THE IMPACT OF CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH.

February 02, 2025

THE IMPACT OF CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH.

The cardiovascular health plays a vital role in our existences as human beings. It's based on three key components, that is:

-Heart: It is a muscular organ responsible for pumping blood through different parts of the body.

-Blood Vessels: These include:

Arteries: Carry oxygenated blood away from the heart to the body.
Veins: Return deoxygenated blood back to the heart.
Capillaries: Tiny blood vessels where the exchange of oxygen, nutrients, and waste products occurs. This is between the blood and tissues.

-Blood: The fluid that circulates through the cardiovascular system, composed of red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, and plasma.

A research done by Global Burden of Disease Study showing the leading cause of death in 2021.

According to a released article by WHO ,www.who.in, the leading cause of death in 2021 was Ischemic heart disease also known as Coronary artery disease. It continues being the case in almost all regions of the world.

This happens as a result of blockage of the arteries hence restricting blood flow. The plaque formation leading to clogged arteries is a byproduct of fat, cholesterol and other substances that harden over time. Early signs can be chest pains (angina), heart attacks and other serious complication. Despite advancement in medical sector, why is it still a problem?

How does the modern lifestyle impact this?

Nutrition.

Consumption of fast foods in the West has been the easiest and the cheapest way of going by. Harsh economic times has a role to play in this. People will often opt for cheap/affordable/easy to fix foods that serve the same purpose( satisfactory feeling and provision of energy) and in the long run help to save a dollar or two. This makes sense to the majority but the repercussion is too dire. Most of these fast foods are high in sugar and saturated fats. This results in high accumulation of low density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL) leading to more cardiovascular problems.

In the third world countries, Junk food is classified as "Food of the capable-ones". Eating out is often dominated by a wide variety of junk. When kids cry or become unbearable, they are given snack to calm them down. Just like the West, most of the junks and snacks are high on sugar and saturated fats. Due to lack of sufficient and constant research, the data of their prolonged effects can't be accredited.

Lack of physical activity.

This is highly influenced by the rise in technology. The ability to operate within a click of a button, limits bodily movement.

The combination of consuming lots of processed foods then being sedentary, results to lack of utilization of these calories. The unutilized calories quickly convert into fats, leading to obesity crisis. The unutilized fats could easily clog the arteries leading to cardiovascular complications.

Sleep patterns.

This will be strongly based on lack of enough quality sleep. Ideally, 7-8 hours of sleep is considered as the sweet spot of sufficient sleep. According to this survey https://aasm.org/survey-shows-12-of-americans-have-been-diagnosed-with-chronic-insomnia/ done by America Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), about 12% of Americans were diagnosed with chronic insomnia. This was linked to anxiety, low motivation, stress and depression.

Waking up in the middle of the night to binge.

Development of various mechanisms erupts to keep up with such situations. The common ones are: increase in appetite, binging and the night eating syndrome. This often is a way of keeping the mind alert, seeking comfort or destructing the mind. It revolves around sugary foods.

One thing leads to another and before the individual realizes it, the effects are taking a toll on their health. The effects could be a buildup of excess fats and clogging of the arteries, resulting in cardiovascular complications.

How does fitness impact this?

Fitness is the ability of someone being physically, emotionally and mentally fit to undertake given activities. This plays a huge role in our cardiovascular state. This can be split into three key areas:

Training.

Just from an intense cardio session.

What pops up in most people's mind when it comes to this is engaging in vigorous cardio. Working out cuts across different forms where doing cardio is one of them.

Make it a game of calories in versus calories out for
sustainability.

The greatest impact of working out in this case will be utilization of excess calories which when unutilized, end up as fats in our bodies. The second is improvement in certain areas of the body like our cardio health. This doesn't have to be running as opted by many. Any activity be it a HIIT class, intense weight lifting session, a boot camp etc that challenges the maximum heart rate, when executed properly will help improve it. Building of muscle mass will be a great way to ensure proper utilization of stored fats.

Remember, the goal is to ensure that the arteries are clear of any fats and LDL cholesterol, to ensure adequate blood flow to the heart.

Nutrition.

We are all a byproduct of what we eat. A few factors comes in handy when speaking of preventing cardiovascular complications. The first would be ensuring we embrace organic foods as much as possible. This could be eating whole-grain foods, freshly obtained fruits and vegetables, consumption of unprocessed meat etc. It's also important to be cautious about added sugar, excessive use of saturated fats and salt on products we intend to consume. All these have a direct link to cardiovascular complications.

Speaking of sustainability, the goal is to find a balance between eating healthy and letting loose once in a while. This makes more sense for "The capable-ones" in the third world countries. The act of being aware of the repercussions and being in a position to alternate where necessary would be quite ideal for guys living in the West, despite harsh economic times.

Recovery.

It comes in different forms as well. Often, it is about taking a break from the daily chores. Speaking of stress, anxiety, depression etc, it will be a great idea to detach from the daily routine/occurrence for a while and capitalize on resting . This will help rejuvenate the brain hence boost sleep quality and general health. Sleep being a key factor here, it will help avoid and control the repercussions from lack of it as seen.

What are some of the misconceptions about cardiovascular complications?

It is only a concern for older people - this is partly wrong even though they are more vulnerable to it. Young people from recent reports are said to be affected as well. This is based on the rise of obesity cases, sedentary type of lifestyle and poor nutrition.
These are primarily male problems -https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10811545/#:~:text=Females%20have%20the%20highest%20prevalence,in%20males%20it%20is%200.062%25. In this research done between 2010 - 2019, showed that women had a 0.006 high chance of getting it than men. This was highly as a result of gene expression from the sex chromosomes and difference in sex hormones. The difference margine is quite small, making the possibility similar. Nobody is really out of the woods if they won't take care of the key fundamentals that might trigger cardiovascular complication.
Symptoms are always obvious - especially for young people, the signs might be completely hidden making it it difficult to notice. As a result of prolonged effects, it's easier to spot in the old demographic. This concludes that it's always wise to seek regular medical checkups to be sure of one's state.
It is inevitable - coming from a historical background of such conditions, it highly impossible to get off the hook. That said, few measurements can be taken to prevent early occurrence, severe complications or contain it just in case. This could be doing a regular medical check up to have insights of the current state. Being cautious on nutrition by avoid any foods that might act as a trigger. Embracing physical fitness such as hitting the gym on a regular basis or avoiding a sedentary type of lifestyle. Taking care of the mental state, this could be managing stress-triggers to avoid being in situations such as eating for comfort or binging frequently to suppress stress.
Medication alone can manage this - it plays a key role in terms of recovery and containing the condition but it's not all that's needed. There are a key things that simultaneously work with meds to provide a holistic and sustainable way of going about it. Nutrition, adjusting lifestyle habits like smoking, physical and mental fitness are among these. The goal is sustainability not just containing it for a few weeks or months.
It is not preventable - anyone can avoid being in such a situation especially for people without a family background of it. A great example is a active-smoker. If he/she adjusts their state and quite smoking, then the probability of them encountering it will diminish overtime. If someone is obese and are showing early signs of it, they can adjust their nutrition and engage in regular exercises hence evade it. It is not as easy as it sounds but through dedication, consistency and willpower, all these can be avoided. The catch being, earlier the better.