11 Bizarre Factors That Increase Your Risk of Heart Disease

Even if you exercise regularly, cut down your consumption of sugar-loaded deserts and never steer close to your cigarette in your entire life, you can still be at risk of developing a heart disease. How is that possible?

Some of the greatest risk factors that make you more likely to suffer from heart ailments are the least alarming ones, and they include weight gain, obesity, a sedentary lifestyle, lack of exercise, high cholesterol levels, hypertension, an unhealthy diet, excessive smoking, excessive stress, and a strong family history of heart problems. However, these are not the only factors that put you at risk of a heart disease, or cause a blockage to develop in your arteries.

Here, cardiologists share the 11 strange heart disease causes and risks factors that every woman needs to know. #hearthealth #healthyliving #warningsigns

Image: HealthyVogue

Medical science has revealed that various innocuous facets of our everyday life, for instance, how your childhood was spent, the age you got your first period, the health of your love life, and other biological ailments can also impact your risk factors for suffering from a heart ailment. So basically, if you want to cut down your risk factors of suffering from heart diseases, it is important to not only take preventive measures to reduce the commonly known risk factors of heart damage, but to also counter and eliminate the weird and sneaky risk factors.

Statistics reveal that heart disease is the biggest cause of death for women across the globe, and every single minute, one person in America dies due to heart disease. In this article, we are going to introduce you to some bizarrely sneaky factors that increase your risk for heart disease, especially for women.

Here, take a look:

1. Your Periods started before you turned 12

If you got your period before turning 12, you had a very early start to your puberty, and according to research, it can increase your risk factors for suffering from a heart disease later on in life. A recent study reveals that women who experienced their first period before the age of 12 have a 10% greater chance of suffering from heart disease as opposed to women who got their period before the age of 13. On average, girls in America get their period at the age of 12.

The study didn’t clarify the association between the onset of period and heart ailments, however, other researchers have revealed a link between the elevated risk of blood clots and heart strokes with an increased estrogen levels, which is basically the key hormone in puberty and menstruation. If you are concerned about the risk factors, just consult your doctor about altering certain habits and adopting measures to counter this risk factor.

Is it normal to get your period at age 12

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2. You are Consuming Diet Pills Regularly

Many women consume diet pills in hopes of shedding off some unwanted pounds, however, the alarming reality is that not only are these pills incapable of promoting weight loss, but in fact, they can actually kill you. Medications and drugs that have a stimulant effect, which is common across majority of the diet pills, can damage the human heart by elevating your heart rate and blood pressure levels.

Naturally, this will exert a great deal of stress on your heart, and if you keep consuming them for a long period of time, it can cause permanent heart damage. Instead of consuming these heart-damaging diet pills, create a mindful and well-balanced diet and adopt a regular exercise regimen, two healthy habits that will reduce your risk factors for heart ailments.

Prescription Diet Pills

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3. You recently suffered a Horrid Episode of Flu

Suffering a nasty episode of flu can also elevate your risk factors for heart disease, causing them to escalate dramatically and last for at least a year after you have suffered the fly infections.

If you are finding it extremely challenging to breathe while lying down, or you are suffering from swelling after an episode of flu or cold, consult a doctor right away.

Flu can cause certain viral infections and bacteria to travel inside your inside, which can elevate your risk for heart disease, and even heart failure.

Is there a cold going around right now

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4. You feel Terribly Lonely

Being extremely lonely and socially alienated can boost your risk factors for heart ailments by an alarming 30%, which is the same impact as smoking. Fortunately, this is a risk factor that we can all prevent and take measures to eliminate. For instance, you can cut down your social media usage and instead, join a club or a society.

You can get yourself a pet, for instance a dog that will provide you unconditional adoration and loyalty, along with taking you out for long walks. Moreover, heart research reveals that having a pet not only reduces feelings of loneliness, but also, it boosts the health of the heart. You must also make plans to go out and have fun with friends and family members.

What to do when you feel lonely

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5. You had a Difficult Pregnancy

Many women tend to experience an extremely challenging pregnancy because growing a baby inside your body puts a great deal of pressure on the circulatory system. It causes the blood volume to increase, forcing the heart to much harder than it normally does.

This isn’t the only pregnancy factor that can elevate your risk factors for a heart disease in the future, but also, if you suffer from preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, or excessive hypertension during the pregnancy, you are at a much greater risk of suffering from heart disease, even years after giving birth. Therefore, it is important to consult your doctor on all the unusual symptoms and conditions you suffer during pregnancy.

Coping with a difficult pregnancy

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6. You’ve have had a recent Break Up

Events that are extremely traumatic and heart shattering, such as being dumped by your partner, can trigger severe emotional distress, which will put you at a greater risk of heart ailments. Medical science has termed this phenomenon as the broken heart syndrome, and it is very much real.

Deeply upsetting and mentally uprooting events can be difficult to prevent or avoid altogether, for instance, financial troubles, death of a loved one, a bad breakup, a divorce or a sudden move.

It is important to devise an emotional strategy that revolves around combating and dealing with those awful hard feelings instead of avoiding the trauma. Healthy coping mechanisms and techniques, such as therapy, yoga, exercise, tai chi and mediation amongst others, can help you recover your emotional strength and stability.

How to deal with being dumped

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7. You Drink a Sizeable Amount of Wine or Alcoholic each night

If you have a habit of drinking several glasses of alcohol or even wine every single night, beware that it can increase your risk factors for heart disease. The effects of alcohol consumption on the heart are viewed through a conflicting series of contradictions put forward by various researchers.

However, it is safe to conclude that consuming alcohol moderately, which is around one serving or less, will not have any negative impacts on the heart. However, consuming more than two servings of alcohol or wine each night will put you at a grave risk of heart ailments. If you wish to safeguard your heart, be sure to avoid alcohol as much as you can, drinking only occasionally.

3 Glasses of wine a night too much

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8. You are being treated for an Inflammatory Ailment

If you have been prescribed medications to treat an inflammatory ailment, particularly lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, it can increase your risk factors for suffering from heart ailments. These inflammatory diseases are more likely to attack women and put them at a greater risk for heart disease.

It is all because of the inflammation, which can wreak havoc in the blood vessels and triggering an excessive buildup of plaque. Be sure to consult your doctor regarding the implications of inflammation and how you can prevent it from spreading.

Inflammatory disease treatment

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9. You feel Depressed

Feeling depressed increases your risk factors of suffering from heart disease, and even more alarming is the fact that it also increases your risk factors of dying due to a cardiac arrest or a stroke. Even though researchers haven’t yet established a direct association between depression and heart disease, it is evident that people who are depressed commonly have higher levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, which is also associated with heart disease.

Depression also renders the patients to take preventive measures to reduce the risk of heart ailments, for instance regular exercise sessions, consuming medications, seeking a specialist for a treatment. If you seem to be fading away in a perpetual state of sadness, it is important to seek help from a professional.

Heart Disease and Depression: Don't Ignore the Relationship

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10. You have a History of Child Abuse

Child abuse doesn’t only effect the mental health of an individual, but in fact, it also leaves behind lasting risk factors for various biological ailments, including heart disease.

A recent study reveals that women who have suffering three or more traumatic episodes of abuse or witnessing someone else getting abused as a child, along with being a victim of abuse at the hands of a bully, can increase their risk factors of suffering from heart ailments in adulthood.

Experts and researchers are still attempting to understand the reason behind this association, but it is evident that healing emotional scars and childhood traumas is incredibly important.

What is child abuse?

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11. You have been Diagnosed with ADHD

If you’ve been prescribed medications for symptoms of the attention-deficit hyperactive disorder, keep in mind that these stimulants and medicines can boost your blood pressure and heart rate, which will exert a harsh strain over your heart. Even though there is need for further research in this arena, a recent study reveals that consuming ADHD medications for a long period of time can boost the risk factors of heart disease amongst children. Therefore, be sure to consult your doctor regarding the benefits and side-effects of ADHD medicines.

ADHD Treatment without Medication

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