From blood pressure and cholesterol to heart rhythm and diabetes, these are the key numbers every man should be monitoring
Cardiovascular disease is the fatality cause for roughly one in four people in the UK, and too often the relatively silent symptoms are ignored.
Sadly, while a healthy lifestyle is essential for mitigating the risks, it doesn’t always track that cardio lovers avoid these issues so it is well worth having a sense of the most essential metrics and tests that can signal issues ahead of anything too serious happening.
Dr Afzal Sohaib, Consultant Cardiologist at HCA Healthcare UK’s The Wellington Hospital, says he has a “A, B, C, D” system he uses to help us remember the essential check-list for heart health. He breaks this down for us here.
A is for Atrial Fibrillation
Abnormally fast or irregular heartbeats, known as arrhythmias are often harmless, but there are instances where they can indicate a higher risk of a stroke or heart failure potentially.
“Too often, people aren’t aware they have an arrhythmias, which means they carry on with a potential health risk, but these can quickly get checked with an ECG,” says Dr Sohaib.
An ECG is an electrocardiogram, which is a painless and quick recording of the electrical signals our heart produces when beating. They can indicate rhythm issues, blood flow issues, signs of a heart attack, and an abnormally sized heart.
Dr Sohaib says that “a lot of smart watches now have built-in heart rate monitors or heart rhythm monitors, which can give you an alert to something potentially not being right.”
Specifically, he mentions that Apple Watch, from Series 4 and above are able to monitor heart rhythms, and that they are accurate enough to give you a reason to go to the GP if they flag anything.
“The benefit of this is people can have these symptoms show up for small periods of time and infrequently, so if a watch is tracking them, they’re more likely to be spotted than in a routine check-up,” Dr Sohaib says.
B is for Blood Pressure
Blood pressure is classically known as one of the silent diseases, which you don’t know you have until you actually measure it, but “it can quietly cause lots of damage from strokes and heart attacks to kidney problems” Dr Sohaib says, adding that he sees “a lot of physically active people who have been surprised during a health screening to find their blood pressure is sky high.”
Checking blood pressure then, is clearly crucial. “It takes two minutes to check, and you can even buy a blood pressure machine from the high street,” says Dr Sohaib.
He adds that he’d recommend an annual check for most people; and if it is fairly high to then see a GP to discuss these findings and potential treatments in more detail.
C is for Cholesterol
Sometimes you can be leading a perfectly healthy lifestyle and still have issues, which is why it is important to periodically test. Genetics can play a factor, particularly when it comes to cholesterol.
Familial Hypercholesterolemia (FH) is one of the most commonly inherited metabolic disorders, affecting roughly one in 250 people. Of these people, the NHS says as many as 92% do not realise they have it, as they haven’t had their cholesterol tested.
A very high cholesterol can increase risk of a heart attack or stroke. “Even in genetic cases, bad cholesterol figures can be improved through diet, but sometimes people need medications,” says Dr Sohaib.
Again, and as evidenced by just 8% of those with genetically pre-disposed cholesterol issues realising they have it, there are essentially no warning signs when it comes to high cholesterol, so testing can prevent major health issues.
D is Diabetes
Specifically type 2 diabetes, “particularly as people approach their 50s and older” Dr Sohaib says. A lack of, or resistance to the effects of insulin stops the body from using up glucose as an energy source, leaving it in the blood.
Long-term this can lead to heart and kidney issues, as well as blindness. And you’ll see a theme emerging here, “diabetes is very easily tested for,” according to Dr Sohaib.
How to minimise the risk of cardiovascular diseases
When it comes to risk reduction, Dr Sohaib says that waist-to-height ratios continue to prove a very useful indicator of risk, and a much better test for more than BMI. “I often see people running or weight lifting who are carrying quite a lot of additional weight around the abdomen. While the exercise is helpful, relative to having a healthy waist to height ratio, these people are at an increased risk of cardiovascular disease”.
Measuring your waist-to-height ratio is done exactly as you’d imagine; check your waist size, check your height size. “Ideally, you want your waist size to be about half your height. If it’s above that, you’re probably carrying a bit too much central adiposity [abdominal fat]”. When asked about the old saying ‘you can’t outrun a bad diet’ Dr Sohaib says, “it is true.”
While there are many highly scientific tests that are more accessible than ever before, the truth is that many people, particularly men, neglect to assess crucial cardiovascular health for themselves.
The bulk of which can be done at home, such as monitoring hearts with smartwatches, keeping an eye on our waistline, and checking blood pressure. These and simple blood tests for cholesterol and blood sugar, are also quickly done via a GP. And it isn’t about fixating on these metrics forever more.
Dr Sohaib says that “under the age of 40, the consensus is every five years is okay though I would suggest doing so annually from 40 onwards.”
As always, good health comes down to the basics. Your A, B, C (and Ds) in this case. Across all parameters, where your results only show a slight issue (for instance, your blood pressure, cholesterol, or waist-to-height ratio are just a touch out of range) lifestyle is the initial point to address.
Whether it’s a case of incorporating a little more exercise or refining diet as these are really the building blocks of good health. If you feel you are doing all the right things and results still suggest an issue, it is always important to see the GP.
