The health of your heart is the result of those good habits

In effect, they tell you that you are sick and with less reason to take care of your health, a study evaluated people with severe coronary heart disease who never changed eating habits to recover. Don’t be part of that trend. Find out what you can do to maintain good heart health. You can do it! Do you know that saying that “man – and woman – is an animal of habit”? Well, it has a lot of truth. Dieting, quitting smoking, starting a routine of physical activities… are good ideas, often difficult to adopt. Think how much it sometimes costs us to change our habits, regardless of the fact that these are changes that can help us improve our quality of life. Even when we must do it because some illness or health condition threatens us, it seems that there are certain behaviors that are “impossible” to modify. So much so that a study carried out by researchers from the National Center for Cardiovascular Research (CNIC) in Spain has found that, in one year, the majority of diabetic patients undergoing different treatments to control their heart disease were not able to regulate the four most important risk factors: high cholesterol, high blood pressure, blood sugar level and smoking. To reach these results, which were published in the specialized journal Journal of the American College of Cardiology, the scientists evaluated the data of more than five thousand diabetic patients who had to follow different treatments to control their coronary disease, mainly through aggressive medications or surgery. What did they find? That just 16 percent or of the patients managed to control the four risk factors, after a year of having been treated for their disease. Because these patients were also participating in three other follow-up studies, they were much better controlled than the rest of the population. For this reason, researchers consider that the adoption of healthy behaviors may possibly be even lower in the rest of the patients. This figure is very worrying since coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death among men and women worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, in 2008, people with coronary heart disease exceeded 17 million people, and that number is increasing! The good thing is that you can do a lot to prevent the onset of heart artery disease, which is caused by the accumulation of deposits of fat, cholesterol, calcium and other substances that become plaque that accumulates on the walls of the arteries that nourish the heart. They are the arteries through which blood circulates. If they become blocked (clogged), a heart attack or cardiac infarction develops. This accumulation is called atherosclerosis, and if you already have it, it is possible to control and eliminate it, but not by magic. As? Following an exercise routine and a healthy diet, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, protein foods; limiting your intake of salt and fats in general, but especially saturated fats and trans fats, and selecting foods with healthy fats (such as those containing omega-3 fatty acids). Additionally, you may need to take some medications, as directed by your doctor, especially at the beginning of treatment. The only warning you should not go through The point is that, when you have coronary heart disease, these changes must be radical and constant, which can be difficult but not impossible. Think that if there were 16 percent of patients who have achieved it in a study, then that indicates that we all have the ability to do it and you can also be one of them. Cheer up! Don’t let yourself be overcome by laziness or depression. Changing habits doesn’t have to be as complicated as it seems. A good idea is to take it as a challenge and a discovery process, in which slowly and almost without realizing it you will gain well-being, health and years of life. And if you can’t do it alone, don’t be embarrassed and don’t wait, ask for support and advice, both professionally and from those around you. The support of your family and friends can be a huge help when it comes to achieving your goals and keeping your heart healthy.