Heart Health

Poor circulation can cause cramps, swelling and unsightly problems such as spider veins and varicose veins. From the tips of our toes to the top of our heads, from healing and running to thinking and maintaining a constant temperature, especially through those cooler months, blood delivers the energy and nutrients essential for every bodily function. As a whole, the body's many blood vessels create a delivery system that transports blood and these nutrients throughout the entire body. As such, it is imperative to ensure good blood flow so your body stays healthy.

One third of New Zealanders die from heart disease.  Nearly half of all deaths are from diseases of the heart and circulation including stroke.  19% of all deaths from heart disease occur before 65 years of age.  Heart disease describes a range of conditions such as heart attack, angina, diseases of heart valves, and congenital heart disease.

A healthy heart lifestyle is the best way to have a healthy heart

- be smokefree
- eat a low fat diet
- keep a check on your blood pressure - exercise regularly

 

Smoking causes heart disease and strokes in a number of ways including by increasing blood pressure. People who smoke are two to three times more likely to suffer a heart attack. If you are a smoker the best thing you can do for your heart, and health, is to quit. The risk of heart attack drops quickly after you quit, and it is never to late to benefit from giving up.

A low fat diet will help to keep both your blood cholesterol and weight down. Cholesterol is a fatty substance made by the liver, but some comes from the food you eat. If there is too much cholesterol in your blood it sticks to the walls of blood vessels, blocking the flow of blood, causing heart disease. Overweight people tend to have higher blood pressure and higher blood cholesterol levels.

To maintain a healthy heart

- keep your weight right
- eat a variety of foods
- check your blood pressure regularly
- be smokefree
- enjoy being fit and active and taking regular exercise
- if you drink alcohol, do so moderately
- have a regular medical check-up
- if you take blood pressure medication, don't stop!

 

Remember you can always discuss with your pharmacist any concerns you may have regarding your diet or risk of heart disease.

The heart is light in weight and compact in size but is incredibly successful in sustaining life - it pumps blood that is rich in oxygen and nutrients to every cell in the body and carries off waste products like carbon dioxide. There are thousands of kilometres of blood vessels in the body and the heart must beat regularly and steadily, 70 or so times a minute, 700 000 times a week and some 2.5 thousand million times in the average lifetime. Look after your heart and enjoy your life!