Remarkable Habits That Improve Heart Health

Stop Smoking

Regular smokers can improve and maintain the health of their heart if they stop smoking. Not only does cigarette smoke contain nicotine, but it also contains thousands of other chemicals and compounds, such as carbon monoxide and tar. These chemicals are known to encourage the accumulation of a fatty substance, plaque, in the arteries. These chemicals do this by causing damage and injury to the walls of the blood vessels, adversely affecting cholesterol, and interfering with normal levels of fibrinogen, a substance involved in the blood clotting process. Smoking cigarettes increases an individual's heart rate continuously, which makes their heart work harder than it would otherwise. The chemicals in cigarette smoke also cause the walls of the main arteries in the body to contract, tighten, and stiffen. An individual who is a regular smoker and has other cardiac risk factors has at least a thirty percent higher chance of developing heart disease than a non-smoker.

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Lower Cholesterol And Triglycerides

Individuals need to ensure their cholesterol and triglycerides stay at a low or acceptable level if they want to maintain optimal heart health. Cholesterol is critical to the body and provides the structure for cell membranes and gives nerve cells proper insulation. However, cholesterol is made of fat, so it cannot dissolve in the blood due to high water content. High-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) are both proteins that move cholesterol around the body. However, low-density lipoprotein tends to stick to the blood vessel linings, where high-density lipoproteins help clear extra cholesterol out of the blood vessels. A combination of exercise habits, genetics, age, and diet is what determines the amount of each type of cholesterol in an individual's blood. LDL that sticks to the blood vessel walls acts as an irritant when it is absorbed, which induces a rush of white blood cells and other blood components to the site. These substances congregate to form big fatty deposits that accumulate in the blood vessels. Because the coronary arteries are especially prone to this type of buildup, it is imperative to keep LDL cholesterol low to maintain heart health.

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