The vascular system – otherwise known as the cardiovascular system – encompasses the heart and all of your body’s blood vessels. This is an important bodily system because blood in the body is like gasoline in the car, and your bodies ability to receive enough blood every second of the day helps you perform all the millions of functions on the regular.
Cardiovascular health is highly important to take care of, yet heart disease continues to be on the rise. Although medicine has come a long way and fewer people are dying of heart issues, there is still a high number of patients living with damaged hearts and brains.
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When it comes to cardiovascular health, you have both modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors. Risk factors which you can’t change include gender, age, and a family history of heart disease. In comparison, the list of modifiable factors is longer, which means you still have ample opportunities to reduce your risk of vascular disease.
Modifiable risk factors include weight, activity level, smoking status, stress, sleep, and diet.
Vascular disease can go unnoticed for quite some time, but if you begin to experience any of the related symptoms, then you need to seek out medical attention immediately. These symptoms include chest pain upon exertion, shortness of breath, and heart palpitations. Identifiers of a stroke include droopiness of the face, being unable to raise your arms above the head, and slurred speech.
If you’re over the age of 40 with a family history of vascular disease, then you will want to go for regular check-ups to monitor your heart health. Even if you don’t have a history of heart disease, it’s still wise to control those modifiable risk factors to keep your risk at bay as much as possible.
Also read: Natural ways to improve heart rate and get your heart pumping
Mohan Garikiparithi got his degree in medicine from Osmania University (University of Health Sciences). He practiced clinical medicine for over a decade before he shifted his focus to the field of health communications. During his active practice he served as the head of the Dept. of Microbiology in a diagnostic centre in India. On a three-year communications program in Germany, Mohan developed a keen interest in German Medicine (Homoeopathy), and other alternative systems of medicine. He now advocates treating different medical conditions without the use of traditional drugs. An ardent squash player, Mohan believes in the importance of fitness and wellness.
