Every year many people suffer from strokes and heart attacks, often with disabling or sometimes fatal outcomes. This is especially true as one gets older. In particular, women over the age of 60 make up a large chunk of people with severe cardiovascular problems.
The causes can be of two types; some are inevitable, others we can try to prevent them.
Experts know about these possible causes, also called risk factors. This is because, based on various elements that affect our body and our habits, the risk of episodes related to the cardiovascular system can increase. Those who meet these criteria may have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease than others.
Clearly, we are not able to diagnose ourselves, but we can understand, if we are right, by contacting our treating doctor for tests. To do this, we can use our data, our habits and the values of the latest analyzes. Below is a list of some information relevant to this purpose.
Non-modifiable risk factors
Non-modifiable whistling factors are the ones we can’t really avoid, we can only alleviate their effect with good practices. Among these are age and gender. In fact, most heart attacks occur in people between the ages of 50 and 60, especially women. While, at a young and mature age, men are most affected. The fact is that the woman becomes more at risk with the arrival of menopause. Another factor on which we cannot directly intervene is familiarity. That is, we could be genetically predisposed to heart attacks if several of our relatives have had cardiovascular problems.
Then there are the modifiable risk factors, which can affect the environment and lifestyle, both positively and negatively. These are blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, smoking, alcohol and stress.
Those who meet these criteria may have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease than others
The cardiovascular risk card is based precisely on risk factors. This is a series of tables that allow doctors to calculate the risk of heart attack and stroke over the next 10 years. This data concerns people between 40 and 70 who have never suffered a major cardiovascular event.
When we fill it in we must provide personal data such as age and gender, but also different values. Generally, we speak of hypertension when the maximum pressure exceeds 140 mmHg and the minimum 90 mmHg. High cholesterol is also a risk factor, although largely modifiable with the right foods. We should also consider a waistline within certain limits and the presence of diabetes. Finally, among the factors considered in the cardiovascular risk chart there are also bad habits such as smoking, stress and alcohol. If we recognize one or more of these characteristics, we are right to ask our doctor for a consultation.