Unexpected Factors That Affect Your Heart

The most common diseases resulting in fatal outcome are those of the cardiovascular system. Now try to answer the following question: What affects the heart’s health? The first things that most definitely will come to your mind are stress, alcohol abuse, smoking, lack of physical activity and probably overweight. However, scientists claim that there are way more factors that have negative influence on the health and can cause the development of heart disorders.

Living in a city. In a city, everyday trip to work for every city dweller turns into spending too much time in traffic jams and crowding in public transportation, which does not benefit health and instead only doubles the risk of myocardial infarction. Moreover, researchers have found a connection between air pollution and heart health; therefore, for those living in cities with poor air quality, doctors recommend limiting the time spent outdoors during rush hours. Noise pollution is another negative aspect of city life – certain studies suggest that loud traffic is linked to an increased risk of stroke.

Antibiotics. It turns out that some antibiotics have more adverse effects than it was believed. Recent studies have discovered that certain antibiotics have negative effect on the cardiovascular system. Thus, the use of such common antibiotic medication as clarithromycin can considerably increase the risk of sudden cardiac arrest. This antibiotic belongs to the class of drugs called macrolides and is used for the treatment of various bacterial infections including otitis, pneumonia, skin infections, etc. Until recently, doctors believed that this group of antibiotics was one of the safest; however, it has been discovered that they affect the duration of cardiac electrical activity by increasing it. Such effect might cause arrhythmia and result in disturbed contractile activity of the heart and serious complications such as stroke or sudden cardiac arrest.

Gum disorders. Inflammation of the gums is quite a dangerous factor that can provoke disturbance of the heart function. However, the exact connection still remains unclear. Some studies suggest that it’s due to the bacteria that provoke inflammation of the gums, they supposedly can cause chronic inflammation in the blood vessels as well, which leads to the development of atherosclerosis.

Psoriasis. Doctors associate psoriasis with a number of disorders – cerebrovascular disease, ischemia and peripheral artery disease. It’s an independent risk factor that can lead to chronic inflammation and provoke heart attack. Researchers have discovered that patients with severe forms of psoriasis are 21% more likely to suffer from a myocardial infarction, 54% more likely to experience a stroke, and 53% more likely to die within a 10-year period than those without this skin condition.

Excessive exercising. Undoubtedly, physical activity is beneficial for the health. It trains the muscles, including the heart, but only when exercising moderately. When exercising becomes excessive, the heart experiences excessive load as well. Scientists discovered that after extreme running events, biomarkers associated with cardiac damage are found in the blood samples of athletes. These markers tend to go away by themselves, but if the heart muscle undergoes extreme physical stress again and again, this transient damage can lead to the so-called “cardiac remodeling”, that is physical changes in the heart’s structure such as scarring or thickening of the heart walls. These changes can also increase the risk of arrhythmias.

The neighborhood where you live. Curiously enough, the neighborhood where you live can have negative influence on your health and particularly on your heart. A study has found that living in disadvantageous groups of neighborhood can increase the risk of coronary artery disease. Such things as lack of safe public parks for exercising, the cost and availability of different foods and exposure to cigarette advertisements can indirectly impact the health of your heart.