Cardiovascular disease - Revive Health & Wellness

Cardiovascular disease (CVD)

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) refers to conditions that affect the heart and blood vessels. It is a broad term that encompasses many disorders, including:

• Coronary artery disease (CAD) - disease of the blood vessels supplying the heart muscle. This can cause angina (chest pain) and myocardial infarction (heart attack).
• Cerebrovascular disease - disease of blood vessels supplying the brain. This includes stroke.
• Peripheral arterial disease - narrowing of blood vessels outside the heart. This commonly affects the legs.

Some key risk factors for CVD include:

• High blood pressure
• High LDL cholesterol
• Smoking
• Diabetes
• Obesity
• Physical inactivity
• Unhealthy diet

Lifestyle changes and medications can help treat risk factors. For example, controlling high blood pressure with medication reduces the chance of heart attack and stroke. Quitting smoking also substantially cuts cardiovascular risk.

When it comes to prevention, regular exercise and a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are recommended. These support heart health by improving risk factors like high cholesterol. Getting health screenings as recommended can catch issues early too.

While CVD covers various conditions, atherosclerosis (hardening of arteries) drives most of them. This slowly progresses over time with unhealthy lifestyle habits. Ultimately, it can lead to heart attack or stroke if unchecked.

The good news? Proactive steps like improving diet, activity levels, and other modifiable risk factors can slow the development of atherosclerosis. In many cases, CVD can be prevented with healthy behaviors.

So in summary:

• CVD encompasses heart and blood vessel disorders like CAD, stroke, and peripheral artery disease
• Leading risk factors are high blood pressure, cholesterol, smoking, and more
• Atherosclerosis drives most CVD
• Lifestyle changes and medication can treat risk factors
• Healthy diet and exercise habits help prevent CVD from developing in the first place

Making positive lifestyle changes remains the cornerstone for combating cardiovascular disease. An ounce of prevention is truly worth a pound of cure when it comes to heart and blood vessel health!