Heart health – more than a stroke of good luck

Heart and blood vessel disease, known medically as cardiovascular disease, remains Australia’s number one killer. It affects nearly 2.5 million Australians; and last year accounted for more than 50,000 deaths. Heart attack accounts for around 20% of all deaths in Australia.

So Stroke Week (22-26 September) and World Heart Day (28 September) are timely reminders that we can make a few simple lifestyle changes to keep our heart and blood vessels in good shape; and reduce the likelihood of our becoming one of those terrible statistics.

A stroke (also called a cerebrovascular accident) is the death of brain tissue resulting from lack of blood flow and insufficient oxygen to the brain. Another type of stroke (a cerebral haemorrhage) is caused by bleeding into brain tissue.

A heart attack (myocardial infarction) occurs when some of the heart’s blood supply is suddenly severely restricted or cut off, causing the heart muscle to die from lack of oxygen.

High blood pressure is one of the main factors which increases our risk of cardiovascular disease. Also, high levels of cholesterol in the blood, smoking, being overweight and not being regularly active increase our risk of heart attack and stroke.

Of course everyone has some blood pressure. The pressure is needed to get blood around our body – in other words, to circulate.

If there is no pressure, there is no circulation.

Our blood pressure will rise and fall during the day depending on our activity; but when the pressure remains constantly higher than necessary, even when we are resting, we have the condition known as “high blood pressure” or hypertension.

If you need medicines to lower your blood pressure, the possibility is that they will need to be taken forever. Sometimes that is difficult to accept; especially when, in all likelihood, there are no noticeable symptoms of the blood pressure being raised. In fact, occasionally the medicines themselves have unwanted effects. They may make you feel drowsy, dizzy or nauseated.

If side effects with your blood pressure medicines do occur, you should tell your doctor and pharmacist. There may be other medicines that suit you better or another way to manage the problem. Nevertheless, the best single piece of advice you could receive is to take your medicines regularly day after day.

However, we can certainly reduce the need for medicines, or maybe lower the doses needed, by following some simple self help recommendations. These are all outlined in the series of fact cards available from pharmacies providing the Self Care Health Information.

Titles include Exercise and the Heart, High Blood Pressure, Fat and Cholesterol, Weight and Health, and Staying a Non-Smoker.

Meanwhile new research has shown that even some “over-the-counter” pain relievers might reduce the protective effect of your heart medication.

If you are taking prescription products for high blood pressure or low-dose aspirin to “thin the blood”, make sure you check with your doctor or  pharmacist before taking any non-prescription medicines.