[순천/남도방송] From middle age, unlike those in their 20s and 30s, they need to pay more attention to their health. If you neglect your health from the age of 40, a healthy life in middle age can be threatened. In particular, heart disease risk factors start to rise from the age of 40, and problems such as obesity, high blood pressure, and hyperlipidemia are the main causes of heart disease, so you need to pay more attention. This time, we’re going to look at habits and behaviors that can threaten your heart.
◇ Denial of blood pressure or test results
If the blood pressure measured at the hospital or the result of the checkup is abnormal, it is often denied first. Of course, since many of the high blood pressures are temporary, it is important to measure the blood pressure periodically. If your blood pressure is high only in a doctor’s office or hospital, it is good to have a home blood pressure monitor and measure your blood pressure regularly at home. Because it is measured in a psychologically and environmentally comfortable state, you can accurately know your usual blood pressure and better understand changes in your health condition.
However, some people in their 20s and 30s refuse to take medication, thinking that it is okay to exercise for a few days without drinking alcohol, even if their blood pressure has been measured several months or years ago and they are advised to seek medical treatment due to abnormal findings in the checkup. If this is delayed, early treatment is delayed, increasing the risk of developing cardiovascular disease complications, and often missing opportunities to stop or reduce medication later.
Eating more calories or healthy foods than necessary
If fatigue persists or if you think your energy has dropped, you will look for high-calorie, high-nutritional food. There are even cases where it is juiced or boiled and consumed continuously every day. There are essential nutrients that you must eat, but most of these calories or nutrients are not worth eating more than one serving. Rather, excess calories often lead directly to weight gain or increased cholesterol, which can endanger heart health. When food is said to be good for health, people often overeat it when it appears on TV, but too much of anything is worse than not enough.
◇ weight gain
As you enter your 40s, you find it difficult to lose weight. This is partly because the metabolism slows down and you gain weight easily, and partly because the amount of exercise decreases, but due to hormonal changes, muscle mass decreases relatively and belly fat begins to appear. An increase in waist circumference and an increase in weight increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Around 1kg per day can happen due to dehydration, food eaten, hormones, etc. so you don’t have to worry too much, but if the scale steadily goes up, it’s time to adjust your diet and exercise. You need to measure your weight frequently, exercise frequently, centered on brisk walking, and reduce overeating.
◇ Start exercising right away without warming up
The ideal amount of exercise is 3-4 times a week, 30-45 minutes at a time. Lack of exercise is a problem, but it is also not good to suddenly do excessive exercise due to excessive motivation. Even if you were confident that there was no big problem without warm-up or finishing exercises in your 20s, starting in your 40s, you must do warm-up and finish exercises for 5 to 10 minutes before and following exercise. Sudden or excessive exercise can rather cause heart damage.
◇ Excessive drinking and smoking
It is a well-known fact that heavy drinking and smoking are bad for health. However, it is not easy to quit drinking or smoking, and there are quite a few people who do not even try. Smoking increases the heart rate, can cause a heart attack, and worsens arteriosclerosis. Smoking, especially in hypertensive patients, exacerbates coronary artery disease and increases the risk of stroke and kidney disease.
Habitual heavy drinking can cause high blood pressure, stroke, and diastolic cardiomyopathy, and when a large amount of alcohol is consumed in a short period of time, it is the main cause of arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation, in which the heart rate is irregular. Even if you do not drink excessively, if you continue to drink alcohol, it can increase the level of triglycerides and cause cardiovascular disease.
◇ chronic stress
When you reach middle age, various stresses such as economic problems, work, and housework increase. Stress is a part of life, but when it becomes chronic, it can lead to health problems, including heart problems. The ability to cope with and relieve stress is very important to quality of life and health. To prevent stress from becoming chronic, you need a plan to control it through exercise, hobbies, or meditation.
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