As we age, especially after the age of 50, our physical function gradually declines, and many people begin to realize the importance of health.

Did these people have certain lifestyle habits that led to today’s health crisis? If we can recognize these bad habits in advance, many diseases can be avoided.

As a doctor, I often sit in the consultation room, looking at patient after patient, and feel the severity of the problem.

Therefore, I would like to share with you some suggestions that I have summarized from clinical experience – especially after the age of 50, the elderly should try to break the four bad habits.

Drink strong tea on an empty stomach

In my clinical work in the past few years, I have come into contact with many elderly patients, and the most impressive of them is that some of them eventually lead to the appearance of coronary heart disease because of maintaining certain “seemingly harmless” habits for a long time.

These habits are not the “high-salt, high-sugar, high-fat foods” we usually hear about in health promotions, but some seemingly inconspicuous but quietly eroding a healthy lifestyle.

I remember a patient who was about 63 years old, and although he usually looked strong and walked every day, he often complained that he woke up in the morning feeling unfocused and even a little chest tightness.

His family doctor mentioned to me that he often worked while drinking strong tea, and that drinking tea was even an “unconscious” habit, and I didn’t pay much attention to it at first until I noticed that his coronary heart disease symptoms were starting to worsen.

It turned out that he drank a lot of strong tea on an empty stomach in the morning for many years, which actually increased the burden on his heart, and the caffeine in the tea stimulated the sympathetic nerve, which made his heart under more pressure, causing blood vessels to constrict, and in the long run, the heart blood supply was insufficient.

This habit may not seem like a big deal for many people, but for people over the age of 50, consuming too much stimulants such as caffeine on an empty stomach can indeed lead to worsening cardiovascular health problems, and this is just one of many similar habits.

Stay up late

As a doctor, I meet some elderly patients who often stay up late, especially those who have more free time after retirement.

Some of them often go to bed late every day because they watch TV, surf the Internet, or participate in various entertainment activities.

Although they don’t feel that staying up late has much of an impact on their bodies, the result is often that chronic sleep deprivation and irregular biological clocks quietly affect their heart health.

One patient, after retirement, did not have a regular work rhythm during the day, and began to pass the time by watching TV dramas and reading books at night, she slept late almost every night, but woke up early in the morning, day after day.

At first, the patient did not feel anything unusual, but as time went on, she began to feel a little flustered, tired easily after light physical activity, and was found to have a mild blockage in her coronary arteries.

The root cause of all this is the imbalance of hormone secretion, blood pressure fluctuations and the overload of the heart caused by staying up late for a long time, and scientific studies have also proven that staying up late can increase cortisol levels in the body and increase the risk of heart disease.

The patient later adjusted his sleep schedule and began to focus on sleep quality to ensure that he had regular and adequate rest every night.

Her symptoms have eased, which made me realize that staying up late is not only harmful to the skin and spirit, but actually has a much greater impact on heart health than we thought.

The risk of being sedentary

With the change of modern lifestyles, more and more elderly people are becoming inactive, sitting at home watching TV, playing cards, or sitting still for longer and longer periods of time.

This seemingly harmless behavior is actually a huge harm to heart health, especially for those who are sedentary for a long time, and the risk of coronary heart disease is greater than regular activity.

One patient was a typical sedentary patient, who often had to stand and move around while working, but after retirement, his life gradually became fixed, and he basically sat and read books and watched TV every day, except for eating, and did almost no physical activity.

A few months ago, the patient went to the hospital for examination due to chest tightness and shortness of breath, and it was found that his coronary arteries were significantly hardened and blocked.

In fact, sitting for a long time can lead to slower blood circulation, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) in the blood is easily deposited on the walls of blood vessels, gradually forming atherosclerosis, a process that is one of the main causes of coronary heart disease.

Studies have also shown that sitting for a long time is a clear risk factor for cardiovascular disease, which not only leads to obesity and diabetes, but also has a direct impact on heart health.

Emotional out-of-control

In addition to these external living habits, there is another factor that many people ignore, that is, emotions, many elderly people reach the age of 50, due to retirement, children leaving home and other reasons, the psychological burden begins to increase, and emotions are easy to fluctuate.

Long-term emotional out-of-control, especially excessive anxiety and suppressed emotions, may directly lead to the occurrence of coronary heart disease.

I once saw a patient who was about 68 years old, retired and living alone, with children working in other places, who had gradually become depressed and often felt lonely and anxious since his retirement.

A few months ago, he was rushed to the emergency room with severe chest pain, and after examination, it was found that his heart was severely undersupplied with blood supply, and the electrocardiogram showed significant myocardial ischemia.

According to the doctor’s analysis, the patient’s long-term bad mood led to the overactivity of the sympathetic nervous system, which in turn increased the burden on the heart, and eventually led to the occurrence of coronary heart disease.

Studies have shown that long-term psychological stress and emotional instability can enhance the stress response in the body, leading to an increase in blood pressure and heart rate, which can easily induce cardiovascular disease in the long run.

Maintain a happy mood, especially the elderly, to learn to adjust their emotions and relax their minds, in order to better prevent the occurrence of coronary heart disease.

Whenever I see patients in the hospital who suffer from coronary heart disease due to bad habits, my heart is always full of helplessness and regret, because many habits can actually be changed to prevent diseases.

Whether it’s drinking strong tea on an empty stomach, staying up late, sitting for a long time, or losing control of your emotions, these seemingly inconsequential habits all hide potential threats to your health.

As a doctor, I hope that every elderly friend can realize that only by changing bad lifestyle habits can we truly have a healthy body and avoid diseases such as coronary heart disease interfering with life in old age.