Do not Murder Your Heart:

Things that increase the risk of heart disease.

Do you know that your heart beats over 100,000 times per day? Do you know that it pumps 1.5 gallons of blood every minute which adds up to 2000 gallons in one day? Have you ever been aware that there are 60,000 miles of blood vessels in your body which is enough to go around the world twice? Don’t you know that besides the cornea, every cell in the human body gets blood from the heart? Then why do you murder it every day? Why do you kill that one thing that works hard to give you life in every way possible and make you breathe this very moment?

In this article, I will present a number of things that we do every single day that can deteriorate our heart and increase the risk of heart disease.

1. Caffeine:

You are used to drinking caffeine throughout your day, but did you ever ask yourself how will it affect your heart? Firstly, it promotes the release of noradrenaline and norepinephrine. Among other things, these hormones increase the heart rate and blood pressure. Unfortunately, it can also lead to an altered heart rhythm, called atrial fibrillation. This disorganised heart rhythm occurs in the upper chambers of the heart. Additionally, caffeine can act on enzymes that stimulate heart contractions, causing the heart to contract with more force.

2. Smoking:

Smoking increases the formation of plaque in blood vessels. Coronary Heart Disease occurs when arteries that carry blood to the heart muscle are narrowed by plaque or blocked by clots. Chemicals in cigarette smoke cause the blood to thicken and form clots inside veins and arteries. This would lead to a heart arrest; Which is when the blood flow is blocked in the vein.

3. Diabetes:

When you have obesity, lack of physical activity, and overweight, then you are putting yourself at risk of having diabetes. This disease will affect your heart tremendously. For instance, it doubles your chances of developing a heart disease or a stroke than someone who doesn’t have diabetes. Additionally, it can damage blood vessels and make the heart muscle stiffer. This eventually leads to problems with fluid retention and heart failure.

4. Lack of physical activity:

Not getting enough physical activity can lead to heart disease — even for people who have no other risk factors. It can also increase the likelihood of developing other heart disease risk factors, including obesity, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes. Usually, physical activity strengthens your heart muscles which in return improves your heart’s ability to pump blood to your lungs and throughout your body. As a result, more blood flows to your muscles, and oxygen levels in your blood rise.

Therefore, physical activity is a must regardless of how busy you may be, even if that means dedicating 1 hour per week.

5. Poor eating habits:

When you do not have enough time, you prefer going to MacDonald's to have lunch there. You eat burgers, fries, and nuggets on a regular basis. Did you know that you are paying restaurants to damage your heart? Well, consuming these foods regularly can increase weight, blood pressure, cholesterol and triglycerides over time, all of which can take a toll on your heart. In fact, research says nearly half of the annual deaths related to heart disease, stroke and diabetes can be attributed to chronically poor eating habits.

So why don’t you change your eating habits today for a better tomorrow?

Conclusion:

We reside in a world dominated by bad habits that manifested themselves in our everyday lives to the extent that they started to play a vital role in deciding our life and death. Everything in life is a choice, so either we stick to those murdering habits, or we adopt healthier ones that would guarantee us a longer life and health span.