Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases are more common in winter! Remember these points to stay healthy in winter

The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine says, "Spring brings life, summer brings growth, autumn brings harvest, and winter brings storage." As the temperature drops, cold air invades the human body, which can easily cause vasoconstriction, spasm, and increased blood viscosity, making this season the peak season for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. It is particularly important to strengthen the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. So how can we effectively prevent and treat them, and what are the precautions?

01. Eat a healthy diet

An unhealthy lifestyle is an important factor leading to the occurrence and development of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and directly affects the recovery and prognosis of the disease. It is necessary to control the total amount of food, adjust the dietary structure, quit smoking and limit alcohol, and combine work and rest. Among the risk factors for atherosclerosis, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, unbalanced diet, diabetes and obesity are all related to dietary nutrition. Therefore, dietary factors are very important in preventing cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

Limit the intake of excessive calories and eat more coarse grains to increase the content of complex sugars and cellulose in the human body. The total intake of sugar should be kept between 60% and 70%. Limit the intake of fat, and the total intake of fat should be kept below 30%. Eat more foods rich in arginine. Arginine helps regulate vascular tension, inhibit platelet aggregation, and reduce vascular damage. Such foods include sea cucumbers, loaches, eels, sesame seeds, yam, ginkgo, tofu skin, sunflower seeds, etc. Limit cholesterol intake to prevent cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. The daily cholesterol intake should be kept below 300 mg, and try not to eat animal offal. In addition, the amount of protein consumed every day should also be reasonable, which can be obtained from foods such as milk, yogurt, fish, and beans.

The diet should also be not "biased".

(1) Avoid eating too much sugar: When the calorie intake meets the body's needs, moderate the intake of foods high in sugar, such as rice, noodles and other grains. Avoid snacks, cakes, candies, sweet drinks, etc., especially for diabetic patients.

(2) Don’t eat too much salt: The daily salt intake of healthy adults should not exceed 6 grams, while the daily salt intake of patients with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases such as coronary heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, and stroke is recommended to be no more than 3 grams. It should be noted that the intake mentioned here includes not only salt itself, but also chicken essence, monosodium glutamate, soy sauce, oyster sauce and other seasonings and foods containing sodium ions.

(3) Don’t eat too much spicy food: In addition to spicy condiments such as chili peppers, peppercorns, and curry, alcohol is also considered a “spicy” food. Excessive drinking can induce acute cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

(4) Avoid eating too much: Limit the intake of high-fat foods, such as cooking oil, animal offal, fatty meat, fish roe and other high-cholesterol foods, and appropriately increase the intake of unsaturated fatty acids.

(5) Do not overeat: Studies have found that the incidence of vascular accidents increases four times after overeating for 2 hours, so you should eat in moderation and control calories.

It should be noted that the Chinese people have a habit of taking "fat and sweet" tonics in autumn and winter, but for people at high risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, taking tonics in autumn and winter must be done according to individual conditions and should not be taken in large quantities. There is less exercise in winter, and taking large amounts of hot foods and tonic wines can easily increase blood lipids and blood pressure, which in turn induces cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

02 Appropriate exercise

Active physical exercise is an important way to prevent diseases and prolong life. To prevent cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, we must insist on proper aerobic exercise, reasonably arrange exercise time and control exercise volume and intensity.

Generally speaking, patients with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases should not exercise in the morning or for a long time. During sleep, the human nervous system is in a state of inhibition and lacks vitality. If you suddenly exercise in the morning, the excitability of the nerves will suddenly increase, which can easily induce cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. It is also not advisable to exercise a lot in the cold winter. Due to the cold weather, blood vessels are prone to contraction or spasm, causing insufficient blood supply to important organs such as the heart and brain, inducing cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

03 Emotional Regulation

In traditional Chinese medicine, there is a saying that emotional disorder can damage Qi and blood. Emotional disease refers to the abnormal emotions or behaviors of a person, which directly damage the internal organs and become the cause of disease. Anxiety, depression, excessive mental stress, emotional instability, extreme sadness and joy, etc. can all cause the vascular endothelium to contract and accelerate vascular aging. Emotional excitement is a taboo for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Emotional excitement, insomnia, staying up late, overwork, irregular life, anxiety, depression, these factors can cause metabolic disorders in the human body.

So keep calm, composed and in a good mood.

04 Traditional Chinese Medicine Health Care

Traditional Chinese medicine has many excellent prevention and treatment methods for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, such as massage, acupuncture, scraping, moxibustion, etc. When combined with drug treatment, the effect will be better.

(1) Massage: Neiguan acupoint, press deeply with your thumb, then release. You will feel a numbness radiating outward to your fingers. Do 100 times on each side. Neiguan acupoint can improve cardiac ischemia. Pat Jiquan acupoint. Jiquan acupoint is located below the armpit. You can use four fingers to feel the pulsation of the nearby blood vessels. In addition to health care, Jiquan acupoint can also be used to relieve angina pectoris.

(2) Finger Heart Protection Exercise: Rub the thenar with both hands to increase the blood circulation of the heart and lungs. Do this 3 times a day for 3 to 5 minutes each time. In addition, the ten fingers are connected to the heart. You can practice opening your palms with force and bending your fingers in sequence.

(3) Moxibustion: Traditional Chinese medicine believes that Yang Qi is the key to life and death, and advocates "protecting Yang Qi as the basis", so moxibustion is used to nourish Yang, to warm and nourish spleen Yang and kidney Yang. Using moxibustion to prevent aging and prolong life is a unique health care method in my country.

05 Drug prevention

Promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis is an important method for preventing and treating cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in the elderly.

Commonly used blood-activating and blood-stasis-removing medicines include Compound Danshen Tablets, Xuesaitong Tablets, Di'ao Xinxuekang, Buchang Naoxintong, Tongxinluo Capsules, Compound Danshen Pills, Xuefu Zhuyu Pills, etc. You can choose one of them to take alternately under the guidance of a doctor.

06 Control blood pressure and blood lipids

(1) Blood pressure control: Keeping blood pressure within the normal range is the top priority for preventing cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Data show that the incidence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in hypertensive patients who adhere to long-term treatment is only 1/10 of that of those who do not adhere to treatment.

(2) Blood lipid control: High blood lipids form "plaques", which is atherosclerosis, leading to various cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. The most common blood lipid control is to take lipid-lowering drugs, including statins, fibrates, niacin, etc. Abnormal blood lipids are an independent risk factor for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and blood lipid control has become a top priority in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

07 Regular physical examination

People over 45 years old, those with high blood pressure, family history of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, obese people, those with a family history of hyperlipidemia, those who often eat and drink at social gatherings, and those who work under high mental stress are all high-risk groups and should have regular physical examinations (at least once a year) to monitor blood pressure, blood lipids, blood sugar and other indicators.

In short, by establishing a positive and healthy lifestyle, eating a healthy diet, not smoking and limiting alcohol, exercising moderately, controlling weight, and maintaining a balanced mind, we can enhance the concept of health and strengthen the awareness of self-examination, early detection, and early medical treatment. Once the disease occurs, timely diagnosis and treatment, scientific treatment, and correct use of medical and drug intervention can prevent the further development of the disease, minimize the occurrence and development of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and ensure good health.