Heart Health

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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.

Heart Failure

Heart failure happens when the body is unable to pump blood around your body. When this happens, blood may be backed up, resulting in a build up of fluid in your lungs. Although it can occur at any age, it is more common among older people. Contrary to what it sounds like, heart failure does not mean your heart has stopped working, it instead means your heart needs some support to help it work better. It is caused by a weakened, damage or stiff heart. Heart failure tends to get worse over time and although there is no cure for heart failure, there are steps you can take to manage the condition.

Signs and Symptoms

Some of the main symptoms of heart failure include:

Breathlessness after activity or at rest
Feeling fatigued most of the time
Feeling lightheaded or fainting
Swollen ankles or legs
Wheezing
Persistent coughing or coughs that brings up white or pink mucus

Causes

The following conditions may damage and weaken your heart, resulting in heart failure:

Coronary artery disease: Coronary artery disease happens due to a buildup of fatty deposits in the arteries. These deposits narrow the arteries, reducing blood flow and increasing your chances of a heart attack.
Heart attack: A heart attack happens when the artery pumping blood to the heart becomes completely blocked by a buildup of fat, cholesterol or other substances.
High blood pressure: High blood pressure forces the heart to work harder to pump blood throughout the body. Over time, the extra work causes the heart muscles to stiffen or weaken.
Heart valve disease: The valves in your heart work to make sure blood is flowing in the right direction in your heart. If a valve isn’t working properly, your heart must work extra hard to ensure blood is pumped throughout your body. Over time, the extra work causes the heart muscles to stiffen or weaken.
Myocarditis: Also known as an inflammation of the heart muscles, myocarditis is most commonly caused by a virus.

Think you know your heart health?

Our Heart Health Guide answers your questions relating to the heart!

Managing your cholesterol
What to eat for a healthy heart
Measuring your BMI
Exercising for the Heart
Screening for the Heart

Click on the image to download now!

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Heart failure (HF) is a complex, progressive illness that impacts more than 64 million individuals worldwide. Heart failure rarely occurs in isolation; Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a common co-existing condition. CKD patients are at high risk of developing hyperkalemia (high potassium levels). Cardiologist Dr. Chan Po Fun offers some valuable insights on managing hyperkalemia in patients with heart failure.
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