Nowadays people are becoming health conscious, and everyone knows the two very important things to do in order to stay fit is to eat healthy and excercise regularly. Do you know why these two things are really important ? Its because by these two methods we are actually improving our cardiovascular health, It is really important to maintain it so as to lead an active life.
What is cardiovascular health?
As the name suggests it is something to do with the heart. The cardiovascular system in our body is actually circulation of blood to every part of the body. This circulation of blood is important so as to deliver oxygen and essential nutrients to the tissue (tissues are a group of similar cells), which is required for the effective breakdown of the food we consume so as to convert it into an energy derivative that can be used for the body. Heart plays an essential role of actually pumping the oxygen rich blood from the lungs to other part of the bodies and receive the deoxygenated blood from the body and pump it to the lungs. The active functioning of this system means that the body is healthy and fit.
To maintain cardiovascular health ,it is really important to have a healthy heart. According to the American heart association (AHA), the two main parameters for ensuring this are blood glucose and blood pressure .
- Blood glucose is actually the amount of sugar the blood has, this sugar is a source of energy. For a healthy person the blood sugar levels should be between 700 milligrams grams per litres to 1400 milligrams per litres. If its more than the given amount then it can cause diabetes which may lead to many heart diseases.
- Blood pressure is the pressure that the blood vessels contains, mainly arteries(these are the vessels directly connected to the heart). Normal blood pressure should be less than 120/80. There are many reasons because of which the blood pressure increases, but the main reason is the narrowing of the arteries due high amount of cholesterol being settled on the walls.Other reasons can be stress, illness and etc.
Ways to maintain cardiovascular health
To monitor our cardiovascular health we need to know our heart rate. It gives us the idea about the amount of work done, by the muscles in our heart to maintain the steady heart rate. This should be taken while resting, 60-100 beats per minute (BPM) is normal. Lower the resting BPM means less work done that is healthier body. By noting the BPM while resting we can get the idea of how much fit or unfit one is and also how much work she or he has to do.
While doing exercises one must always try to increase their heart rate by 60-70% of the resting BPM. This is done in order to absorb more oxygen so as to increase the oxygen intaking capacity of the body which is also called aerobic capacity. This capacity can be increased in the body by exercising regularly. As the aerobic capacity increases it would make the body to utilize the blood glucose more therefore monitoring the its levels inside the blood.
The next thing is to regulate our food habits like eating healthy and in a proper amount. Avoid eating food with complex fats which will deposit as cholesterol in the arteries and eventually increase the blood pressure also increasing the risk to heart diseases. Green leafy vegetables are good as they provide energy to our body.
Benefits of having healthy cardiovascular system
Having a heathy heart means less risk of heart diseases and an active body, which doesn't get tired easily . It also makes you feel positive and always ready to face any challenges in the day. It not only helps to develop physical strength but mental strength too. It is seen that a person who exercises regularly and eat healthy has very less chances of getting into depression. So its time that we take our health seriously and work to improve it so that we can gain the strength to achieve our dreams and live our life the fullest.
