Are you a ‘Master of All and Jack of None’ when it comes to different beliefs around Heart Attack?
Then, lets break the myths today
- Heart attack risk runs in the family. It is impossible to avoid if it is running in genes.-Genes definitely play some role when it comes to various diseases. But when we talk about heart attack, there are 4 major risk factors which increases the chance of getting a heart attack which includes type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure and obesity. Apart from these, smoking, excess consumption of alcohol, lack of nutrition, sedentary life, irregular sleeping pattern, stress etc also increase risk. If we work on the risk factors and change lifestyle accordingly, it is possible to avoid heart attack even when it runs in the family.
- Men do not prefer to share their emotions with others which puts them on a higher risk of getting a heart attack as compare to women.– Women gets protection against heart diseases due to their higher estrogen levels and that’s why the number of women getting heart attacks are less in comparison to men. Here it is important to note that after menopause, level of estrogen decreases drastically which puts women at par with men for the risk of heart attack. One needs to consider this risk factor after menopause and take extra care simultaneously.
- It is a disease of elders: Many people have already come out of this myth. It is worrisome that currently the heart disease rate is increasing in the youth aged between 20 to 30 years. According to a recent research report, 1 out of 5 heart attack patients are below 40 years of age.
- Medicine for cholesterol and diabetes eliminates risk of heart attack- this statement is true to an extent only. Medication helps in keeping diabetes and cholesterol in control which ultimately helps in reducing risk of heart attack. But it is also important to remember that heart disease is affected by all the risk factors mentioned above in point 1 and not only parameters of cholesterol and diabetes. All those factors should be taken into consideration to reduce risk of heart disease.
- Pollution and smoking affect lungs only. Risk of heart attack is not associated with levels of pollution: according to a recent World Health Organization report, more than 20% of the all-cardiovascular disease death are caused by air pollution which is more than 3 million deaths every year. Smoking and pollution are major contributors for the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and lung cancer. Keeping this in mind, one should stop smoking and take precautions in the polluted areas.
To sum up, when it comes to heart attack, one should not take risk factors lightly. Diabetes, cholesterol and high blood pressure are called silent killers. That means, we might not get noticeable symptoms when their levels are increasing in our body. And when it comes to our notice, damage is already done to our organs. For the said reason, it is advisable to get the blood work done once a year.
Keeping parameters in line with the help of medication and changing lifestyle eg, eating nutritious food, adding exercise, reducing stress, correcting sleep pattern, reduce weight, reducing smoking and alcohol etc reduce risk of heart diseases.