5 Surprising Risk Factors For Heart Disease

A man shocked to see his lab results on his phone

One of the main reasons I focus so much of my time learning about the heart is because it is so cornerstone to our health. Heart disease is not only a leading cause of death, it is also a major contributor to a lower quality of life. So, regardless of where you are in life, you are going to want to optimize your heart’s health. This will not only prevent life-threatening illness, but it will also improve your quality of life

WHY?!

Because your heart and blood vessels are responsible for getting the nutrients to every inch of your body. This helps your body repair damage and ensure everything is functioning well.

For some, you will already know the main risk factors. For example, smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and stress. But, most of us aren’t aware of the less-talked-about causes.

5 common risk factors that many people are unaware of!

  1. Medications.
    1. Many of the medications we take have side effects that are troublesome for our cardiovascular system. For example, birth control (contraceptives) has some well-documented side effects for clotting. This will then increase your risk of heart attack and stroke.
  2. High blood sugars.
    1. It is very common for people’s blood sugars to become problematic with age. This is often a build-up of lifestyle choices, diet, certain medications, and genetics. Regardless of how the issue arises, high blood sugars are damaging to the walls of your blood vessels. This can increase clotting and the formation of plaque.
  3. Thyroid and adrenal issues.
    1. Those of us in the holistic healing world have been saying this for years, “Everything’s connected!”. So, if you have known thyroid or adrenal issues, you need to also consider the health of your heart. Both organs impact our weight, blood pressure, stress, nervous system and more! Getting a whole-body approach is essential to heart attack prevention and overall health.
  4. Chronic infections.
    1. Any long-term infection can damage your heart and blood vessels with time. For example, Lyme disease, a chronic infection from tick bites, can cause inflammation of the heart (carditis). This inflammation can causes damage and sooner or later lead to permanent damage!
  5. The gut microbiome.
    1. Did you know that the bugs in your gut have a massive impact on our health, including our heart?! They do so by influencing our hormones, nervous system and immune system. This alone makes them important, but they also directly impact our blood pressure and plaque build-up.

The heart and how it interacts with other parts of your body is complicated! If you would like to learn more about how you can take care of your heart, check out my other blogs.

Happy reading!