Entrepreneurship is not just about your business, it is also about you and your health because, bad health conditions can hinder you from succeeding as an entrepreneur. And some of those condition are common with the heart. Your heart is one of the extremely important organs in the body. Its function is to pump blood to various parts of the body, and supply nutrients and oxygen to the body. Without the heart, one would not be alive because there would be no means to circulate blood throughout the body; also if one has a heart problem, it will impair ones health, and may lead to death if not attended to. It is important to note that it is better to prevent than to repair; in the light of that, I will be showing you some common heart conditions, their causes, and measures you can take to prevent them.
Common heart conditions, their causes, and prevention measures.
- Coronary Artery Disease- it is a damage to the heart’s major blood vessels. It is usually caused by build up of plaque ( cholesterol and excess fat); this causes coronary arteries to narrow, limiting blood flow to the heart. Its symptoms includes chest pain, indigestion, nausea, light headedness, fast heart rate, or shortness of breath.
Prevention measures
- Don’t smoke. If you smoke, you have to quit it.
- Regular exercise.
- Low fat diet ( lower your intake of cholesterol).
- Avoid putting on excess weight.
- Avoid whatever would increase your blood pressure.
- Limit your intake of alcohol.
- Regulate your blood sugar level.
- Arrhythmia- it is also called irregular heartbeat. It is the improper beating of the heart ( irregular, too fast, or too slow). Arrhythmia can be caused by too much intake of alcohol, smoking, some dietary supplements, high blood pressure, diabetes, amongst others. Its symptoms includes breathlessness, dizziness, chest pain, tiredness, and lightheadedness.
Prevention measures
According to Peace health.org, you can prevent Arrhythmia by-
- Stopping smoking and avoiding secondhand smoke
- Maintaining a healthful weight
- Eating a healthful, balanced, low-fat diet
- Limiting or avoiding caffeine, alcohol, and other substances that contribute to abnormal heart rhythm and other heart problems
- Exercising regularly
- Controlling stress
- Go for regular checkups.
- Heart Failure- as the name implies, is a chronic condition in which the heart doesn’t pump blood as well as it should. Heart failure doesn’t occur overnight, it usually occurs after the heart has been weakened by other conditions such as coronary artery disease, heart attack, high blood pressure, damage to the heart muscle, inflammation of the heart muscle, arrhythmia, diabetes .etc. According to mayo clinic.org, its symptoms and preventions includes-
Symptoms
- Shortness of breath (dyspnea) when you exert yourself or when you lie down
- Fatigue and weakness
- Swelling (edema) in your legs, ankles and feet
- Rapid or irregular heartbeat
- Reduced ability to exercise
- Persistent cough or wheezing with white or pink blood-tinged phlegm
- Increased need to urinate at night
- Swelling of your abdomen (ascites)
- Very rapid weight gain from fluid retention
- Lack of appetite and nausea
- Difficulty concentrating or decreased alertness
- Sudden, severe shortness of breath and coughing up pink, foamy mucus
- Chest pain if your heart failure is caused by a heart attack
Prevention
The key to preventing heart failure is to reduce your risk factors. You can control or eliminate many of the risk factors for heart disease — high blood pressure and coronary artery disease, for example — by making lifestyle changes along with the help of any needed medications.
Lifestyle changes you can make to help prevent heart failure include:
- Not smoking
- Controlling certain conditions, such as high blood pressure and diabetes
- Staying physically active
- Eating healthy foods
- Maintaining a healthy weight
- Reducing and managing stress
- Heart Infections- it occurs when viruses and bacteria gets into your bloodstream and damages your heart’s inner lining and muscle. Common causes of heart infection are poor dental hygiene, bacterial infection, sexually transmitted infection, inflammatory bowel disease, and surgical tools. According to medicalnewstoday.com, its symptoms are-
- A high temperature, or fever
- A new or different heart murmur
- Muscle pain
- Bleeding under the fingernails or toenails
- Broken blood vessels in the eyes or skin
- Chest pain
- Coughing
- Headache
- Shortness of breath, or panting
- Small painful, red or purple lumps, or nodules, on the fingers, toes, or both
- Small, painless, flat spots on the sole of the feet or palms of the hands
- Small spots from broken blood vessels under the nails, on the whites of the eyes, on the chest, in the roof of the mouth and inside the cheeks
- Sweating, including night sweats
- Swelling of the limbs or abdomen
- Blood in the urine
- Weakness, tiredness, and fatigue
- Unexpected weight loss
Prevention measures
- Good dental hygiene.
- Avoid getting piercings and tattoos.
- Take antibiotics once in a while to flush out bacteria and other infections from your system.
- Heart Attack- it is a blockage of blood flow to the heart muscle. An heart attack is a medical condition in which blood clot blocks blood flow to the heart; this blockage causes tissue to loose oxygen and die. Symptoms includes pain ( in the arm, chest, jaw, abdomen, or shoulders), dizziness, fatigue, lightheadedness, heartburn, or tightness of arm or neck. Coronary artery diseases (blockage of the coronary artery by plaque which limits blood flow) causes most heart attacks.
Prevention measures
Embrace healthy living by-
- Quit smoking
- Exercise regularly (to regulate blood flow)
- Avoid being overweight (maintain a healthy weight)
- Maintain an healthy blood pressure
- Reduce your risk of getting diabetes
- Reduce your cholesterol intake (take meal that are low in fat).
- High blood pressure (hypertension)– it is a condition in which the force of the blood against the artery walls is too high. It is not a disease itself , but it increases the risk of developing other serious heart conditions. If not treated, high blood pressure can cause heart disease and stroke. It can be caused by genetic factors, body changes, poor diet, lack of physical activity, heart defect, chronic use of alcohol, medications, kidney disease. Etc. Its symptoms includes- urinating blood, dizziness, headaches, nose bleeding, chest pain, shortness of breath, and many others.
Prevention measures
- Maintain a healthy weight.
- Eat a healthier diet.
- Reduce your salt intake.
- Increase physical activity.
- Limit your alcohol intake.
- Avoid been over stressed.
- Quit smoking.
Like I said earlier, it is better to prevent than to repair. By adhering to these prevention measures, we can avoid contracting these heart conditions, and live a healthier life.
