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Unlock This CourseYour heart is like a powerful pump that works non-stop throughout your life. Just like any machine, it needs fuel to keep working - and that fuel comes through special blood vessels called coronary arteries. When these arteries become blocked or damaged, it leads to coronary heart disease (CHD), one of the biggest killers in the UK today.
Understanding the risk factors for CHD is crucial because many of them can be controlled through lifestyle choices. This means you have the power to protect your heart health!
Key Definitions:
CHD starts when fatty substances stick to the walls of coronary arteries. Over time, these deposits grow bigger, making the arteries narrower. This is like trying to drink through a straw that's getting more and more blocked - less blood can get through to feed the heart muscle.
Some risk factors for CHD cannot be changed - these are things you're born with or that happen naturally as you get older. While you can't control these factors, knowing about them helps you understand your personal risk level.
As we get older, our arteries naturally become less flexible and more likely to develop fatty deposits. Men are generally at higher risk of CHD at younger ages, but women's risk increases significantly after menopause when protective hormones decrease.
Risk increases from age 45 onwards. Men are more likely to have heart attacks at younger ages than women.
Risk increases significantly after menopause (usually around age 55) due to falling oestrogen levels.
Having close relatives with CHD increases your risk, especially if they developed it at a young age.
If your father or brother developed CHD before age 55, or your mother or sister before age 65, your risk is significantly higher. This is because certain genes affect how your body processes cholesterol and responds to other risk factors. However, having these genes doesn't guarantee you'll develop CHD - lifestyle factors still play a huge role!
The good news is that many CHD risk factors can be controlled through lifestyle changes. These are the areas where you have real power to protect your heart health and reduce your risk significantly.
What you eat directly affects your heart health. Foods high in saturated fats and trans fats can raise blood cholesterol levels, leading to fatty deposits in your arteries.
Processed meats, fried foods, pastries and foods high in salt all contribute to CHD risk. These foods can raise cholesterol levels and blood pressure whilst providing little nutritional value.
Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins and foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids (like oily fish) help protect your heart and keep arteries healthy.
Regular exercise is one of the best ways to protect your heart. It strengthens the heart muscle, helps control weight, reduces blood pressure and improves cholesterol levels.
Benefits of Exercise for Heart Health:
This famous long-term study started in 1948 and followed thousands of people for decades. It showed that people who exercised regularly had 30-40% lower risk of CHD. Even moderate exercise like brisk walking for 30 minutes most days of the week provided significant protection. The study also revealed that it's never too late to start - people who became more active in middle age still reduced their risk substantially.
Smoking is one of the most dangerous risk factors for CHD. The chemicals in tobacco smoke damage the lining of arteries, making them more likely to develop fatty deposits. Smoking also reduces the amount of oxygen in your blood, forcing your heart to work harder.
Smoking immediately increases heart rate and blood pressure, whilst carbon monoxide reduces oxygen levels in blood.
Chemicals in smoke damage artery walls, making them sticky and more likely to collect fatty deposits that cause blockages.
Within one year of quitting, CHD risk drops by about half. After 15 years, risk becomes similar to someone who never smoked.
High blood pressure (hypertension) forces your heart to work harder and damages artery walls over time. Chronic stress can also contribute to CHD by raising blood pressure and encouraging unhealthy behaviours like overeating or smoking.
Blood pressure is measured as two numbers: systolic (pressure when heart beats) over diastolic (pressure when heart rests). Normal blood pressure is usually below 120/80 mmHg. High blood pressure often has no symptoms, which is why it's called the 'silent killer'.
Ways to Control Blood Pressure:
Being overweight puts extra strain on your heart and often leads to other risk factors like high blood pressure and diabetes. Type 2 diabetes significantly increases CHD risk because high blood sugar levels damage blood vessels over time.
BMI is calculated by dividing weight in kg by height in metres squared. A healthy BMI is 18.5-24.9. Being overweight (BMI 25-29.9) or obese (BMI 30+) significantly increases CHD risk.
People with diabetes are 2-4 times more likely to develop CHD. High blood sugar damages blood vessel walls and accelerates atherosclerosis development.
Finland had one of the world's highest CHD rates in the 1970s. The North Karelia Project launched a community-wide prevention programme focusing on reducing smoking, lowering cholesterol through diet changes and controlling blood pressure. Over 35 years, CHD deaths in the region fell by 85%. This shows how powerful lifestyle changes can be when applied across a whole population. The project became a model for heart disease prevention worldwide.
The best approach to preventing CHD involves addressing multiple risk factors together. Small changes in several areas often have a bigger impact than dramatic changes in just one area.
The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet has been proven to reduce CHD risk. It emphasises fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins and low-fat dairy whilst limiting sodium, red meat and added sugars.
Key Prevention Strategies:
Remember, it's never too early or too late to start protecting your heart health. The choices you make today will affect your heart health for years to come and even small improvements can make a significant difference to your CHD risk.