A doctor told why men have a higher risk of developing heart and vascular disease

cardiologist, nutritionist, candidate of medical sciences

“From cardiovascular diseases every second Russian dies. Unfortunately, most of them are men. Let’s understand why this happens”.

• Who is at risk of cardiovascular diseases?

• Prevention of cardiovascular diseases

Who is at risk of developing cardiovascular disease?

The risks of developing heart disease are of two types: non-modifiable and modifiable.

Non-modifiable (sex, age and heredity)

Men have a higher risk of heart disease compared to women. This is due to the sex difference. In the body of a woman of childbearing age, the amount of the female hormone, estrogen, is many times higher than in men. That is, in a healthy woman at 35, a heart attack is nonsense. In a man, it’s a budding pattern.

When women enter the menopause phase and the amount of estrogen drops dramatically, they in their majority catch up with men in the number of cardiovascular pathologies in just five years. Thus, in women and men at the age of 65 the risk of heart attack and stroke is already comparable.

Modifiable (smoking, alcohol, obesity, stress, lack of activity)

These are factors that a person can influence.

Smoking

One of the most harmful factors for the cardiovascular system. Why. The pernicious habit contributes to rapid wear and tear and aging of the cardiovascular system. Toxic substances, getting into the bloodstream, spread throughout the tissues in a fraction of a second, which contributes to instant poisoning of the body.

After smoking even a couple of cigarettes, small blood vessels spasm as nicotine narrows them. If you smoke regularly, they will be in this state all the time. As a result, their elasticity is lost. Also, smokers have a 15% increase in heart rate.

Alcohol

Alcoholic beverages increase the stickiness of platelets in the blood. This makes it thick, which makes it difficult to move through the blood vessels. In addition, alcohol leads to the formation of excess weight, which can cause arterial hypertension.

Overweight and obesity

These factors increase the inflammatory status of the body, the probability and proportion of violation of lipid and carbohydrate metabolism. Obese people suffer from hypertension, they have high levels of bad cholesterol, insulin and blood sugar. The bottom line is diabetes. All this increases the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

Excess fat in the body increases the volume of blood, which increases the load on the heart. After all, it has to pump more blood. Fatty tissues also produce toxic substances (such as cytokines and adipokines). These damage the heart muscle.

Lack of physical activity

To be healthy, it is necessary to move around. A person’s minimum workload should be 150 minutes per week of activity. Otherwise, the muscles are practically non-functional, due to which they do not receive enough oxygen, slowing down metabolism.

A weak cardiovascular system is not able to ensure proper functioning of the heart. This muscle needs to be exercised.

Chronic stress

Stress is one of the independent risk factors. The more nervous we are, the more likely we are to have a heart attack. Tension raises blood sugar levels and blood pressure. Exactly what contributes to heart disease.

Those who are constantly anxious are more prone to poor diet, smoking, drinking alcohol and laziness. These are bad for the cardiovascular system.

Remember that stress increases adrenaline levels, causes blood to become thicker and increases the risk of blood clots. Also, this hormone in large quantities is converted into adrenochrome, which affects the walls of the arteries and leads to atherosclerosis.

How to realize that there is chronic fatigue? This will be indicated by the following symptoms:

• rapid fatigue;
• insomnia;
• headaches;
• weakness;
• low mood.

All these factors affect men to a greater extent, who are less careful about their lifestyle. Therefore, they suffer more often from cardiovascular diseases.

Prevention of cardiovascular diseases

It is obvious that we can only influence the risks of cardiovascular diseases through the impact on modifiable risk factors.

What do we need to do to do this? Don’t smoke, lose weight, increase the proportion of fruits and vegetables in your diet, reduce your intake of added sugar, make it a habit to move a lot and exercise, and be able to manage anger and stress in your life.

It is also important to be sure to get minimal checkups at the health clinic every year.

If you already have arterial hypertension, high cholesterol, high blood sugar and high blood pressure (hypertension), it is necessary to consult a cardiologist and endocrinologist. Specialists will prescribe a constant intake of drugs. They will help to keep the patient’s health normal.

According to the WHO, the norms of blood pressure are equated with such indicators – from 120/80 mm Hg and up to no more than 135/85 mm Hg. In the case of deviations, the risk of heart attack and stroke increases many times.

Do not neglect taking antihypertensive drugs. They do not cure, but keep the pressure at the proper level and reduce the load on the heart and blood vessels. Take them only when prescribed by a doctor.

As for elevated cholesterol and blood sugar, patients often learn about them in the hospital after a heart attack or stroke. Therefore, regular preventive examination is an obligatory part of a man’s life after 40 years.

It is important to remember that the prevention of heart and vascular diseases should be individualized and coordinated with your doctor, taking into account your specific situation and risk factors.

It is also necessary for everyone to lead a healthy lifestyle. Both those who have no changes and those who have been diagnosed with minimal changes. This contribution to the prevention of cardiovascular problems is more than 50%.