Foods for preventing the heart disease

Heart failure caused by damage to the heart that has developed over time can’t be cured. But it can be treated, quite often with strategies to improve symptoms.

Successful treatment depends on your willingness to get involved in managing this condition, whether you’re the patient or a caregiver.

With heart disease the number one killer of both men and women in this country, you would think a cure that could dramatically reduce these deaths would be big news. And yet the most effective remedy is so simple that most people can’t seem to believe it works.

Risk factors for heart disease

A number of factors are associated with the build-up of fatty deposits in the coronary arteries, including cigarette smoking, lack of physical activity and a family history of the disease.

Other risk factors include:
Type of fat eaten – saturated and trans fats increase blood cholesterol and heart attack rates. Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats lower the risk of heart attacks.
Obesity – many overweight and obese people have diets high in fat, particularly saturated fat. A person who carries the bulk of their body fat around their stomach (an ‘apple’ shaped body) is at greater risk of heart disease than someone whose body fat tends to settle around their bottom, hips and thighs (a ‘pear’ shaped body).
High blood pressure (hypertension) – blood pressure is the amount of pressure within the arteries (blood vessels that carry blood around the body). High blood pressure, or hypertension, means that the pressure in the arteries is higher than normal. This may be because the arteries are less elastic, there is more blood volume, or more blood is being pumped out of the heart.

There is no ‘magic’ food to decrease the risk of developing heart disease. You need to eat a healthy diet and have plenty of exercise. High-salt diets increase blood pressure and the risk of heart attack and stroke.