How Will Seniors Prevent the Risk of Heart Attacks?

By Charles Hopkins Published 11/2/2006 | Health

It is neither the disease called cancer, nor the disease called AIDS. It is heart disease that claims thousands of lives every year in the USA. Though these days it is hard to identify a particular age group as having the highest number of victims of heart disease, generally people over fifty are more susceptible to the threat of several kinds of heart disease.

Are you over fifty or approaching your retirement? Do you want to stay fit and active all through the golden years of your life? You must learn how to prevent heart disease before it strikes you with its debilitating effects.

You must learn about the factors that cause heart disease in older people.

Heart disease is actually the outcome of the combined working of a variety of factors. In general, any factor that prevents smooth transportation of oxygen and nutrients to the heart has the potential for damaging your heart. This lack of supply results in damage to the inner lining of the blood vessels. This condition is aptly identified as heart disease.

The degeneration of the heart is a slow and gradual process, which is caused by several elements that have been part of your everyday living for several years. Living under stress for a prolonged period, construction of free radicals by tobacco smoke in the body, consumption of the wrong foods, rich in calories and strong in artificial colors and food additives, and, above all, exposure to the pollution, are the factors that ultimately lead to arteriosclerosis or hardening of the arteries. In addition, fat and cholesterol, calcium deposits and/or scar tissue obstruct the arteries that carry blood through the brain or heart and ultimately cause heart attacks or strokes.

In order to stay away from heart diseases in your older years, the first thing you have to do is to start incorporating healthy habits into your lifestyle. How do you do that? Simple! Set small goals and work towards their fulfillment. As you have successfully accomplished a small goal, then move to the next and make a habit of pursuing a healthy lifestyle all through your retirement years to keep heart disease at bay.

In general, there are certain ground rules that are the cornerstone of a healthy life style and are the key to avoiding heart disease in our later years.

l     Maintain a healthy weight.

l     Cut down on calorie rich foods and indulge more in whole grains and antioxidant rich food.

l     Quit smoking if you want to keep your heart in good health.

l     Daily exercise will help you to keep diabetes at bay and reduce the risk of heart diseases.

l     Check blood pressure and cholesterol level in the blood at regular intervals.

Maintaining an active lifestyle is the key to keep your heart in proper health for a long time. Depending on your age and physical condition, you can take up moderate to vigorous physical activity. If you cannot make your way to gym, take up brisk walking every day in the morning along with your dog. Why not develop a new hobby relating to gardening? The everyday interaction with the green plants will actually add a few more years to your life span. If you do not have a piece of lawn, then you can substitute gardening for regular housework like vacuuming the carpets. This will also help you to sweat and, in turn, will keep your heart in perfect health.

As you can see, you can easily prevent your life from getting messed up by heart disease. You only have to subscribe to the principles of a healthy lifestyle. It is your determination to stay healthy and active as you age that can make you stick to the golden rules of healthy living.