Exploring the Impact of Regular Lifecycle Activities and Habits on Heart Disease Risk

Abstract

Lifestyle choices have a significant impact on the development and progression of heart disease, which continues to be one of the world\'s leading causes of morbidity and mortality. This study investigates the link between heart disease risk and routine lifetime activities and habits. It investigates the effects of smoking, drinking, physical activity, sleep habits, and asthma on cardiovascular health. It also takes into account how age, gender, and pre-existing diseases like diabetes interact to influence these risks. The results emphasize the significance of establishing and maintaining healthy lifestyle practices as a foundation for preventing heart disease and enhancing cardiovascular outcomes in general. Public health programs and individuals looking to improve their heart health through wise decision-making can benefit from the practical insights this study offers lifestyle choices have a significant impact on the development and progression of heart disease, which continues to be one of the world\'s leading causes of morbidity and mortality. This study investigates the link between heart disease risk and routine lifetime activities and habits. It investigates the effects of smoking, drinking, physical activity, sleep habits, and asthma on cardiovascular health. It also takes into account how age, gender, and pre-existing diseases like diabetes interact to influence these risks. The results emphasize the significance of establishing and maintaining healthy lifestyle practices as a foundation for preventing heart disease and enhancing cardiovascular outcomes in general. Public health programs and individuals looking to improve their heart health through wise decision-making can benefit from the practical insights this study offers.

Introduction

I. INTRODUCTION

Heart disease continues to be a leading cause of death worldwide, with its prevalence steadily rising in both developed and developing nations. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cardiovascular diseases (CVD) account for an estimated 31% of global deaths, with lifestyle factors playing a significant role in this epidemic [2]. While genetic predisposition and environmental factors contribute to the development of heart disease, research consistently highlights the critical role that regular lifecycle activities and habits have in either mitigating or exacerbating cardiovascular risk. Healthy behaviours, including diet, physical activity, stress management, and sleep patterns, are key determinants of heart health, while detrimental habits such as smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, and sedentary lifestyles significantly elevate the risk of cardiovascular disease.

This paper aims to explore the multifaceted impact of regular lifestyle activities and habits across the lifespan on heart disease risk. Drawing on a wide range of epidemiological studies and clinical trials, we will examine how diet, exercise, stress levels, sleep, and substance use contribute to the development of heart disease over time. Additionally, it will address the long-term consequences of poor lifestyle choices, particularly focusing on how early interventions in diet and physical activity can serve as protective factors against cardiovascular disease [1]. Through a comprehensive review of existing literature and empirical evidence, this paper aims to provide a deeper understanding of how regular habits and activities shape cardiovascular health. Ultimately, the goal is to underscore the need for preventive strategies that promote healthier lifestyles across all stages of life, reducing the global burden of heart disease and improving population health outcomes.

II. LITERATURE  REVIEW

More than 7,000 harmful chemicals, such as nicotine, tar, and carbon monoxide, are found in cigarette smoke. These chemicals can harm the heart and blood vessels and raise the risk of heart attacks and strokes[3]. Furthermore, even in teenagers and young adults, smoking has been connected to early-onset atherosclerosis, which can lead to an acute myocardial infarction (heart attack)[4]. The risk of cardiovascular illnesses is greatly increased by diabetes, and people with diabetes frequently have coexisting problems including high blood pressure and high cholesterol, which further raises their risk of cardiovascular disease [5]. Previous research suggests that discomfort or shortness of breath when walking or stair climbing may be a sign of underlying heart disease.

These activities raise the body's need for oxygen, which the heart may find difficult to supply in those with heart problems, resulting in symptoms like dyspnoea (shortness of breath)[6]. Decreases in sex hormones like testosterone and estrogen are linked to aging. This decrease has been associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular conditions, especially in women who have gone through menopause. Although age is an unchangeable risk factor, prior research indicates People 65 years of age and older account for about 82% of coronary heart disease deaths [7].

III. METHODOLOGY

A secondary dataset is used in this study and the dataset is collected from kaggle.com. The total sample size was 10112 with twelve attributes. The attributes were relevant with heart disease like BMI, smoking, alcohol drinking, difficulty in walking, sleep time, asthma, physical activity, diabetic, stroke, age and gender. No missing value was appeared in the dataset so we did not need to perform any pre-processing technique. A bivariate analysis and binomial logistic regression analysis were performed to check the significant factors affecting the heart disease. At 5% levels of significance, the Chi-square test was employed to evaluate the bivariate relationship among the attributes[8]. In this study, the dependent variable was heart disease with two values ‘yes’ and ‘no’. The dependent variable had two options that’s why binomial logistic regression analysis was used to determine the associated significant factors. The binomial logistic regression model was used to compute the odd ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals to determine the influencing factors associated with heart disease. We used the first option of each variable as reference category when performed binomial logistic regression analysis. IBM SPSS version 25 was used to perform different types of statistical analyses, including frequency distribution, bivariate analysis, Chi-square tests and binomial logistic regression analysis.

IV. RESULT

From table 1, some common significant factors were found from the bivariate and binomial logistic regression analysis that effects on heart disease at the 5% level of significance. From the bivariate analysis, the significant factors included smoking, alcohol drinking, stroke, difficult in walking, age, diabetic, physical activity, sleep time, asthma were founded. BMI was founded as non-significant factor from this analysis (p=0.116). All paragraphs must be indented.  All paragraphs must be justified, i.e. both left-justified and right-justified.

TABLE I
The frequency distribution of the attributes related with heart disease

From table II, some common significant factors were found from the bivariate and binomial logistic regression analysis that effects on heart disease at the 5% level of significance. From the bivariate analysis, the significant factors included smoking, alcohol drinking, stroke, difficult in walking, age, diabetic, physical activity, sleep time, asthma were founded. BMI was founded as non-significant factor from this analysis (p=0.116).

TABLE IIIII
The cross table of heart disease related attributes with p-value

Table III presents a summary of the binomial logistic regression of the heart disease and its associated factors. People who were smoking cigarette were suffering from heart disease than those who were not smoking. People with heart disease are more likely to have a stroke (p=0.000) than those without heart disease. People with heart disease have difficulty walking (P=0.000), people with diabetes are more likely to have heart disease (P=0.000), and people with asthma are more likely to have heart disease, where P value = 0.000. People aged 40-100 (p=0.000) are more likely to be affected by heart disease than those aged 18-39.

TABLE IVVVI
Binary logistic regression analysis with heart disease and its associated factors

Fig. 1 Significant factors associated with heart disease

V. DISCUSSION

The primary objective of this study was to investigate the impact of regular lifestyle activities and habits on heart disease. We have investigated and found some statistically significant factors those have significant impact on causing heart disease.

Smoking raises fibrinogen and platelet activity, which enhances the blood's propensity to clot. The risk of acute cardiac disease is increased by these alterations[9][10]. In our study it was found that people who were smoking cigarette were suffering from heart disease(OR=0.563, p=0.000). Heart problems such myocardial damage, arrhythmias, and abrupt cardiac death can result from an acute stroke[11][12][13]. According to our study, people with heart disease are more likely to have a stroke (OR=0.312, p=0.000). Some studies found that patients with asthma are at a higher risk of dying from coronary heart disease and from all causes[14][15]. In this study, we also found that people with asthma are more likely to have heart disease, where p = 0.000 and OR = 0.809. According to previous study Peripheral Artery Disease is prevalent among patients with coronary artery disease, often contributing to walking impairments [16][17][18]. Additionally, our study revealed that walking is difficult for those with heart problems (OR=0.564, p=0.000). However, our study has some limitation. Based on previous study, it was revealed that diabetic patients exhibit more extensive and severe coronary artery disease compared to non-diabetics[19][20][21]. Our study also found the same concept.

Therefore, our research did not identify additional important characteristics associated with heart disease. That’s why others significant factors on heart disease were not highlighted through our research. So it is recommended that future investigation be conducted with different attribution on heart disease with large sample size.

Conclusion

The result of this study suggests that smoking is dangerous for health and it can cause heart disease. Diabetic is one of the important reasons of heart disease so we need to maintain a healthy life besides maintain optimal blood sugar levels to get rid of diabetics. To avoid heart disease, asthma patient should take proper medication, need to changes lifestyle like balanced diet, regular exercise and so on. To avoid heart disease, people should monitor blood pressure regularly and control cholesterol levels because these are significant risk factors associated with heart disease. Heart disease and stroke are closely related, as they share many common risk factors and can affect each other. People with heart disease have problems walking and climbing stairs. To get rid of this problem, they should do some things like focus on breathing while walking, take rest for a while when walking, walk on flat surfaces to reduce the effort needed and avoid uneven terrain that may be harder to navigate and so on.

References

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Copyright

Copyright © 2025 Sumaia Rahman, Salma Akter Lima, Suraiya Jabin, Md Mostafizur Rahman. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.