A sana diet, move every day, not smoking. And keep blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar under control: these are the rules for a healthy heart, we hear them repeated over and over again and we should really put them into practice. All the more reason should be done by those who have already had a heart attack, as was emphasized during a meeting of the 2021 edition of Tempo della Salute in which they participated Fulvio Colivicchi, president of the National Association of Hospital Cardiologists, e Pasquale Perrone Filardi, president of the Italian Society of Cardiology.
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Modifiable risk factors
There are three pillars of cardiovascular prevention, explains Colivicchi. A healthy diet rich in vegetables and low in saturated fats, in which to follow the ‘half portion policy’ by eating in moderation; daily physical exercise, because we are not made to stay still; not smoking. In addition to this, risk factors such as high blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar must be kept under control, knowing their values and trying to keep them within the norm. A norm that can change according to the characteristics and clinical conditions of each person because, as explained by Perrone Filardi, ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol, for example, is the first enemy to fight, but the levels to be considered adequate change: in a healthy person 115 mg / dl an acceptable value, but the LDL cholesterol must drop below 70 in those with diabetes and it must be less than 55 in those who have already had a heart attack.
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After a heart attack
In these people, in fact, the danger of a new heart attack much higher, especially in the first year after the cardiovascular event. For this reason, the interventions for the so-called secondary prevention must be incisive and timely, modifying the lifestyle and taking drugs to control risk elements such as pressure, cholesterol, high blood sugar. The same timeliness is necessary in knowing how to recognize the symptoms of a heart attack, because it means getting to treatment earlier and having a better chance of being saved. The classic ‘signal’, that is intense pain, similar to a clamp at the level of the sternum, occurs mainly in men between 45 and 65 years of age, explains Colivicchi. In the diabetics the pain may be less severe and symptoms such as breathlessness or cold sweat may prevail. In the elderly, heart attacks can manifest themselves mainly with disorientation and breathing difficulties. Do not neglect these indispensable signals and likewise know that cardiovascular risk factors do not add up, but multiply. The increase in danger in the presence of several elements of exponential danger, confirms Perrone Filardi: Calculate the overall cardiovascular risk, taking into account the impact of the various factors and the fact, for example, that high cholesterol has more ‘weight’ than obesity, which is therefore fundamental for everyone: today we can and must estimate it even in those over 70 years of age, people who they deserve adequate cardiovascular protection and all the attention necessary to prevent heart attack and have a good quality of life.
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November 4, 2021 (change November 4, 2021 | 13:22)
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