The heart is one of the most important organs in the human body. Located in the chest on the left, the heart pumps blood throughout the body via the circulatory system, supplying oxygen and nutrients.
A healthy heart is essential to good health. In fact, a healthy human heart beats about 100,000 times a day with an average adult’s heart beating about 60 to 80 times per minute.
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) is a term that houses all conditions that affect the heart and blood vessels.
Empowering Yourself with Knowledge
This resource provides information about heart health, including:
- Importance of Heart Health: Understand the importance of maintaining your heart health.
- Common Heart Disease: Learn about the different types of common heart diseases and their characteristics.
- Key Risk Factors: Explore various modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors that may leave you susceptible to heart disease.
- Ways to Improve Heart Health: Learn about lifestyle factors and preventive measures to minimize your risk of heart disease.
What is Heart Health?
Heart health is the overall well-being of your cardiovascular system which consists of your heart and blood vessels. It encompasses the prevention, diagnosis, and management of conditions that affect the heart and circulatory system, collectively known as cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). A healthy heart functions to efficiently pumps blood throughout your body, delivering oxygen and nutrients to your organs and tissues. It is important to maintain good heart health for your overall well-being and longevity.
Importance of Heart Health
- CVDs are a leading cause of death globally, making heart health crucial for overall health.
- Poor heart health can lead to various cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), including heart attack, stroke, heart failure, and arrhythmias.
What Causes Heart Disease?
Heart disease is caused by a complex interplay of factors, including:
- Non-Modifiable Factors: Age, gender, ethnicity family history, and inherited genetic mutations.
- Modifiable Factors:
- Lifestyle: Diet, physical inactivity, smoking, and alcohol consumption.
- Health: Pre-existing conditions (i.e., diabetes), Obesity, High blood pressure, High cholesterol
Symptoms of Heart
Disease Heart disease symptoms vary depending on the type of heart disease. However, some general signs and symptoms include:
- Chest pains
- Shortness of breath
- Heart palpitations
- Fatigue
- Nausea or vomiting
- Dizziness or light-headedness
Important Note: These symptoms may also be indicative of other health conditions. Speak to our Specialists today for proper evaluation and diagnosis.
Common Heart Diseases in Singapore
- Coronary Artery Disease is the most common heart disease and happens due to blockages in your coronary arteries.
- Heart Arrhythmias are irregular heartbeats, which can be too fast (tachycardia), too slow (bradycardia), or irregular.
- Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, can lead to serious complications like heart attacks, strokes, and kidney disease.
- Congenital Heart Disease are heart defects present at birth due to abnormal heart development during pregnancy.
- Heart Failure occurs when the heart muscle is weakened or damaged and can't pump blood effectively to meet the body's needs.
Improving Heart Health
Here are some helpful ways to improve your heart health:
- Eat a heart-healthy diet with an emphasis on fruits and vegetables while limiting your intake fats and sodium.
- Engage in regular physical activities with at least 150 minutes of moderate activities or 75 minutes of vigorous activities.
- Achieving a healthy weight and maintaining a healthy body mass index (BMI).
- Quit Smoking & avoid tobacco use
- Learn ways to manage your stress as chronic stress may contribute to heart disease.
Managing Your Heart Health During The Holidays
The holiday season can bring it with ton of festive events and good food. However, preparing for those events can be stressful and the deluge of delicious treats may affect your diet. Even though it may be tempting to ignore your diet during the holidays, it is important to eat as healthily as you can to reduce the negative impact the holidays may have on your heart health.
Here are some tips you can follow this holiday season:
- Do not go overboard on the alcohol: Holiday Heart Syndrome is an irregular heartbeat in which the heart beats faster than normal. It can be caused by factors such as stress, dehydration, higher than usual alcohol consumption or a combination of different factors. Alcohol acts as a natural irritant to the heart and constant alcohol consumption can increase your risk of atrial fibrillation. Symptoms of Holiday Heart Syndrome include pounding in your chest, shortness of breath or chest discomfort.
- Stay on top of your medication: Staying on schedule with your medication may be challenging when you switch time zones during travels or are away from your daily routine but it is important to take your medication as prescribed. You can try setting alarms or reminders, or asking someone to remind you. If you notice tell-tale warning signs such as chest discomforts that get worse with physical activity or a sudden, rapid heart rate with jaw or shoulder pains, do not ignore it.
- Keep food portion sizes reasonable and limit fatty food: You may get swept up in the festive cheer and be inclined to eat more than you should, however overeating may lead to chest pains or shortness of breaths in some people.
- Watch the amount of sodium you consume: Food high in saturated fat and salt can lead to high blood pressure and blood cholesterol. If you have a heart condition, your body’s ability to manage fluid and process salt may be compromised. Limit your consumption of canned or processed food, along with gravies and sauces, as they tend to be high in salt.
- Find ways to manage your stress levels: Stress is a normal part of life but prolonged stress or sudden, drastic spikes of stress can be detrimental to your health instead. Increased stress may increase your risk of a heart attack. This is as stress causes an increase in cortisol, the primary stress hormone, leading to an increase in blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and heart rate.
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