Environmental risk factors

Being overweight or obese

Fat that sits around internal organs such as our heart and liver can affect how your heart and blood vessels function. So, if you are carrying more weight than average, this can increase your risk of developing issues such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes.

Excess weight, particularly around the waist, can also increase the build-up of fatty plaque in the arteries (atherosclerosis). If your arteries become damaged or clogged, this can lead to severe health problems such as a heart attack or a stroke.

You can determine whether you are overweight or obese by measuring your Body Mass Index (BMI) and waist-to-height ratio. 

Lack of exercise

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around one quarter (25%) of people worldwide are not doing enough exercise. This puts them at higher risk of health issues such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers.

Being sedentary can severely affect your heart health and increase your cardiovascular disease mortality. Being inactive can lead to fatty plaque building up in the arteries and, if damaged or clogged, can result in serious health problems such as a heart attack or stroke.

The heart is like any other muscle. It needs physical activity to keep healthy and help it work correctly.

Regular exercise can contribute to:

• Controlling blood pressure and keeping it at healthy levels
• Raising ‘good’ cholesterol levels and reducing ‘bad’ cholesterol
• Controlling blood glucose levels
• Burning calories and maintaining a healthy weight

Unhealthy diet

Eating a diet high in salt, saturated fats and added sugar can result in poor heart health, as it raises ‘bad’ cholesterol and blood pressure levels. 

It is recommended to avoid high levels of the following foods to ensure good heart health:

• Processed food
• Processed meat 
• High-fat dairy products, e.g. cheese
• Foods high in oil 

Cutting these food types out is hard, and we wouldn’t suggest you need to do it completely. However, it’s all about balancing your diet with high amounts of foods rich in nutrients and vitamins to ensure you maintain a healthy diet.

Smoking tobacco

Smoking is harmful to every organ in the body, including the heart. The chemicals inhaled from cigarettes are toxic to the body and can lead to major health concerns later in life.

The inhaled chemicals from smoking can affect the heart as they enter the bloodstream and make the walls of the arteries sticky. This can cause an increase in fatty plaque buildup in the arteries that leads to issues such as cardiovascular disease or even a heart attack.

Second-hand (passive) smoke can also cause harm to your health, so be aware of the space around you and whether there is a presence of cigarette smoke.

Giving up smoking can improve your health almost instantly. Your resting heart rate can reduce within 20 minutes of quitting smoking. After 3 months, your risk of heart attacks will significantly decrease, and after a year, your risk of heart disease halves compared to an individual who continues to smoke.

Drinking alcohol

Drinking high levels of alcohol has been linked to significant health problems, including issues with the heart.

There is a link between alcohol and rising blood pressure. Alcohol can affect your weight, as consuming excess calories can cause weight gain, which can lead to high blood pressure.

Heavy drinking may also weaken the heart muscle, meaning blood cannot be pumped around the body efficiently. 

These elements brought on by drinking can lead to serious heart conditions such as heart disease, heart failure, or even a heart attack.

Drug use

Illegal drug use can have hazardous impacts on your heart’s health, causing a range of issues from high blood pressure, collapsed veins and bacterial infections of the valves/vessels to heart attacks.

Cutting drugs out of your life and making positive life changes can help improve your risk of developing further complications and stop the damage from worsening.

Legal highs can also cause many of the effects described above. Just because they’re legal doesn’t mean they won’t drastically impact your health. All types of drugs have many other side effects and can affect everyone differently.

Drinking high levels of caffeine

Drinking moderate amounts of caffeine is not necessarily bad for your health. A maximum of four to five cups of coffee or tea is usually acceptable for most people. 

However, consuming high levels of caffeine can affect the heart, causing palpitations and increased blood pressure. These effects are usually temporary, but if high caffeine consumption is maintained over a long period of time, increased blood pressure can cause long-lasting effects such as atrial fibrillation and heart damage.

Caffeine typically affects those with an existing heart issue more, as an increase in blood pressure and palpitations can trigger their symptoms, worsening their condition.

There is a belief that energy drinks are bad because of the amount of caffeine in them. However, this is incorrect, as a single 250ml energy drink typically contains 80mg of caffeine, compared to a cup of coffee (100mg) or tea (75mg). However, a single energy drink may contain your maximum total daily intake of sugar (7 teaspoons), so we wouldn’t recommend them.

How can I reduce my environmental risks?

These risk factors can be changed with crucial lifestyle improvements and alterations.

These changes include:

• Healthier diet
• Regular exercise regime
• A healthy sleep schedule 
• Manage your mental health and stress
• Stopping smoking, drinking alcohol, and taking illegal drugs
• Maintain a healthy weight
• Controlling your caffeine intake

We can help you find ways to improve your lifestyle and obtain optimal heart health. We’ll help detect what may be causing your concerns and tackle changes together. 

Partnered with Anthem Healthcare, we can also provide plans with expert specialists to keep you on track to achieving your dream health goals and becoming your best self.

If you are worried about your risks and want to investigate your heart’s health further, talk to our expert cardiologist to learn more.