Professor Zheng Yin, Vice President of Hainan Chengmei Hospital and a cardiovascular expert, said, "5.18 is a special number, which is the critical value of 5.18mmol/L for abnormal total cholesterol within the blood of a normal person."
In recent years, the incidence of vascular diseases has been rising in China with the deepening of aging. The China Cardiovascular Health and Disease Report 2021 shows that the number of people suffering from cardiovascular diseases in China has reached 330 million. Among them, 245 million were hypertensive, 13 million had strokes, 11.39 million had coronary heart disease and 8.9 million had heart failure. The number of deaths due to cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for both urban and rural residents in China.
There are more than 100 billion capillaries in the human body, large and small, connected at the head and tail up to 100,000 kilometres long. Healthy blood vessels like a rushing river of life, connecting the bodys organs, 24 hours a day to transport nutrients, discharge metabolic waste, is a persons "life channel". Smooth blood vessels are the foundation of human health, if the blood vessels are not healthy, it will lead to many diseases and threaten peoples lives.
Professor Zheng Yin pointed out that atherosclerotic plaques formed by cholesterol deposition are the most important factor threatening the health of blood vessels. When atherosclerosis occurs in blood vessels, blood vessels are easily blocked leading to myocardial ischaemia, which in turn leads to vascular diseases such as angina pectoris, acute myocardial infarction, stroke, renal vascular disease and peripheral vascular disease, etc., which are highly fatal and disabling, and seriously jeopardise the state of health and the quality of life, and even endanger lives.
Professor Zheng Yin said that in China, high blood lipids, high blood sugar and high blood pressure are the three most important causes of atherosclerosis. Tobacco use, unhealthy diet, overweight, lack of exercise, psychological disorders, and other unhealthy lifestyle habits are the key factors that induce and aggravate "three highs" (high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high blood lipids), affecting the health of blood vessels and accelerating their aging.
To a large extent, atherosclerosis is a disease closely related to lifestyle. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is the key to preventing and treating atherosclerosis, therefore, for the sake of vascular health, Professor Zheng Yin suggests to do the following five points in life.
Quit smoking: Smoking is defined as a chronic disease that increases the risk of 56 diseases and the risk of death from 22 diseases. Studies have shown that the health benefits of quitting smoking can be seen within hours and last for decades thereafter. After 15 years of quitting smoking, the risk of developing coronary heart disease can be reduced to the same level as those who have never smoked.
Therefore, its never too late to quit smoking. If you have the need to quit smoking, you can go to the smoking cessation clinic at a medical institution for consultation.
Balanced diet: The "four high" diet, which refers to high sugar, high oil, high fat, and high salt, is the "enemy" of blood vessels. They increase the risk of high blood sugar, high blood lipids, and high blood pressure, easily leading to the accumulation of blood lipids and other substances on the blood vessel walls, causing obstruction in the blood vessels.
The recommended "balanced diet for Chinese residents" model includes: a variety of foods, with grains as the mainstay, paying attention to energy balance, eating plenty of vegetables, fruits, dairy products, and soybeans, moderate amounts of fish, poultry, eggs, and lean meat, reducing salt and oil, limiting sugar and alcohol, and drinking tea regularly. Variety in food is the basic principle of a balanced diet. It is recommended to consume as many different types of food as possible every day, aiming for 12 or more different types of food if possible, and achieving over 25 different types of food per week.
Maintaining weight: Obesity is the source of many diseases. We usually use the Body Mass Index, or BMI (weight divided by the square of height) to assess the degree of obesity and overall health of a person. BMI greater than or equal to 24 is considered overweight, BMI between 24 and 27.9 is considered slightly obese, BMI greater than or equal to 28 is considered obese, and BMI greater than or equal to 30 is considered severely obese. Once the body mass index (BMI) exceeds 24, the risk of developing serious health conditions such as dyslipidemia, hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, and stroke significantly increases.
Therefore, losing weight doesnt just mean reducing fat, it also reduces blood pressure, blood lipids, blood sugar, and the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. The best way to control weight is to combine scientific food choices with physical exercise, aiming to achieve a waist circumference of less than 90 cm for men and less than 85 cm for women, with a body mass index (BMI) of less than 24.
Consistent Exercise: Performing moderate to high intensity physical activities can reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Exercising has numerous benefits for the body. It not only helps prevent high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high blood lipids (commonly referred to as "three highs"), but also improves cardiorespiratory function, strengthens bones and muscles, enhances immunity, and prevents cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
It is strongly recommended that everyone try to maintain a regular exercise routine, aiming for about 5 times per week, with each session lasting no less than 30 minutes. It is recommended to focus on moderate-intensity exercise, such as playing ball sports, running, cycling, swimming, rope skipping, dance aerobics, brisk walking, and so on. Choose a sport that you enjoy and could stick with. Its important to find an activity that you enjoy so that youll be more likely to stay motivated and continue exercising regularly.
Friendly reminder: When engaging in intense or prolonged exercise, it is crucial to undergo a cardiopulmonary exercise function test and a sports risk assessment at a professional hospital. This can effectively prevent and control potential risks. It is very important! Especially for those with a high risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, lung diseases, and a family history of heart disease.
Maintaining a positive mood: Negative emotions and stressful environments can harm vascular health. The healing effects of positive emotions on the heart can sometimes surpass any medication.
Positive emotions can be summarized into "five psychological assets," which are optimism, happiness, self-esteem, a sense of belonging, and a feeling of being loved. After a series of research, it has been found that for every additional psychological asset, the likelihood of maintaining cardiometabolic health increases by 12%. Adolescents who possess 4 to 5 psychological assets are 69% more likely to maintain cardiometabolic health in adulthood.
If you realize that you are in a bad mood and in a poor state, take the initiative to seek professional help and actively cooperate with your treatment.
Prevention is more important than cure in guarding vascular health. Regular medical check-ups to detect problems in time are also key to maintaining blood vessels. By measuring blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol and other indicators, blood vessel problems can be detected as early as possible and appropriate measures can be taken. The core strategy for preventing atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is to lower LDL cholesterol levels in the body.
Therefore, it is important to have regular physical examinations to check for lipids. It is recommended that adults aged 18 years and above should be tested for routine indicators of lipids (including TC, TG, LDL-C and HDL-C) once every 2 years, and that men aged 40 years and above and postmenopausal women should have annual lipid tests. Lipids should be measured every 6 months in ischaemic cardiovascular disease and other high-risk groups.
Professor Zheng Yin reminded that for patients who have been diagnosed with underlying diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and hyperlipidaemia, it is important to actively treat them and take medication in strict accordance with doctors orders to effectively control blood pressure, blood lipids and blood glucose, which can effectively prevent the occurrence of heart disease, stroke and other diseases.
Introduction of the expert
Text from Huang Fei