Heart disease rarely develops overnight – it is often the result of years of small, everyday habits that slowly wear down your cardiovascular health. From what you eat to how you sleep and manage stress, these seemingly routine choices can quietly increase your risk of serious cardiac events over time. The good news is that recognising these patterns early can help you take control and make changes before lasting damage is done.
Dr Kunal Sood, an anaesthesiologist and interventional pain medicine physician, has shared six everyday habits that may be quietly damaging your heart. In an Instagram video posted on March 29, the physician breaks down how these common lifestyle patterns – often overlooked – can gradually increase cardiovascular risk over time, even in otherwise healthy individuals.
Smoking damages blood vessels
According to Dr Sood, smoking causes direct damage to the endothelium, the inner lining of blood vessels, while also reducing nitric oxide – a key molecule that helps regulate blood pressure. It further increases inflammation and promotes blood clot formation. As a result, even low levels of smoking can significantly elevate cardiovascular risk.
He explains, “Even low levels of smoking increase cardiovascular risk. Smoke injures the endothelium, reduces nitric oxide, increases inflammation, and promotes clotting. This allows LDL to penetrate the vessel wall and accelerates plaque formation and instability.”
Prolonged sitting impairs circulation
Dr Sood highlights that prolonged sitting significantly reduces muscle activity and blood circulation, which in turn lowers the production of nitric oxide. This decline can impair endothelial function and slow down metabolism, while also increasing inflammation – factors that collectively raise the risk of heart disease.
He explains, “Prolonged sitting reduces muscle activity and blood flow, lowering shear stress needed for nitric oxide production. This leads to endothelial dysfunction, higher inflammation, impaired lipid and glucose metabolism, and increased cardiovascular risk, even in people who exercise.”
Poor sleep
Consistently getting fewer than six hours of sleep disrupts the body’s natural nighttime dip in blood pressure and keeps it in a prolonged fight-or-flight state. As a result, cortisol levels remain elevated, driving up inflammation and placing added stress on the blood vessels – factors that can contribute to long-term heart problems.
The physician notes, “Short sleep disrupts the normal nighttime blood pressure drop and increases sympathetic activity. It raises cortisol, inflammation (CRP, IL-6), and vascular stress, contributing to hypertension and long-term heart risk.”
Chronic stress and cortisol
Chronic stress keeps cortisol levels persistently elevated, triggering a cascade of harmful effects – from increased inflammation and endothelial damage to insulin resistance and the build-up of more unstable, dangerous plaque in the arteries. Over time, this makes stress one of the major drivers of heart disease.
Dr Sood explains, “Persistent stress activates the HPA axis, keeping cortisol elevated. Over time this promotes inflammation, endothelial injury, insulin resistance, and plaque instability, all of which accelerate cardiovascular disease.”
Ultra-processed foods
According to the physician, diets dominated by ultra-processed foods can drive insulin resistance, increase oxidative stress, and create conditions that favour plaque build-up and vascular damage. Together, these effects significantly raise the risk of heart disease while fuelling chronic inflammation.
He elaborates, “High intake is linked with increased cardiovascular disease and inflammation. These foods often promote insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, oxidative stress, and endothelial dysfunction, creating conditions that favor plaque buildup and vascular damage.”
Ignoring blood pressure and cholesterol
High blood pressure is often called the “silent killer” because the damage accumulates quietly over time, often without noticeable symptoms. At the same time, LDL cholesterol can deposit within the arterial walls, gradually forming plaque. Ignoring routine health checks allows these risks to go unnoticed – silently increasing your chances of cardiovascular disease.
Dr Sood explains, “Both damage arteries silently over time. High blood pressure stresses vessel walls, while LDL accumulates within the arterial lining to form plaque. Together they accelerate atherosclerosis and increase risk of heart attack and stroke, often without early symptoms.”
