Fortunately, however, studies have confirmed that 80% of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases can be prevented. Walking is very popular among middle-aged and elderly people now. A friend said, "Walking 2,000 more steps every day is equivalent to walking for 20 minutes, and the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases will be reduced by 8%." So is this really the case? What causes cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases? What advice does the doctor have for this disease? Let's get to know each other.
There are seven main factors leading to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases: hypertension, hyperlipidemia, hyperglycemia, obesity, aging, smoking and drinking, and heredity. Among them, hypertension, hyperlipidemia and hyperglycemia, commonly known as "three highs", are the chief culprits of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
1. Hypertension. Hypertension is also called elevated blood pressure. The relaxation and contraction of our heart will produce pressure, which will push blood to flow in blood vessels. If the pressure of relaxation and contraction is too high, it will lead to the blood flowing too fast, hitting the blood vessel wall, causing the blood pressure to rise and causing cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
Besides genetic factors, hypertension is also related to environmental factors, such as sodium salt, potassium salt, protein, excessive intake of tobacco and alcohol, etc. In addition, mental factors should not be underestimated. Long-term tension, anxiety, anger and even excitement can also cause high blood pressure. Other factors, such as overweight, drug factors or reduced exercise.
2. Hyperlipidemia. Macrophages in our blood will treat foreign bodies in our blood and excrete them as garbage. When the lipid content in blood is too high and the pressure of macrophages is too high, macrophages will die, and the residue of dead macrophages will remain on the blood vessel wall, thus promoting atherosclerosis or narrowing blood vessel passages, leading to cardiovascular diseases.
In addition to genetic factors, hyperlipidemia is also related to diet structure, such as long-term consumption of junk food, high fat, high calorie or greasy food. At the same time, bad living habits are also common causes of hyperlipidemia, such as staying up late, sedentary, smoking and drinking.
3. High blood sugar. Hyperglycemia refers to the excessive glucose content in the blood. At this time, platelets in the blood will adhere and gather, which is easy to block blood vessels. If the heart blood vessels are blocked, it will easily lead to myocardial infarction. If the blood vessels are blocked, it will easily lead to cerebral thrombosis.
Hyperglycemia is common in an unbalanced diet. Excessive intake of sugary food or starchy food is converted into sugar in the body, and insufficient intake of dietary fiber and vegetables is the common cause of hyperglycemia. Foods with high sugar content include: sugary snacks, sugary drinks, cream cakes, chocolates and fruits with high sugar content. Starch foods include: flour, sweet potatoes, potatoes and so on.
As we all know, exercise is a good medicine for any disease. It can not only make the body full of vitality, but also make the brain full of vitality. Studies have found that exercise can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by 48% to 57%. In 20021year, a study at the American heart association conference on epidemiology, prevention, lifestyle and cardiovascular metabolism confirmed that any form of "walking" is beneficial to health. In recent years, walking has become a very popular way of keeping in good health for middle-aged and elderly friends.
1. Take a walk to exercise the five internal organs.
With the growth of age, people are prone to deficiency of qi and blood and five internal organs. Walking more can maintain the stable contraction and relaxation of blood vessels, enhance the elastic function of internal organs, improve the cardiopulmonary function of human body, and reduce the incidence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Persisting in walking can also enhance the secretion function of digestive gland, increase appetite, promote the normal peristalsis of gastrointestinal tract, accelerate metabolism and promote blood circulation. It can be described as a health password hidden under your feet.
2. Walking helps to sleep.
As the saying goes, a good sleep makes a good heart. Walking can relax nervous nerves, relieve physical and mental fatigue and help sleep. Good and sufficient sleep is helpful to stabilize the normal level of blood sugar, blood pressure and other indicators, and is very helpful to protect cardiovascular health.
Studies have shown that people who fall asleep at night from 10:00 to 10:59 have a higher risk of cardiovascular diseases. Those who fall asleep at midnight or later are 25% higher, while those who fall asleep before 10:00 at night are 24% higher.
Relevant epidemiological survey results show that long-term lack of sleep may lead to negative emotions such as nervousness and anxiety, which in turn leads to faster heartbeat, faster respiratory rate and increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. According to statistics, people over the age of 45 who sleep less than 6 hours a night are 200% more likely to suffer from heart disease than those who sleep 0-8 hours a night.
3. Walking improves mental state.
Walking only requires a little effort, which can relieve the nervous mental stress, eliminate fatigue and improve neurasthenia. This is because when walking, the brain will secrete endorphins, which can effectively improve the excitability of nerves and inhibit the occurrence of depression. After walking, you will find that the whole person is very happy and refreshed.
1. Keep warm when walking.
After the human body is stimulated by low temperature, the sympathetic nerve will be excited, which will affect the contraction and spasm of capillaries in the whole body, increase the blood flow resistance, lead to the increase of blood pressure, and cause cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Therefore, it is best for middle-aged and elderly friends not to take a walk in the morning and evening with large temperature difference, strong wind and cold to avoid being stimulated by cold.
If you must go out, you'd better choose the period from 10 in the morning to 3: 00 in the afternoon when the sunshine is relatively abundant and the temperature is high. Doing a good job of keeping warm can protect the head, waist and abdomen during exercise and avoid the pain caused by epidermal stimulation.
It is not advisable to take a walk immediately after a meal.
We don't recommend exercising immediately after a meal, because the food in the stomach has not been emptied slowly after a meal, and the blood of the body will be concentrated in and around the stomach, and the stomach is still in a working state. This is also why many friends will have symptoms such as stomach upset, diarrhea and nausea after walking after meals. In particular, patients with coronary heart disease may cause angina pectoris or myocardial infarction. There are also patients with anemia and hypotension. Walking immediately after a meal may cause dizziness.
It is suggested that middle-aged and elderly friends can take a walk for 20 minutes after meals if they only eat digestible food. If you eat too much food, your stomach will take longer to digest and your walking time will be delayed accordingly. Generally, it is a better choice to control it for about 30 minutes.
3. The speed and degree of walking.
The speed and amount of walking should be determined according to one's own physique, and there is no uniform standard. Walking is a mild exercise, and middle-aged and elderly people with weak constitution should choose to walk slowly, with about 80 steps per minute. Healthy middle-aged and elderly people are suitable for walking, with a speed of 5~6 kilometers per hour and a speed of 120 steps per minute.
Simply put, people are different, and the intensity of exercise is different. One principle of health care for middle-aged and elderly people is not to overdo it. Exercise moderately according to your age and physique. For example, look at your state after exercise. Are you energetic or depressed? Is the heart rate too fast or steady? Is your appetite increased or lost? Flexible limbs or sore waist and knees? This is the degree.
4. Walking steps.
Many middle-aged and elderly people around us have very good habits and insist on taking a walk after meals. With the rise of the WeChat movement, many friends are also secretly competing for steps. The study found that walking 6000 steps a day is more beneficial to health than walking tens of thousands of steps a day.
Walking is good, but don't take too many steps. Some old friends go out for a walk in the morning, after lunch and after dinner. They walk up to tens of thousands of steps every day, not only failing to exercise, but also making their knees and ankles tired and their five internal organs more tired. So we must keep the scientific movement, not to say that the more steps we take, the better.
5. Walking posture.
The most basic thing is to keep your back straight, hold your head high, tighten your abdomen slightly, relax your shoulders and swing your arms naturally. When walking, the heel touches the ground first and then crosses the toes. Try to walk in a straight line if possible.
6. Walking environment.
It is often seen that some middle-aged and elderly friends choose to walk on the sidewalks on both sides of the road, especially after meals. This environment is very bad. If there are many cars in the middle of the road and the speed is fast, not only the exhaust gas is harmful to the respiratory tract, but also the sight is not good at night, which is extremely unsafe.
If conditions permit, you can choose a flat road or a tree-lined path in the park. Beautiful environment and fresh air make people feel happy more easily. If the park is far away or the weather is limited, you can take two steps in the community or even at home.
Life comes from diet.
As the saying goes, illness comes from the mouth. Many middle-aged and elderly diseases are caused by long-term improper diet. If you want cardiovascular health, you should stay away from foods containing trans fatty acids. Trans fatty acids are difficult to be digested and absorbed after entering the human body, so they will stay in the blood and raise cholesterol, which will lead to various cardiovascular diseases.
Trans fatty acids mainly come from improper cooking habits and some processed foods. Because vegetable oil is easy to produce trans fatty acids at high temperature, it is not suitable to cook food at too high temperature, especially fried and fried foods that are repeatedly fried outside. Try not to eat or eat less. When buying processed foods, it is recommended not to choose foods containing cocoa butter substitutes, shortening, margarine and non-dairy ingredients.
In order to be healthy, we should adjust our diet, eat more healthy food and eat less or no unhealthy food. Simply put, try to eat some local and seasonal fresh food, and eat less or no processed food. A healthy diet can not only keep us healthy, but also be a more sustainable lifestyle, from which we can benefit.
2. Pay attention to meditation.
Too many negative emotions will lead to the imbalance of internal organs. We can realize from life that when we are angry, our heads will feel dizzy and painful. I think too much, and my limbs are weak. Suddenly frightened, I will be incontinent.
Emotion is also a very important culprit of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Not only negative emotions, emotional instability or excessive excitement will concentrate blood on the brain and face, reduce blood supply to the heart, lead to vasoconstriction, rapid heartbeat, elevated blood pressure and heart rate, and then induce cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases such as cerebral infarction.
In fact, true health requires not only a healthy body, but also mental health. It means to keep a good mood, be calm, be content with happiness, try to reduce negative emotions such as resentment and trouble, and don't get too excited. There is a good saying: only by managing emotions can we manage life well. If middle-aged and old friends can maintain positive social behavior and optimistic attitude towards life, they will make the whole body and mind healthy.
There is no small matter in health, and it is never too early to prevent it. In fact, any disease should be prevented, discovered and treated early. It is better to spend money on disease prevention than on hospitals.
Taking more walks has a positive effect on the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in middle-aged and elderly people. Body, emotion and spirit are the components of health and longevity. Reasonable diet, persistent exercise and optimistic attitude towards life are very important to the health of middle-aged and elderly people, which is also an important way to promote their longevity.