Unhealthy Habits
If you would like help to stop or cut down on an unhealthy habit, please see the support and advice available below.
Healthy Hearts Carmarthenshire
Hywel Dda Health Board is making the reduction of the number of strokes and heart attacks a priority.
Healthy Hearts Carmarthenshire aims to help reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke for our residents.
Our Challenge
Heart disease is the second biggest cause of death in Wales. It can often be prevented by leading a healthy lifestyle.
Early detection and treatment can help patients live longer, healthier lives. This project will aim to contribute to the reduction in the number of people affected by cardiovascular disease, including strokes and heart attacks.
High Blood Pressure
28% of adults have high blood pressure in the UK, that is 15 million adults, at least half of these are not receiving effective treatment and millions are likely to be undiagnosed.
50% of heart attacks and strokes are associated with high blood pressure in the UK.
High blood pressure is the leading risk factor for CVD (Cardiovascular Disease) in the UK.
Reducing Cholesterol
Cholesterol is a fatty substance found in the blood.
If you have too much cholesterol in your blood, it can increase your risk of heart disease, heart attack and strokes.
If you have been offered a statin your GP has assessed that you are at significant risks of cardiovascular disease.
Statins can reduce this risk by 30%.
Diabetes
Having diabetes means that the blood sugar levels in your body are too high. Glucose (the sugar in our blood) is our main source of energy, which we derive from foods, particularly carbohydrates such as bread and potatoes.
Being Active
38% of adults in the UK do not meet activity recommendations.
Being physically inactive can lead to heart and circulatory diseases.
Being active can reduce your risk of heart and circulatory disease by 35%.
How Does Smoking Affect My Health?
Chemicals in cigarettes make the walls of your arteries sticky, thus causing fatty material to stick to these walls. This fatty material begins to clog your arteries and reduces the space available for blood to flow through properly. Clogged arteries that would normally carry blood to your heart could cause a heart attack. If the arteries that carry blood to your brain become clogged then you are at a high risk of having a stroke
Smoking can also affect your heart and blood vessels by:
- increasing your risk of blood clots
- causing an instant rise to your heart rate
- causing an instant rise to your blood pressure
- reducing the amount of oxygen delivered to the rest of your body.
How Does Alcohol Affect My Health?
Regularly drinking too much alcohol can lead to hypertension (high blood pressure). Hypertension, over time, puts a strain upon the heart muscle which can lead to cardiovascular disease, which in turn increases your risk of heart attack or stroke.
Generally, the advice is, if you regularly drink more than the recommended amount, you will be advised to reduce the amount that you drink or even, stop drinking completely.