What measures can be taken to prevent heart disease?

The core logic of heart disease prevention is actually very simple, which is to adjust all risk factors that can be intervened to within a reasonable range. According to data from the "China Cardiovascular Health and Disease Report 2023", as long as daily risk management is done well, the risk of common heart diseases such as coronary heart disease and heart failure can be reduced by at least 60%. Even high-risk groups with family genetic history can delay the onset of disease by more than 10 years.

I have been running cardiovascular health education in the community for 8 years, and I have seen too many positive and negative cases, and I feel very deeply about it. Last year I met a 48-year-old truck driver, Uncle Zhang. Both his father and brother were diagnosed with coronary heart disease before the age of 55, and they are a typical high-risk group. In the past two years, he relied on himself to have no discomfort. He smoked every day, ate heavy meals and drank food, and stayed up late to run long distances. Last year, the physical examination showed that the low-density lipoprotein was much higher than the critical value, and there were early plaques in the carotid arteries. This time he finally became concerned. , I didn’t take any expensive health products, I just quit smoking after 20 years, I walked twice every time I took a break from running long distances, and walked briskly around the neighborhood for 40 minutes three nights a week. I replaced the takeaways with home-cooked meals that I brought with less oil and salt. During the review this year, not only did the plaque not progress, but my blood lipids also returned to the normal range. The doctor said that if he walked in this state, he would most likely avoid the window period for familial coronary heart disease.

Many people ask when they come for consultation, should they take aspirin in advance to prevent heart disease? In fact, there is no completely unified conclusion in the academic community on this issue: If you have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, diabetes, or carotid artery ultrasound has detected clear plaques, current mainstream clinical guidelines still recommend taking small doses as directed by your doctor, which can effectively reduce the risk of thrombosis. ； However, if you are a healthy person with no underlying diseases and normal blood lipids and blood pressure, more and more clinical studies in recent years have shown that taking aspirin regularly will increase the probability of gastrointestinal bleeding and cerebral hemorrhage. There is no need to blindly follow the trend.

Don’t think that heart disease is something only the elderly need to prevent. In the past two years, I have encountered twice as many patients with acute myocardial infarction under the age of 30 as compared to five years ago. Last week, a 29-year-old Internet programmer was transferred from the emergency department. He worked overtime for a week to catch up on projects, slept only three or four hours a day, and ate milk tea and fried chicken. He just finished typing the last line of code that day and fell to his workstation, clutching his chest. An angiogram showed that his coronary artery was 80% blocked, and he was rescued only after a stent was inserted. He always felt that he was young and in good health. He hadn't even had a physical examination in several years, and he didn't even know that his blood pressure and blood lipids were high.

Think about it, our blood vessels are like the tap water pipes at home. If you pour "garbage" of heavy oil and sugar into them every day, the pipe walls will definitely become scaled and blocked over time. If you pay attention to it, throw less garbage, and drain it occasionally, it will naturally last longer. You don’t need to engage in extreme health care, eat boiled vegetables every day, or force yourself to run a marathon. Use half a spoon less salt when cooking, choose light takeout, eat steamed fish twice a week, and drink milk tea with three-thirds less sugar and add ingredients such as pearl coconut. With the money saved, you can buy two more pounds of fresh fruit, which is more beneficial to blood vessels than anything else.

If you can take the stairs at work, don't squeeze into the elevator. Get off the bus two stops early after get off work and walk back. Get enough 30 to 40 minutes of activity every day, just break a sweat. Don't sit still for too long. Do a sudden workout for two or three hours on the weekend. I picked up a 26-year-old boy last month. He doesn't usually exercise. I spent an afternoon hiking with a friend on the weekend. When I got home, I felt chest tightness and chest pain. I was diagnosed with viral myocarditis. I originally wanted to keep fit, but instead it put a burden on my heart.

There is another point that many people tend to overlook, that is, don’t hold back your emotions for a long time, always feel anxious, sulky, and have high and low blood pressure, which is much more harmful to blood vessels than eating hot pot occasionally. Chat with friends more often, and go out to bask in the sun and take a walk on weekends. It is more effective than any expensive heart-protecting health care products.