How to Prevent & Control Cardiovascular Diseases

Family history, cholesterol disorders, diabetes or hypertension are among the numerous conditions affecting cardiovascular disease. This is a disease that affects anyone regardless of race, age or gender. However, adopting healthier lifestyles helps prevent and control cardiovascular disease.

Instructions

Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Control

• 1

  First, get high blood cholesterol under control. According to the University of Connecticut Health Center, high cholesterol is the biggest leading factor of heart disease. The center encourages eating a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, and high in fiber, maintaining a healthy weight and getting regular exercise. In addition, it recommends having cholesterol levels checked every five years.

• 2

  Maintain a healthy weight. University of Connecticut Health Center suggests eating fresh fruits and vegetables along with incorporating moderate physical activity for at least 30 minutes. To determine if you are maintaining a healthy weight, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention suggest assessing your body mass index which measures the amount of body fat by calculating height and weight. Adults 20 years or older can use a standard online BMI calculator by inputting exact height and exact weight. The calculator provides a weight range someone of your weight and height should fall within and determines if you are obese, overweight, normal or underweight according to your BMI range. For example if you are 5 feet, 9 inches tall, a normal weight for you would range from 125 pounds to 168 pounds and a normal BMI would be anywhere from 18.5 to 24.9. If your BMI is above 24.9 you are considered overweight and if it is above 30 you are considered obese.

• 3

  Get high blood pressure under control. The University of Connecticut Health Center states that many of the same lifetsyle changes such as proper diet, exercise and weight management, that lower cholesterol and control diabetes, also will lower blood pressure. The center suggests having your blood pressure levels checked by a physician on a regular basis. According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, a normal blood pressure level in an adult 18 years or older would be 120 over 80. Prehypertension levels are 120 to 139 over 80 to 89 and any level that exceeds this is considered stage one and stage two hypertension. A physician will need to prescribe medications to get your blood pressure under control.

• 4

  Avoid tobacco use. The Mayo Clinic states that while heart defects cannot be prevented, other heart diseases can be prevented by avoiding tobacco use among other lifestyle changes. The University of Connecticut Health Center states that smoking increases heart disease and that never smoking or even quitting smoking lowers the risk of heart disease, heart attack and stroke.

• 5

  Avoid excessive alcohol consumption. The University of Connecticut Health Center states that like smoking, drinking alcohol above moderation also increases heart disease, heart attack and stroke.