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Look after your heart and arteries

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Look after your Heart and Arteries 
​

The term the medical profession give to your circulation is the cardiovascular system with vascular being a medical term relating to both arteries and veins.  The heart is like the pump of a central heating system and there are two parts of the heart


  • The right hand side of the heart, receives the blood coming from the tissues low in oxygen and high in carbon dioxide and pumps it to the lungs where the carbon dioxide is breathed out and oxygen sucked in.
  • The left hand side of the heart pumps the blood that returns from the lungs through the arteries to the tissues where the oxygen is extracted, and the carbon dioxide, produced as a result of the work of the tissues, is transferred to the blood to return through the veins to the right hand side of the heart

What are the effects of ageing and living longer?

As usual the effects of ageing are confused with the effects of living longer in the world in which we live.  If you look at the performance records for veteran athletes and cyclists, you can see a decline in performance but only part of this is due to ageing.  there is also some decline due to loss of fitness because even enthusiastic veterans are not probably training as hard as they did when they were in their twenties principally because they have other jobs and responsibilities to attend to.  
What you can see is that cardiovascular function does decline a little bit because of ageing but most of the decline is due to 
loss of fitness, a universal problem and, in some people. Some people do develop disease of the heart which is usually always associated with disease of the arteries called atherosclerosis which is very similar to the furring up that occurs in water pipes. It is important to appreciate that heart disease is not caused by ageing but by the modern environment. Fortunately, the risk of heart disease can be reduced  


The principal problem people experience with their veins is Varicose veins are more common in women because of the effects of childbirth on the vascular system of the pelvis but varicose veins are also a product of the modern environment, sitting at a desk job, a computer and car and contributes to obesity which also increases the risk of varicose veins.

How can you minimise the effects of ageing and living longer?

The principal means of doing this is by increasing fitness and by reducing the risk of disease.
 
Increasing fitness through activity that makes you aware of the fact that you are breathing more quickly, but are still able to have a conversation, is beneficial to the heart.  This is called medium intensity activity.  The official guidelines all say about a hundred and fifty minutes a week and used to say that it should be done in in five batches of thirty minutes.  It is now known that any minutes that you can find will make a positive contribution for example three ten-minute bouts of medium intensity activity or six minutes and even two minutes is very good if you have been sitting at a sofa or desk.
 

To reduce the risk of disease, the heart and the arteries there are a few simple rules now widely accepted


  • If you still smoke, then stop no matter how many times you have tried before
  • Shift to a Mediterranean diet
  • Eat more plants, grains and oils 
  • Increasing activity reduces the risk of heart disease and the disease of the arteries called atherosclerosis

How can you maintain and increase fitness?

This requires an increase in medium intensity activity which you can do by yourself, but many people find it easier to do this either joining a group, for example a dance class or by restarting tennis, cycling or swimming.  Joining a gym or finding a personal trainer is also very helpful in ensuring that the medium intensity activity is enjoyed and not swallowed like unnecessary medicine.

Who can help?
  • The practice nurse will provide information and advice
  • Staff at the pharmacy can also tell you about local activities that you can join
  • Go to see a gym or fitness centre or wellness centre, or what is still called the leisure centre, although leisure is the last thing you need if you want to keep your cardiovascular system fit and healthy
  • ​The British Heart Foundation is a very important organisation 
    • ​try their online programme to estimate your Heart Age 
    • follow their guidance on how you can reduce you risk of heart disease, and it will also lower your risk of stroke and vascular dementia
    • the BHF is also a very good and reliable source of advice for people who already have heart disease 

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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