Did you know that Dehydration puts you at risk of a heart attack? Chronic dehydration is utterly dangerous for the heart. Severe cases can even lead to death.
A recent study has shown that the rate of water intake in the body could be seriously significant for individuals who are already prone to certain heart health conditions.
The American Heart Association, says that about 80% of heart health cases are preventable if individuals would ensure they are always hydrated.
Below is all you should know about heart attack and how hydration will do wonders to the heart.
Heart Attack
A heart attack, or myocardial infarction (MI), is permanent damage to the heart muscle. or death of tissue due to lack of blood supply.
The heart muscle requires a constant supply of oxygen-rich blood to nourish it. The coronary arteries provide the heart with this critical blood supply, so if you have coronary artery disease, those arteries become narrow and blood will no longer be able to flow as well as it should, thus, fatty matter, calcium, proteins, and inflammatory cells build up within the arteries to form plaques of different sizes. The plaque deposits are hard on the outside and soft and mushy on the inside.
When the plaque is hard, the outer shell cracks (plaque rupture), platelets (disc-shaped particles in the blood that aid clotting) come to the area, and blood clots form around the plaque. If a blood clot totally blocks the artery, the heart muscle becomes starved for oxygen. Within a short time, the death of heart muscle cells will occur, causing permanent damage, this is what is called a heart attack.
Dehydration
Dehydration is a condition that occurs when the loss of body fluids, mostly water, exceeds the amount that is taken in.
There seems to be a relationship between water intake and heart health. Water is a nature and health-friendly liquid we cannot comfortably trade for anything else.
According to experts, proper hydration is not only good for your brain, your mood, and your body weight, but it is also very essential and good for your heart.
This is so because, your heart is working 24/7, pumping about 2,000 gallons of blood a day. So by staying hydrated (drinking more water), you are helping your heart do its job. A hydrated heart is able to pump blood more easily, allowing the muscles in your body to work even better.
These are reasons why dehydration is bad for your heart:
1. It Overworks The Heart
Dehydration thickens the blood and reduces the blood volume. In order to obtain a balance, the heart overworks itself and the body constricts the blood vessels. This gives the heart pressure to pump (thick) blood, thereby increasing the heart rate.
2. Risk Of Coronary Artery Diseases
A daily sufficient intake of water helps the heart function better. Health experts believe that proper hydration may help reduce the risk of heart attacks.
3. Dehydration Could Cause Stroke
A 2009 medical study revealed that majority of elderly stroke patients admitted to one hospital had high plasma osmolality (a measure of the body’s electrolyte-water balance). This means there is a decrease in blood volume and the body is dehydrated.
4. Dehydration Causes Strain On Your Heart
The amount of blood circulating through your body, or blood volume, decreases when you are dehydrated. To compensate, your heart beats faster, increasing your heart rate and causing you to feel palpitations. Your blood retains more sodium, making it tougher for it to circulate through your body.
A lot of people avoid drinking water at night so they don’t get up at night to use the restroom but cardiologists say there’s a good reason to risk a trip to the bathroom and take a drink before bed.
A study in the American Journal of Medical Epidemiology revealed that participants who drink five or more glasses of plain water per day have a much lower risk of fatal coronary heart disease, compared to those who drink less than two glasses per day. So, It’s even more important to drink water before bedtime because it helps improve circulation during the hours you’re at greatest risk of a heart attack.