Essentials of Cardiac Health

Cardiac health is defined as “the ability of heart to perform its function of circulating oxygenated blood”. A healthy heart means a healthy blood flow, which is needed to carry out important functions, by many vital organs of our body, like brain, muscles, etc.

When your cardiovascular system is not functioning properly, blood is not getting to where it needs to be, or when your blood flow to your organs and tissues is reduced or obstructed; your health will suffer. For example, if the cardiovascular system is not working properly, the lung cannot distribute adequate oxygen to the cells of the kidney, which eventually will fail to perform its assigned vital function; i.e. toxin removal.

Risk associated with cardiac disorders

There are many risk factors associated with heart diseases and stroke. Some risk factors, such as family ethnicity, age, and history cannot be changed.  Other risk factors that can be treated or managed are:        tobacco exposure,

·         High blood pressure,

·         High cholesterol,

·         Obesity,

·         Physical inactivity,

·         Diabetes,

·         Diet& Lifestyle

·         Stress

The more you are exposed to these risk factors, the more are the chances of getting affected by the cardiac diseases unless you take action to minimize your risk factors and prevent them compromising your heart health.

Minimize the risk associated with cardiac health

If you are at moderate risk of developing a cardiovascular disease then treatment with medicines is usually prescribed.  Most importantly, your level of cholesterol has to be viewed as part of your overall cardiovascular health risk. Moreover, treatment with medication is also done to lower blood pressure if it is high. Besides the management of risk factors, a few things are required taken care of:

Diet

Eat less saturated fat. Diets low in saturated fat and high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fiber are proven to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.  A vegetarian diet is recommended as it reduces the risk of coronary artery disease, and may even reverse existing coronary artery disease collectively with other lifestyle changes.

Active Lifestyle

Recent studies have suggested that even moderate-intensity activity, including short walk, is related to the considerable reduction of cardiovascular disease risk. 30 minutes of moderately intense physical activity most days of the week is important. Regular physical exercise and maintenance of a healthy weight is also suggested helping reducing insulin resistance and the risk of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, which seems to be an even stronger risk factor for cardiovascular disease in women than in men.

Techniques to minimize work related stress

Poorly controlled stress may have an adverse effect on blood lipids and on your overall health.  Relaxation methods such as meditation, breathing exercises, yoga, and stress management techniques are necessary for preventing cardiovascular disease and coronary artery disease. Meditation has been evidently shown to improve exercise tolerance associated with poor circulation to the heart. Meditation has also been proven to lower cholesterol and reverse carotid artery thickening.

Improvement in breathing efficiency

The most important characteristic of mental and physical health and well-being is the respiratory process. This has been known all the way through the history of mankind. Oxygen is absolutely essential for all human function. In fact, the primary homeostatic mechanism in the human body is designed around necessitating appropriate cellular oxygenation. You must prefer breathing exercise for helping cardiovascular system to stay away from the disease.

While there are different treatment and management system to effectively lower the risk of cardio diseases, the breakthrough invention of the stem cell has built an alternative path to stop the progression of damage and also to repair the weakened heart to some extent. Since these prime cells of the body have tremendous ability to give rise to all cells, they can be coaxed in vitro to give rise to new heart cells for their replacement with the dead and damaged one.