Cardiovascular Health

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of

death in the United States.
It accounts for nearly half of the deaths of Americans
today.
If all major CVDs were eliminated U.S life expectancy
would rise by 7 years.
Risk Factors For Cardiovascular
Disease
 Researchers have identified a variety of factors associated
with an increased risk of developing CVD. These are
grouped into two main categories namely major risk factors
and minor risk factors.


• Major Risk Factors

 These include dieting, exercise habits, and the use of tobacco
and they are linked to controllable aspects of a persons
lifestyle and can therefore be changed.
 Tobacco Use- About one in five deaths from CVD can be
attributed to smoking. People who smoke a pack of
cigarettes twice a day are twice as likely to have an heart
attack than nonsmokers are. Smoking harms the lining of
the arteries and contributes to unhealthy blood fat levels by
reducing levels of high density lipoproteins(HDL) and rising
levels of low density lipoproteins(LDL). Smoking causes the
platelets in the blood to become sticky and cluster,
promoting clotting. But smoking also permanently
accelerates the rate at which fatty deposits are laid down in
 High Blood Pressure- This is also known as hypertension is
a risk factor of many forms of CVD including heart attacks
and strokes, and itself considered a form of CVD. Blood
pressure, the force of blood exerted on the vessel walls, is
created by the pumping action of the heart. When the heart
contracts(systole) blood pressure increases. When the
heart relaxes (diastole), pressure decreases. Blood pressure
that is continuously at an abnormally high level constitutes
hypertension. When blood pressure is measured it is
expressed as two numbers e.g. 120 over 80. The first and
larger number is the systolic blood pressure while the
second number is the diastolic blood pressure. The normal
blood pressure reading for a healthy adult is 115 systolic
over 75 diastolic. CVD risk increases when blood pressure
rises above this level. High blood pressure in adults is
defined as equal to or greater than 140 over 90. High blood
pressure is most often caused by increased resistance to
blood flow in the arteries. This can be caused by
atherosclersis.
Unhealthy Cholesterol
Levels
Cholesterol is a fatty, waxlike substance that
circulates through the bloodstream and is an
important component of cell membranes, sex
hormones, vitamin D,