At Matthews Internal Medicine, one of our many services is healthy lifestyle management. One part of that is heart disease prevention. Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death for both men and women. It’s harder to treat heart disease once it develops, which is why our preventative care experts want to help you avoid it in the first place by living a healthier life and avoiding risk factors whenever possible.
Risk Factors
High Blood Pressure
One of the biggest risk factors for developing heart disease or having a heart attack is high blood pressure. Smoking, a lack of physical activity, or your diet can all lead to the development of high blood pressure, so it pays to attempt to live a healthier lifestyle. By lowering your blood pressure you can lower your risk of developing heart disease.
High Cholesterol
Higher cholesterol can also increase your risk. Think carefully about your diet and consult one of our doctors if you’re trying to avoid heart disease.
Diabetes or Prediabetes
Being diabetic or being diagnosed with prediabetes can also be risk factors. If you’ve been diagnosed with either, it’s especially important to try and live a healthier lifestyle. You don’t want to have multiple risk factors for heart disease since that can greatly increase your chance of developing it.
Smoking
Smoking can be a huge risk factor for heart disease. It makes your heart less healthy and more susceptible to medical issues. Fortunately, we’re also experts in smoking cessation programs. We can help you quit and avoid this unnecessary risk.
Unhealthy Lifestyle and Diet
If you’re not moving around enough or eating healthy, that can increase your heart disease risk. That’s because an unhealthy lifestyle can lead to a few health problems that make you more susceptible to heart disease. It can raise your blood pressure, which is a big risk factor for heart problems. An unhealthy lifestyle can also make you overweight or obese. This is another risk factor for heart disease. Just being healthier can help you fight back against heart disease and its potential causes.
Age and Family History
Unfortunately, there are also some risk factors that you can’t control for. Your age is one. As you get older, your risk of developing heart disease increases. If you have a family history of heart disease, this is another risk factor. As you get older it’s even more important to account for other risk factors. This is doubly true for people with a family history of heart disease.
Prevention
One of the ways that we can help you avoid heart disease at Matthews Internal Medicine is through preventative care. As you can see from some of these risk factors, the best way of fighting back is by living a healthier life. By losing weight, quitting smoking, and eating better you’ll feel better while lowering the chances of developing heart disease.
This is especially important if you have some risk factors that you can’t control, like your family history. Risk factors for heart disease compound, and having multiple means that your chance of developing heart problems greatly increases. We’ll help you manage a healthier lifestyle and reduce your risk for heart disease in the process.