What is cardiovascular disease?
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) refers to any diseases or conditions affecting the heart or blood vessels. The two most common cardiovascular diseases are heart disease and stroke.
The Maine Cardiovascular Health Program (MCVHP) focuses on
- heart attack
- stroke
- high blood pressure (hypertension)
- pre-hypertension
- high blood cholesterol
This website focuses more on these areas. For information about additional types of cardiovascular disease please click the link below.
Cardiovascular Disease 101: Know your heart and blood vessels
One of every three American adults has some form of cardiovascular disease. The cost of cardiovascular disease and stroke in the United States for 2006 is estimated at $403.1 billion.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in Maine. About four out of every ten deaths in Maine are from CVD, which adds up to over 4,500 people each year.
The burden on the health care system to treat CVD is large; there are over 27,000 hospitalizations every year in Maine from CVD. These hospital stays are expensive! Cardiovascular disease accounts for about 25% of all Maine hospital costs. The good news is that CVD is largely preventable, so this is a health crisis we can work to improve.
During a heart attack, flow of blood to the heart is severely reduced or stopped, and heart muscle is damaged and soon begins to die. The more time that passes without treatment, the greater the damage.
Some heart attacks are sudden and intense – your typical “Hollywood heart attack.” Most however start slowly, with mild pain or discomfort, and people having them often don’t realize what’s happening and delay calling for help until it’s too late.
It is estimated 1.2 million Americans will suffer from a heart attack this year. It is estimated 14.2 years of life is lost due to a heart attack.
Just under 4,600 heart attacks occured in Maine in 2004 with 921 people dying from the heart attack. However this is an improvement from 2000 when there were 5,112 heart attacks and 1,112 deaths.
You may be able to prevent a heart attack by knowing your blood pressure and cholesterol numbers and working with your health care provider to control them. Changing your lifestyle to include healthier behaviors can help you achieve and maintain a healthy weight, and reduce your risk of heart disease. Choose foods low in saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol. Get at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity on most, if not all, days of the week. If you use tobacco products you should try to quit. There are many resources, including the Maine Tobacco HelpLine, to help you quit.
A heart attack is a life-threatening event. Learn the signs and symptoms, and don’t hesitate! Call 911 if you or someone you are with experiences any of the warning signs, and they last for more than five minutes.
A stroke occurs when the flow of blood to part of the brain is interrupted or severely reduced, due to a blocked or bursted blood vessel. This reduction in blood flow keeps the brain tissue from getting the oxygen and nutrients it needs and in a few minutes brain cells begin to die.
On average, someone suffers a stroke every 45 seconds, and someone loses their life to a stroke about every three minutes. This adds up to about 700,000 Americans suffering from stroke each year! Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States, and a leading cause of serious, long-term disability.
You can prevent stroke by controlling high blood pressure, reducing your blood cholesterol levels, preventing heart disease, and stopping tobacco use. It is very important to know the signs and symptoms of stroke and at the first sign of stroke call 911 immediately!
Although stroke is a frightening event, there is help. There are several medical treatments today to help stroke sufferers to maintain their quality of life, but you must act quickly!
Transient Ischemic Attacks, or TIAs, are “warning strokes” that can happen before a major stroke, and should be taken very seriously. They occur when blood flow through a brain artery is blocked or reduced for a short time, resulting in temporary symptoms similar to those of a stroke. A person who has a TIA is 9.5 times more likely to have a stroke.
To review our stroke education materials, click here.
High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)
High Blood Pressure increases your chances of having a heart attack, heart failure, stroke, kidney disease, and other life threatening illnesses.
Blood pressure is the force of blood against the walls of arteries. Blood pressure rises and falls throughout the day. When blood pressure stays elevated over time, it is called high blood pressure.
The above information is taken from “Mission Possible” materials, click here to learn more about Mission Possible.
Regular exercise and a diet low in sodium (such as the DASH diet) can prevent someone from getting high blood pressure or lower the blood pressure of someone who already has hypertension. Your health care provider may also ask you to take medications to lower your blood pressure.
A person has pre-hypertension if he or she has a systolic (upper number) blood pressure of 120-139 or a diastolic (lower number) blood pressure of 80-89. People who have pre-hypertension are at risk of developing high blood pressure that requires medication.
Those diagnosed with pre-hypertension can usually control or decrease their blood pressure through improved nutrition, exercise and stopping tobacco use if they smoke.
Cholesterol is a natural substance found in all living tissue, but when you have high cholesterol it can be dangerous. When there is too much cholesterol in your blood it can build up in the walls of your arteries. Overtime this build up causes the arteries to narrow and blood flow can become slowed or even blocked.
While it is desirable to have a total cholesterol level below 200mg/dL, almost 100 million American adults have total blood cholesterols at or above 200 mg/dL.
Regular exercise and a healthy diet low in fat can help prevent high blood cholesterol. If you already have high cholesterol, a low-fat diet and regular exercise can lower your cholesterol. Your health care provider may also ask you to take medications to lower your cholesterol.
Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease
CVD risk factors are behaviors or conditions that increase your chances of developing CVD. Some risk factors are out of your control, such as family history of CVD or age, but most CVD risk factors are controllable.
Tobacco use is the number one preventable cause of serious illnesses such as heart disease and stroke. On average, tobacco kills seven Maine people every day. One of these is a nonsmoker who dies from exposure to secondhand smoke.
If you do not smoke, don’t start. If you do smoke, it is important to stop. Need help quitting? Call the Maine Tobacco HelpLine at 1-800-207-1230, or talk with your health care provider, or go to the Partnership For A Tobacco-Free Maine website for more information
Physical activity can help control blood pressure, reduce cholesterol levels, and help control and maintain weight. People who do not get enough physical activity risk developing high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and obesity. More than one-half of Maine adults are not getting enough physical activity for health benefits.
Aim for 30-60 minutes of physical activity most days of the week, and remember that it can be broken up throughout the day. The important thing is to get moving!
Take simple steps to get more exercise:
- Take a walk after dinner with your family or on your lunch break.
- Reduce television time to two hours or less each day
- Exercise during the commercials of your favorite shows.
Please visit the Physical Activity and Nutrition Program website for more information on physical activity.
Children and adults should limit cholesterol, sodium, fat, and particularly saturated fat,
They should increase fruits and vegetables in their diets, which can reduce risks for CVD. Three quarters of Maine adults eat less than the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables. It’s easy to eat fruits and vegetables! If you aim to have at least one fruit or vegetable at each meal you can easily eat five servings in a day. Fresh, frozen, and canned fruits and vegetables all have health benefits.
Watch for saturated fats in your diet. Saturated fat is found in many processed foods. Check the food label to limit the total amount of fat you eat to 65 grams or less per day, of which no more than 20 grams should be saturated fat.
Please visit the Physical Activity and Nutrition Program website for more information on nutrition.
The combination of physical inactivity and poor nutrition has led to an alarming increase in obesity in Maine. Overweight and obese individuals are at higher risk for developing CVD and its risk factors, such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol. In Maine, obesity and overweight rates have risen 20% over the past 10 years. Twenty seven percent of Maine high school students are overweight or at risk for becoming overweight. Sixty one percent of Maine adults are overweight or obese. A combination of regular exercise and a healthy diet low in fat and high in fruits, vegetables and whole grains is the best way to keep from becoming overweight or obese. Be aware of portion sizes that are too large and be wary of fad diets that restrict certain nutrients.
CVD is the leading cause of death among people with diabetes. Family history of diabetes increases your risk of heart attack and stroke. If you have diabetes, controlling cholesterol and blood pressure are just as important as keeping your blood glucose in check.
If you have diabetes, you can take steps to lower your risk of heart attack or stroke by reducing your A1C to less than 7 percent, lowering your blood pressure to less than 130/80, and aiming for the following blood cholesterol numbers:
- LDL cholesterol less than 100 mg/dl
- HDL above 40 mg/dl
- Triglycerides below 150 mg/dl
Ask your health care provider about taking aspirin. If you smoke, get help to quit.
Visit the Maine Diabetes Prevention and Control Program for more information about diabetes resources in Maine
If your father died before age 55 and/or your mother died before age 65 from a heart attack or a stroke, you are at a higher risk of developing CVD. Tell your doctor of your family history of CVD and take action to manage the risk factors !