Excercise for a healthy heart!

To those of you who do not prioritise excercise and the importance of water in the diet -you need to take a deeper look of how these lifestyle adjustments can improve your quality of life. Cardiac disease is one of the biggest killers in the world today, causing more deaths than cancer each year. Simple adjustments like taking the stairs instead of the lift could end up saving your life. It is vital to get your cholesterol tested and with the amounts of clinics available there really is no excuse, unfortunately I have made the mistakes of drinking excessively and smoking the odd cigarette -two things which I do regret as it is detremental to the welfare of your heart. Let us go through something quickly:

The human heart's job is to pump nutrient-rich blood throughout your body. If you are a smoker or drink alcohol excessively, you are giving your heart extra work. How do you feel when you have too much work to do? Your heart cannot handle too much extra work over a long period of time. Over time, the health of your heart will take too much strain.

Studies have proven that smoking doubles your risk of having a heart attack and doubles, triples, or quadruples your risk of sudden cardiac death. Each year, over 300,000 South-Africans die of smoking-related heart disease. So, don't smoke. If you do, quit. The sooner you quit, the sooner your risk will start to decline. There is hope. Former smokers can completely lower their risk of sudden cardiac death within ten years of quitting.

Because they are foreign substances, any drug can effect your heart. Even prescribed medications can. However, since prescribed medications are legal, doctors are able to control the effect a drug will have on your heart by controlling the dosage. With illegal drugs (cocaine, heroin, marijuana, amphetamines, etc.), only you have to control the effect on your heart.Only if you don't take any can you truly be safe. Even a small amount of a drug can be potentially fatal. So, don't use illegal drugs. If you do, quit.

While drinking alcohol in moderation may not pose a risk, drinking excessively does pose a serious hazard to your heart. While alcohol flows in your blood stream, the nutrient-rich blood is less able to nourish the heart. If the alcohol content is excessive, your heart will be in danger. So, don't drink alcohol excessively. If you do, quit.

It may be wise to read up in depth articles on the health of your heart at http://www.heartfoundation.co.za/