutes of physical activity can help reduce the risk of heart failure by keeping your arteries flexible and blood flowing properly.

You abuse alcohol 

The result of drinking excessive amounts of alcohol – high blood pressure, obesity, strokes and an increased risk of heart disease. Drinking alcohol within reason (i.e. 2 drinks per day for men and 1 – for women), on the contrary, reduces the risk of such diseases.

Under the constant action of ethanol, the nervous, digestive and cardiovascular systems collapse.  There are such violations:

• muscle relaxation,
• formation of blood clots in blood vessels,
• diabetes,
• brain cells shrink,
• the kidneys are weakening,
• impotence sets in.
• the liver increases, etc.

Therefore, it is worth considering what is harmful to the heart? To what extent do the disadvantages of drinking strong drinks outnumber the advantages?

You are constantly under under stress 

Stress causes the body to produce adrenaline. It is this hormone that is responsible for the increase in heart rate and blood pressure. The more frequent and stronger the stress, the greater the likelihood of damage to the blood vessels in the heart and the higher the risk of heart attack and stroke. You can minimize the harmful effects of stress in the following ways:

• find an outlet for your emotions:
• share your feelings with your family;
• try to fight stress with exercise;
• plan your day properly to avoid stressful situations.

See also: How to prevent heart disease: WHO recommendations

You are eating too much salt

High amounts of potassium can lead to high blood pressure, which is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, warns estet-portal.com. Eating less salt is not that difficult. The problem is that potassium is also found in a variety of processed foods, including frozen and salted foods. Remember: no more than 1.5 mg of potassium per day.

Try not to salt your food and soon you will get used to the new taste sensations.

You don't get enough sleep

Your heart works all day, and if you don't let it rest even at night, your cardiovascular system doesn't get the rest it needs. During the first phase of sleep, blood pressure and heart rate decrease, and then rise and fall in response to your dreams in the second phase of sleep. What's more, chronic sleep deprivation is associated with elevated levels of cortisol and adrenaline, which are observed in stressful situations, which is harmful to the heart. Therefore, doctors recommend that adults sleep 7 – 8 hours, and for teenagers and young men – 9 – 10.

How to help your heart?

Of course, changing the way of life will not work quickly. It takes about 66 days for a person to develop a habit of repetitive actions. So be patient to speed up this process.

1. Make a list of desired changes – as accurate and realistic as possible.
2. Break your goals down into "sub-goals" that you can definitely achieve.
3. Be gradual. As you achieve one goal, immediately take up the second – and so on until the end of the squeak.

If you've had a little setback, don't give up! Remember that your goal is worth it!