Each year, come September, Vascular Disease Awareness Month takes place, helping to raise awareness of the condition, which collectively refers to diseases that affect the lymphatics, veins and arteries.
This includes issues such as varicose veins, deep vein thrombosis, leg ulcers, aneurysmal disease (characterised by weakening artery walls), carotid disease (which can cause strokes and transient ischaemic attacks) and peripheral arterial disease.
Essentially, any part of the body where blood flows can be affected by vascular disease and, in fact, it’s just as common as cancer… so it’s advisable to do what you can to prevent complications from developing, as well as prioritising robust management of any conditions that you do have.
What are the risk factors of vascular disease?
As with many health conditions, you can help reduce the risk of developing vascular disease by making positive lifestyle changes. Risk factors for the condition include:
– Smoking
– Diet
– Weight
– Hypertension (high blood pressure)
– Diabetes
– High cholesterol
– Age
– Genetics
– Excessive alcohol consumption
– Chronic stress
How can you improve your vascular health?
You can reduce the risk of developing vascular diseases by focusing on your heart health. Strategies for this include:
Quitting smoking
One of the best ways to improve your vascular health is to quit smoking but, of course, this can be difficult to achieve. There are various options to help you succeed, however, including vaping as an alternative, nicotine replacement therapy, counselling, prescription medicines, joining support groups and so on.
Getting regular exercise
Moving more and staying as fit and healthy as possible can work wonders for your vascular health. Of course, always work within your remit and don’t push your body beyond its capabilities. Wherever possible, however, aim for a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic activity each week.
Following a well-balanced diet
Eating a healthy well-balanced diet is a great way to support your heart health. Following a Mediterranean diet is often lauded as being the best strategy for health, but as a rule of thumb always make sure that your plates are filled with healthy fats, lean protein (such as chicken or fish), wholegrains, fruits and vegetables.
Keeping stress levels under control
Stress can have a big impact on your vascular health, elevating stress hormone levels like cortisol and adrenaline. These, in turn, drive up your heart rate and blood pressure, which can cause inflammation and the buildup of plaque in your arteries. Knock-on effects of high stress levels also include comfort eating and lack of exercise.
However, you can help keep your stress under control by practising yoga, relaxing hobbies like arts and crafts, getting out in nature more, mindfulness meditation, breathing exercises and so on.
Seeing your GP as soon as possible
Early detection and proactive management is a must for vascular diseases. If you’re concerned about any symptoms or how you’re feeling, talk it through with your private nurse or make an appointment with your doctor as soon as you can.
