September 29th is World Heart Day. Heart disease, a common circulatory disease, often occurs suddenly and has a high fatality rate. Therefore, it is also known as the number one killer of human health. How to correctly understand heart health and protect the heart has become a problem that everyone should know.

Function of the heart

The heart is the most important organ in the body's circulatory system. The heart has three major functions:

1. Pumping function: the heart can promote the circulation of blood flow, can provide enough blood for each organ tissue of the body, can make each organ tissue maintain normal metabolism and function. The pumping activity of the heart is the basis of human life activities.

2. Systolic and diastolic functions: The heart performs its functions by delivering nutrients such as glucose, protein, inorganic salts and vitamins to all parts of the body through systolic and diastolic functions.

3. Endocrine function: various hormones or peptides in the body also need to be transported to target cells through the blood circulation of the heart in the human body to achieve fluid regulation, so as to maintain the stability of the internal and external environment.

Several common cardiovascular diseases

1. Congenital heart disease

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common type of congenital malformation, accounting for about 28% of all congenital malformations. It refers to anatomical abnormalities caused by the formation or abnormal development of the heart and large blood vessels during embryonic development, or the failure of the channels that should be automatically closed after birth.

2. Cor pulmonale

Referred to as cor pulmonale, is due to a variety of thorax, lung and bronchial lesions and secondary pulmonary hypertension, and finally lead to heart disease characterized by right ventricular hypertrophy. Most COR pulmonale develops from chronic bronchitis and obstructive emphysema, and a small part is related to bronchial asthma, pulmonary tuberculosis and bronchiectasis. Pulmonary heart disease is more common in winter and spring than in winter and spring when it is complicated with respiratory infection, leading to respiratory failure and heart failure.

3. The coronary heart disease (CHD)

Bad living habits and diabetes, hypertension and other easy to lead to vascular sclerosis and stenosis, so that the blood flow is blocked, easy to cause myocardial hypoxia and damage, causing coronary heart disease. Its manifestations are as follows: pain or contractile pain in the posterior sternum or precardiac area when tired or nervous; Chest tightness, palpitations, shortness of breath during physical activity; Sudden chest pain, palpitations, and dyspnea while lying flat.

4. Cardiomyopathy

Cardiomyopathy is divided into primary cardiomyopathy and secondary cardiomyopathy. The occurrence of cardiomyopathy is related to many factors.
The cause of primary cardiomyopathy is unknown, and secondary cardiomyopathy is mainly related to infection, metabolic disease, endocrine disease, ischemia, allergy and other factors.

What factors affect heart health

Smoking: Both active and passive smoking can cause heart disease. The burning of tobacco produces carbon monoxide and nicotine, which can lead to a lack of oxygen in the heart muscle and cause coronary artery spasm. Smoking also damages endothelial function and promotes insulin resistance, which accelerates arteriosclerosis and leads to coronary heart disease. Smoking has become one of the important causes of death from coronary heart disease.

△ Unreasonable diet: With the improvement of people's living standard, most people are no longer worried about having enough to eat. However, the trend of unreasonable diet structure still exists. For example, the intake of some grains, tubers, fresh vegetables, fruits, milk, nuts and beans is still low, and the average intake of edible oil and salt is much higher than the recommended amount. Dietary inattention can lead to death from cardiovascular metabolic diseases, especially high sodium intake, which can lead to various heart diseases.

In order to protect our heart, adhere to a scientific diet, daily life should be: less salt (< 6g), less oil (20-30g), less sugar (< 25g), more coarse grains, etc., in the way of cooking recommended steaming, boiling, cold mix, as far as possible with fried, fried, stir-fried and other ways. In addition, in the daily dietary structure, vegetables and fruits can still not be less, but also eat more fish, nuts and beans.

△ Lack of physical activity: studies have confirmed that most such as coronary heart disease, stroke, hypertension, dyslipidemia, are related to physical activity or lack of exercise, and physical activity status is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

△ Psychological factors: depression can affect cardiovascular health, and persistent depressive symptoms are significant factors leading to increased risk of cardiovascular disease and death.

Good habits to protect your heart

Make dietary changes: less oil and salt, more fresh fruits and vegetables, and less fat from all kinds of animals.

Regular exercise: It is recommended to exercise at least 5 days a week, at least 30 minutes a day, and do more aerobic exercise, not too much exercise, step by step.

Learn to release pressure: choose suitable ways to decompress yourself, such as reading, exercise, listening to music, or often talk to family and friends, relieve the inner pressure and anxiety.

Regular physical examination: to regularly understand the blood pressure, blood lipids and blood sugar levels, problems in time to intervene.

I hope you can pay more attention to protect your heart in life, maintain a reasonable diet, moderate exercise and a happy mood, protect your health, and start from the "heart"!