What is cardiovascular disease?
Cardiovascular disease refers to problems that affect your heart and blood vessels. These problems occur when your blood vessels become narrow or blocked, which increases your chance of having chest pain, heart attacks, and stroke.
What are the signs of cardiovascular disease?
Cardiovascular disease can slowly develop over many years without causing any symptoms. In fact, you might only get a diagnosis after you have a stroke or heart attack. If you do have any noticeable symptoms of cardiovascular disease, you might experience any of the following:
- Tightness or pain in your chest
- Shortness of breath
- Numbness or a cold sensation in your extremities
- Pain in other areas, such as your jaw, back, or throat
How do I know if I have cardiovascular disease?
Dr. Allen provides screenings that measure different aspects of your heart to check for cardiovascular problems. The results of these screenings help ensure that you’re able to start managing cardiovascular disease as soon as possible, which reduces your risk of complications, such as heart attacks.
Am I at risk of cardiovascular disease?
You might have a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease if you have any of these risk factors:
- Family history of cardiovascular disease
- Diet filled with high-fat, high-cholesterol foods
- High cholesterol levels
- Obesity
- Sedentary lifestyle
- Diabetes
How can I keep my cardiovascular system healthy?
Making changes to your lifestyle can help you maintain a healthy cardiovascular system and reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease. Dr. Allen might recommend doing the following, especially if you’re at risk:
- Get regular physical activity
- Eat a diet that’s low in saturated fat and cholesterol and high in healthy foods
- Maintain healthy blood pressure levels
- Give up smoking
- Avoid putting on too much weight
- Manage diabetes if you have this condition
- Go for regular checkups and have screenings done for cardiovascular disease
If you’re at risk of cardiovascular disease, please contact Total Care Family Practice to schedule an appointment with Dr. Allen.
