Cardiovascular Disease.

Cardiovascular disease is a bit of an all encompassing term that refers to diseases of the heart of the surrounding blood vessels. The risk of developing cardiovascular diseases in the western world is especially high and this now accounts for over 30% of deaths. In America the numbers that die from these diseases are greater than cancer related deaths.

There are a lot of factors involved in the susceptibility to cardiovascular disease and some of these are:-

Age - the risk is greater as you get older.
Gender - when under 64 men are more likely to die from the disease than women, however, as we age beyond this the risk factor evens out more.
Genetic / family history - put simply you are more susceptible to cardiovascular problems if there is a family history.
Smoking - will increase your risk factor.
Insulin resistance and diabetes.
Hypercholesterolaemia heightened cholesterol levels will also increase your chances of cardio problems whether inherited or otherwise.
Obesity - this is a major problem in western cultures and is a big no no where cardiovascular health is concerned.
Sleep deprivation.
High blood pressure
Physical inactivity -a big contributor to obesity.
Stress and depression

As a population we have never faced such as crisis in terms of cardiovascular health and it is primarily our lifestyles that are to blame for the huge numbers of deaths related to this. We have more sedentary jobs than ever and ear more convenience food and junk than ever before. A bad combination! Add on top of that a high level of stress and depression caused by high pressure jobs and more smoking and alcohol intake and you have a recipe for bad heart health.

Its boring and has been said many times before but we really do need to exercise a lot more and eating healthy food.