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How we choke up our blood vessels
(Avoiding heart disease, strokes and related diseases)
In the West, by far the biggest danger we face over our lives is damage to our arteries – the vessels that carry blood away from the heart and around the body.
This damage kills an astounding one in three people in the UK, and it leaves vast numbers of others disabled in various ways.
To a great extent, this damage is something
we cause ourselves. If you start taking action early enough, you can
prevent it happening.
From childhood onwards, a substance builds up
in streaks in our artery walls. The streaks gradually turn into
swellings, particularly when people are inactive, smoke, put on body
fat, allow their blood pressure to remain high, or eat the wrong types
of food. However, it is usually not until people reach their 40s and 50s
that the swellings have any noticeable effect.
Heart attacks and strokes
If a swelling bursts, a clot forms inside the
artery. This can block that artery, or the clot may be carried in the
blood to block a smaller artery downstream. The blockage cuts off blood
beyond that point, causing severe damage or even death.
A common place for this to happen is in the
narrow arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle. Part of the heart
muscle or be damaged, impairing the heart’s ability to pump blood. This
is what is known as a “heart attack” or “coronary”.
If a clot blocks the blood supply in the
brain, it causes a “stroke” – brain damage that can lead to death or
severe disability. Clots can also damage other parts of the body
including the legs and eyes. The swellings weaken the artery walls, and
this sometimes results in an artery bursting – an “aneurysm” – often
with devastating effect.
Some of the things you can do
If you want a long and healthy life, and an
old age free from disability, your highest priority should be to avoid
the build-up of these swellings in your arteries. Several effective ways
you can do this are:
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Keep active every day, which encourages your body to produce a substance that helps keep your artery walls clear.
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Avoid all forms of tobacco smoke, as smoking both increases the swellings and makes them more likely to burst.
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Get your blood pressure checked (and controlled if necessary).
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Watch your weight.
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Eat plenty of vegetables, fruit, nuts and oily fish, which have a protective effect.
It is now known that saturated fat and
cholesterol in the food you eat are not to blame for damage to
arteries, despite what you may still read.
What the book covers
The book
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describes in detail how the swellings form and burst, to give you a clear understanding of their importance and why simple changes to your lifestyle can make such a huge difference
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rates these according to how effective they are
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suggests what your diet should include to bring your risk right down.
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Next: blood pressure
Selected references for the book