{"id":8077,"date":"2025-09-30T09:07:13","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T09:07:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.priora.eu\/news\/cardiologist-warns-five-habits-that-most-damage-heart-health\/"},"modified":"2025-09-30T10:44:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T10:44:12","slug":"cardiologist-warns-five-habits-that-most-damage-heart-health","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.priora.eu\/en\/news\/heart-health-vl\/","title":{"rendered":"Cardiologist warns: Five habits that most damage heart health"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Heart and habits \u2013 what increases the risk the most?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Heart health is not influenced solely by <strong>genetics<\/strong>; it largely depends on everyday habits \u2013 what we eat, how much we move and sleep, and how we cope with stress. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.priora.eu\/en\/treatments\/internal-medicine\/cardiology\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"3377\">Cardiovascular diseases<\/a><\/strong> are the leading cause of death in Croatia and worldwide. According to data from the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hzjz.hr\/\">Croatian Institute of Public Health<\/a><\/strong> (HZJZ), in 2023, the country claimed 20,000 lives, and experts point out that as many as 85 percent of these deaths can be prevented. Ahead of World Heart Day, cardiologist <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.priora.eu\/en\/about-us\/our-team\/aleksandar-kibel\/\" data-type=\"team\" data-id=\"3393\">Assoc. Prof. Aleksandar Kibel, PhD<\/a><\/strong>, from <strong>IMC Priora<\/strong>, warns about the five most common habits Croatians need to change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Five habits that seriously endanger the heart<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Smoking<\/strong> \u2013 Every cigarette damages blood vessels, raises blood pressure, and accelerates plaque buildup in the arteries, doubling the risk of a heart attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Unhealthy die<\/strong>t \u2013 Food rich in saturated fats, salt, and sugar, and poor in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, significantly increases the risk of heart and vascular disease. It raises cholesterol and blood pressure, leading to coronary disease, heart attack, and hypertension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sedentary lifestyle<\/strong> \u2013 Just 30 minutes of moderate activity most days of the week strengthens the heart, improves circulation, and reduces the risk of atherosclerosis. Lack of movement is the \u201cdisease\u201d of modern times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ignoring high blood pressure and cholesterol<\/strong> \u2013 Hypertension is a silent disease that often goes unnoticed until it has already caused damage to the heart, brain, kidneys, or eyes. Regular blood pressure checks can save lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Obesity<\/strong> \u2013 Excess weight places a significant strain on the heart and blood vessels. Losing even 10 percent of body weight significantly reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke. Croatia, alongside Malta, ranks among the top countries in Europe for obesity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u201cObesity<\/strong> is not just an <strong>esthetic problem<\/strong> \u2013 it has direct consequences on heart function,\u201d emphasizes Prof. Kibel, whose work at IMC Priora focuses on the prevention and treatment of obesity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read the full article at the link: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vecernji.hr\/vijesti\/kardiolog-upozorava-ovo-je-pet-najcescih-navika-kojima-hrvati-stete-zdravlju-srca-1894397#:~:text=Aleksandar-,Kibel,-Na%20zdravlje%20srca&amp;text=kardiologije%20u%20Internacionalnom-,Medicinskom%20Centru,-Priora%20u%20%C4%8Cepinu.&amp;text=Internacionalnom%20Medicinskom%20Centru-,Priora,-u%20%C4%8Cepinu.%20Nepravilna&amp;text=Centru%20Priora%20u-,%C4%8Cepinu,-.%20Nepravilna%20prehrana%20Prehrana\"><strong>Ve\u010dernji list<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1808\" src=\"https:\/\/www.priora.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/MBP61808-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A doctor in a white coat during a consultation shows a patient an echocardiogram with Doppler imaging on a monitor in a bright examination room.\" class=\"wp-image-7797\"\/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Heart and habits \u2013 what increases the risk the most? Heart health is not influenced solely by genetics; it largely depends on everyday habits \u2013 what we eat, how much we move and sleep, and how we cope with stress. Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in Croatia and worldwide. According to data [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":7796,"template":"","news-category":[24],"class_list":["post-8077","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-category-priora-press"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.priora.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/8077","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.priora.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.priora.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.priora.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.priora.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8077"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.priora.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-category?post=8077"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}