FFF QuickReads: What Is Cardiovascular Disease?

Author: Riley Pearce
Director of Social Media
Avg. Read Time: 1.5 minutes.

February, as some of you may know, is heart health month. This whole month you will be able to find events and fundraisers all aimed at raising awareness for cardiovascular disease. But what exactly is cardiovascular disease?

If you remember from high school biology, the cardiovascular system is the system in the body that includes the heart (cardio) and the blood vessels (vascular). Our major blood vessels are arteries, which carry blood away (away – arteries) from the heart, and veins (veins drain the body into the heart), which carry blood to the heart. This system is crucial, as the blood that travels through our blood vessels brings important nutrients to every cell in the body.

Cardiovascular disease is a class of disease. This means that under the umbrella of cardiovascular disease, you will find a number of diagnoses where the normal functions of the heart and blood vessels are disrupted or impaired. This includes heart attacks, strokes, blood clots, angina, aortic aneurysms, and many more.The diagnoses range from slow to fast killers, but all have the potential to be lethal. 

This is why making choices that work to prevent cardiovascular disease are important. Here is a short list of things you can do every day to lower your risk of developing cardiovascular disease:

• Get at least 30 minutes of moderate-vigorous physical activity every day
• Do not smoke
• Limit alcohol consumption
• Eat a balanced diet, low in processed and refined foods
• Work on stress management to keep your general stress levels low
• Get adequate sleep (7 – 9 hours)
• Avoid spending too much time in areas with high levels of air pollution

The final key point to know about cardiovascular disease is that there is an element to the disease that is genetic. If you know that your family is at a higher risk for cardiovascular disease, then you will want to incorporate as many of the previously mentioned lifestyle choices into your life to minimize the risk of developing serious cardiovascular complications.