What Cardiovascular Diseases Will I Be Prone To?

Often, there are no symptoms of the underlying disease of the blood vessels; a heart attack or stroke may be the first warning signs of cardiovascular diseases.

How scary does cardiovascular disease have to be, for a heart attack to be a warning sign? Cardiovascular diseases are absolutely terrifying. Cardiovascular diseases may develop from years of tobacco use, an unhealthy diet and physical inactivity --- combine that with your 40s and you become a volatile cardiovascular disease surprise.

According to the World Health Organization, “Over 80% of cardiovascular disease deaths take place in low-and middle-income countries and occur almost equally in men and women. Cardiovascular disease risk of women is high particularly after menopause.”

Here are the top three causes, and what cardiovascular disease you may expect from them.

Tobacco User/ Smoker – At first you’d be surprised to find this at the top of the cardiovascular disease list, because for one, you’d expect cigarettes to harm your lungs, not your heart, and for two, it isn’t immediately obvious to people that smoking is bad for the blood.

There’s the carbon monoxide --- it interferes with the transportation of oxygen, and less oxygen means a higher potential for cardiovascular disease. There’s nicotine too --- it decreases the amount of good cholesterol which makes fat become deposited on the walls of an artery. If you’re a long-time smoker, you’re at risk of a stroke or a heart attack.

Unhealthy Diet – An unhealthy diet gives you the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. The heart and the blood vessels stop working properly if an unhealthy diet leaves a build up of fat deposits on the inside lining of the blood vessels. These fat deposits cause the blood vessels to become narrow, thereby blocking off the blood flow.

Of the cardiovascular diseases that may get someone with an unhealthy diet, a stroke is most likely. Someone who experiences a mini-stroke while being overweight still has a potential for full recovery, but it would involve losing weight to prevent further cardiovascular disease.

Physical Inactivity – Currently there are studies being performed linking physical inactivity to cardiovascular disease. It’s not a direct result of the sedentary lifestyle, but it would still affect you indirectly. Long bouts of physically inactive bodies might develop arterial stiffness, and for the body to develop a resistance to insulin. It has also been found that cases of these happen to people in their 40s.

The metabolic dysfunction that follows is closely-tied to cardiovascular disease. No doubt, there is an increasing need for regular physical activity while you’re young, since the metabolic dysfunction only develops after years of inactivity. A heart attack or a stroke’s risk is high among people living highly inactive lifestyles.