Recently, a new analysis from the Framingham Heart Study shows that primary prevention can delay the onset of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases by ten years.
The study evaluated nearly 60 years of data from 1960 to 2022, mainly to determine the time points of myocardial infarction, coronary heart disease and stroke in middle-aged and elderly people. The results showed that if long-term primary prevention could be adhered to, the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases could be reduced and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases could be postponed for 10 years. Among the study subjects, men who adhered to primary prevention were found to have a 10-year increase in life expectancy.
The reason is very simple. If you think about it, if you take primary prevention, you can delay the occurrence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Without myocardial infarction or cerebral infarction, we can prolong our life relatively.
So the question is, what exactly is primary prevention? Primary prevention, to put it simply, is what we often tell you: healthy life + control of the three highs. Specifically, the following 9 points should be done well to effectively prevent cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and prolong life span:
1.Diet is very important.
Of course, diet is very important. The latest study found that unhealthy diet accounts for 36.9% of all causes of cardiovascular disease deaths, that is to say, unhealthy diet accounts for 36.9% of all causes of cardiovascular disease deaths.
But diet is not simply about not eating something or eating something.
Healthy diet refers to: low salt, reduce refined grains, low oil, low sugar, increase coarse grains, increase vegetables and fruits, supplement appropriate fish, dairy products, nuts, etc. Diversified and comprehensive popular science diet is healthy diet.
Therefore, on the basis of low salt, low oil and low sugar, we should reduce fine grains, limit processed meat, control fat and viscera, reduce red meat appropriately, and continue to increase vegetables and fruits. Food must be diversified, as far as possible to eat more than 12 kinds of food a day, eat more than 25 kinds of food a week.
2.Sports are indispensable.
Exercise can not only prevent three high, exercise cardiopulmonary function, exercise skeletal muscles; Exercise can improve immunity. Exercise can prevent cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
It is suggested that you keep exercising as much as possible, about five times a week, not less than 30 minutes each time. Exercise intensity is mainly moderate intensity, such as playing ball, running, cycling, swimming, rope skipping, jumping gymnastics, fast walking and so on. Choose a sport that you like and can stick to.
They can also go together and encourage each other, which makes it easier to persist.
Insisting on exercise is good for lowering blood pressure, blood sugar, blood lipid and weight.
3.Can’t be too fat.
Overweight, especially obesity, is an independent risk factor for three high and cardiovascular diseases.
Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases are occurring more and more frequently, which is related to the fact that more and more people are obese. According to statistics, nearly 20% of our adults are obese.
So weigh yourself, calculate your BMI, and measure your waistline to see if you have a big belly.
Keeping your mouth shut and your legs open is the most effective way to control your weight. People who are not fat should try not to get fat, and those who are fat should control their weight as soon as possible.
4. Stay away from tobacco and alcohol
Smoking not only damages the lungs, but also increases the risk of lung disease and cancer. It can also increase the risk of atherosclerosis, that is, the risk of plaque in blood vessels.
The more serious the risk of vascular plaque, then it will lead to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, plaque rupture, myocardial infarction or cerebral infarction. So don’t smoke, quit smoking, and stay away from second-hand smoke.
Many people have been emphasizing drinking to lower blood pressure, promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis, and soften blood vessels. Now it seems to be a rumor that drinking not only does not lower blood pressure, but also raises blood pressure, blood lipids and arteriosclerosis. This means that drinking makes blood vessels harder, not softer.
So drink less or no alcohol. Only in this way can we protect blood vessels and prevent cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
5.Don’t stay up late
Staying up late will not only cause dark circles, loose skin, increased wrinkles, decreased immunity and sub-health. It can also lead to sympathetic excitation, increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, and increased risk of elevated blood lipids and blood sugar. It can also aggravate atherosclerosis, or even stay up late for a long time, which can induce plaque rupture and direct thrombosis, leading to myocardial infarction or cerebral infarction. So most of the sudden death of middle-aged people we hear is related to staying up late. This is the cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease caused by staying up late.
So don’t stay up late, which is also the primary prevention of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
6.Have a good attitude
Human health is divided into two parts, one is physiological, which is what we call various indicators, such as blood pressure, blood sugar, blood lipids, blood drawing, liver and kidney function and so on. The other is psychological, that is, what we think in our hearts, mental health is not healthy. For example, long-term depression, depression, pessimism, jealousy, the heart of harm, irritability, rage and so on are unhealthy psychological States. This long-term unhealthy psychological state, over time, will change from quantitative to qualitative, and become a physiological disease.
So for your own health, please be an optimistic, positive, sunny, grateful and helpful person. Such a positive energy mentality will be beneficial to physical health and cardiovascular health.
7. Take care of your blood pressure
Hypertension is a disease with high morbidity among middle-aged and elderly men, and nearly three out of every 10 people have hypertension. Long-term hypertension will aggravate and accelerate arteriosclerosis, which will lead to plaque in blood vessels and eventually lead to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
So we should pay attention to our blood pressure and see if we have high blood pressure. If our blood pressure exceeds 140/90 mm Hg, we must see a doctor. Try to lower your blood pressure below 120/80 mm Hg.
Only in this way can we better protect blood vessels and prevent cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
8.Manage blood sugar.
If diabetes is not found or well controlled, it will cause inflammation of arterial endothelium, which will lead to more plaques in blood vessels, leading to cardiovascular stenosis and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
So we need to take the initiative to measure blood sugar to see if there is diabetes, if there is, we must control it well, so as to reduce atherosclerosis caused by abnormal blood sugar. Managing blood sugar well is the primary prevention of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
9. Take good care of blood fat
Total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglyceride and other three blood lipids will increase the lipid substances in blood vessels, which is what the common people call vascular garbage. Especially when low-density lipoprotein cholesterol rises, more vascular garbage will be produced, leading to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
So we need to manage blood lipids, especially low-density lipoprotein cholesterol.
There are three reference values for LDL cholesterol, which are < 3.4, < 3.6, and < 1.8. Please look at your own standards.
In a word, primary prevention has been proved to be effective in preventing cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and prolonging life span.
But we must bear in mind that primary prevention is not a food, not a method, but the above nine methods!