Heart Safety

Monday, February 4, 2019 Ariana Naumvoski

The human heart is an incredible organ. Beating nearly 115,000 times a day to keep us alive and healthy, this organ is one of the most important organs we need to survive. So why do we sometimes neglect to keep this incredibly important organ healthy? And just how do we stop this neglectful behavior?

That neglect is commonly known as heart disease; the number one killer in women – and just as high for men, too. That’s one in four deaths related just to this disease. But what exactly is heart disease? Well to start off, there are many different types of heart disease, ranging from angina to coronary artery disease, to heart attack and arrhythmia.

For some, symptoms go unnoticed. And symptoms can be different between men and women. Men tend to get more direct symptoms where as women feel indirect symptoms associated to this disease. Symptoms of course are going to vary depending on the type of heart disease more specifically, but some symptoms to look out for are:

Shortness of breath
Chest pain
Fatigue
Heart palpitations
Nausea/vomiting
Neck/jaw pain

Sometimes heart disease is just inevitable, as it is genetic. But there are things that we do, or fail to do, that affect our risk for heart disease. Things like smoking, poor diet, and lack of exercise can increase our risks for the disease. Other factors that increase our risk for heart disease include lack of sleep, high stress, and any other underlying medical conditions such as diabetes.

A good thing to note is heart disease can be prevented! You just have to give your heart a little love. Here are a few ways to do so (consult with your physician before introducing any of these into your daily routine):