Fit and Healthy Lifestyle

According to National Statistics online, nearly 15% of the population of the UK are suffering or have suffered from a cardiac health event in their lifetimes. That means that for every 100 people in the room, about 15 of them will have a heart attack or suffer from a coronary disease. Interestingly enough, this statistic includes both men and women, with men only having a slight advantage over the women in terms of number of cases. Even with all we know about heart disease and how to prevent it, it seems that there is so much more to learn.

What is heart disease?

The heart is the muscle in the body that allows for transportation of materials throughout the body. When a person takes in food, these meals are broken down by the digestive system in order to be accessible for functions in the body. As the food is broken down into nutrients, these nutrients are then transported into the blood stream in order to get to the right areas of the body. When the heart pumps, it moves these blood cells around to the extremities and then when it contracts, it pulls the blood into itself by means of the veins in order to push that blood into the body into the arteries. When the heart is unable to function properly, this process can not take place.

There are a number of reasons and names for the idea of heart disease. At its simplest definition, heart disease is when the heart is damaged or just unable to work as it should. This can be a hereditary and congenital condition, like in the instance of a valve problem. A patient can have this from birth and never need to have anything done to repair it, while other patients need to have this fixed in order to make sure that heart works properly.

heart disease can be grouped into being caused by heredity, lifestyle or by a defect or injury. Hereditary factors like a predisposition to high cholesterol can cause troubles like heart attacks and myocardial infarction. Then again, if a patient takes in too much cholesterol and fat into their diet, they can also increase their risk for heart disease.

The heart disease cases that cause troubles for patients will have conditions like hardening of the arteries, blockages of the vessels, and a narrowing/widening of these passageways for the blood. When the vessels become too blocked, blood can not get to the heart, resulting in heart damage and death.

What are the Symptoms of heart disease?

The real concern when it comes to heart disease is that there may be few, if any, symptoms at first. A patient may have completely normal lab results as well as no noticeable physical symptoms. In more advanced cases, the cholesterol levels will be high, the LDL levels will be high, and HDL levels will be low. Blood pressure readings may increase and the patient may report mild chest pain and tightness. Some patients even report troubles with breathing during activity. The heart rate may be higher as has become more difficult for the heart to do the same job on a lower number of beats per minute.

In an emergent condition, the symptoms would be an increased heart rate, crushing chest pain, and possibly nausea. Others report that they had a raised temperature and sweating, as well as left arm weakness.

How Can Fish Oil Help?

According to recent studies done at Harvard Medical University, fish oil seems to be able to prevent heart disease. With its anti-inflammatory properties, fish oil seems to allow the body to repair smaller damage spots before they become too problematic. There have also been previous studies linking the idea of using fish oil and lowering bad cholesterol as well as increasing good cholesterol. The essential fatty acids in fish oil help the body process the cholesterol and other toxins in the body before they build up in the liver and cause damage.

Where Can You Find Fish Oil Sources?

Understandably so, fish oil can be found in its purest form in oily fishes. Fish choices like salmon, herring, kipper, and mackerel all contain high levels of Omega 3 fatty acids that can help to protect the heart from heart disease. In addition, there are studies being done now that indicate that fish oil might be able to help in the repair of damage from previous concerns with heart disease and heart attacks. In countries with a high fish consumption, the prevalence of heart disease is much lower, even with the high smoking rates (as in Japan, for example).

Conclusion

While there are many studies that are questioning the use of fish oil in the treatment and prevention of heart disease, it’s clear that there is some connection. Since the body can not make this essential fatty acid on its own, adding a supplement to the diet can not be a hard decision to make.

Heart disease

www.heartdiseaseweb.info

Heart disease can be asymptomatic (i.e., cause no noticeable symptoms) or may cause symptoms that vary from mild to severe. Signs of cardiovascular disease include chest pain (angina), shortness of breath, and heart attack.

Karen Jones Author
Heart disease symptom

Ischemia is a decrease in the blood supply to a bodily organ, tissue, or part paused by constriction or obstruction of the blood vessels, and it is the proper medical term for reduced blood flow to the heart. Hardened or blocked arteries us usually the cause of it, and it is the number one cause of death in most western countries. The growth of these tissues is called arteriosclerosis.

Arteriosclerosis typically begins in early adolescence but is rarely diagnosed until late in life usually due to a stroke or heart attack. Autopsies of healthy young men who died during the Korean and Vietnam Wars showed evidence of the disease. Early diagnosis and treatment can stop the progression of arteriosclerosis and prevent a medical emergency.

According to United States data for the year 2004, for about 65% of men and 47% of women, the first symptom of Arteriosclerosis disease is heart attack or sudden cardiac death (death within one hour of onset of the symptom) or the obstruction of arteries supplying the brain result in a stroke.

Another problem that can be caused y Ischemic heart disease is what is called an Aneurisms. It is a localized, pathological, blood-filled dilatation of a blood vessel causing a weakling of the vessel’s wall. As plaque builds up in the arteries it causes an obstruction and the blood flow around the obstruction puts pressure on the walls of the arteries. This can cause the walls of the arteries to balloon out and become weaken as the blood moves around the obstruction. If one of these balloon or aneurisms explodes then death can occur within minutes.

If the plaque becomes dislodged from the arterial walls it can travel to the heart and cause one of the blood vessels of the heart to be come blocked causing a heart attack. If the plaque becomes lodged in one of the blood vessels that supply blood to the brain then it will cause a stroke…. Ischemic Heart Disease continue …

Heart disease is perhaps the nation’s most prevalent killer of men and women and it may be one of the most easily preventable diseases of the modern civilization in the 40 to 70 age group. Because of this, there is constant research being conducted to find a cure for heart disease. Although there is no official cure as of yet, a few procedures and treatments do show a great deal of promise.

Coronary Arteriosclerosis is the blockage and narrowing of the blood vessels and is commonly referred to as hardening of the arties. It is characterized by the thickening and hardening of the arties. This loss of elastically and narrowing of the arties can lead to high blood pressure and if left untreated, increases the chance of a stroke.

Studies indicate that a drastic change in diet and exercise practices can in fact reverse or even cure heart disease. The same methods used to prevent heart disease can possibly be a way to cure heart disease.

The Dean Ornish Program is based on a whole food and a plant-based diet; this program is a very regimented and regulated plan as a cure for heart disease. According to this program, there are a number of steps that are necessary to reverse the affect of this killer disease.

The first in the Dean Ornish Program is to lower the fat intake to 10% of your total daily calorie intake. This action alone has been shown to lower cholesterol and lower high blood pressure, both major contributing factors of heart disease. Also, this plan calls for lowering the intake of dietary cholesterol by a drastic amount and to increase your intake of soy protein to 15% of your total daily calorie intake…. Cure For Heart Disease continue …

What Everyone Should Know About Women and Heart Disease.

Five hundred thousand American women die each year from heart diseases and the risks increases with age. Heart disease includes the narrowing of the arteries, heart failure, diseases of the heart muscles, inborn defects, hardening of the arties, and other conditions.

We tend to think of men as the ones who commonly have heart diseases but heart diseases is the leading killer of both men and women in the United States. Scientists who are studying the cause of the rise in cardiac problems in woman have identified two factors that appear to be the leading cause of hard disease in woman.

The Change of Life.

After menopause, a woman’s body experiences reduced estrogen production, changes in cholesterol levels, changes in the structure of blood vessels, and increased production of the clotting agent fibrinogen. Women who have gone through menopause are two to three times more likely to suffer heart disease than a pre-menopausal woman of the same age. Women that have had a hysterectomy also experience these same raised risk factors. No one yet knows exactly how much a woman’s risk is affected by each of these changes, but they are definitely associated with greater heart disease risk.

Scientists studying women and heart disease hypothesized that hormone replacement therapy could help post-menopausal women fight heart disease; however, long-term studies do not confirm that preliminary idea and doctors no longer recommend hormone replacement therapy to battle heart disease…. Woman Heart Disease continue …

Coronary heart disease (CHD), also known as coronary artery disease (CAD) and Atherosclerotic heart disease, and Arteriosclerosis, is a disease affecting the walls blood vessel. This disease may be one of the most easily preventable diseases of the modern civilization in the 40 to 70 age group. It is characterized by the thickening and hardening of the arties. This loss of elastically and narrowing of the arties can lead to high blood pressure and if left untreated, increases the chance of a stroke and a heart attack.

Coronary heart disease typically begins in early adolescence but is rarely diagnosed until late in life usually after to a stroke or heart attack. Early diagnosis and treatment can stop the progression of Coronary heart disease and prevent a medical emergency.

Causes of Coronary Heart Disease include obesity, smoking, high blood, diabetes, and lack of physical activities, menopause in women, advance age (65 or older), and some types of infections of the artery walls. Males are more prone to this disease than women.

Symptoms leading to coronary heart disease may not always be easily readable and if you show any of the symptoms, seek medical advice as soon as possible. Some of the symptoms are chest, pain, shortness of breath, cyanosis (blue color under the finger nails and around the lips)

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Prevention is always better then treatment, one should try and have regular check ups and follow the doctor’s advice. Knowing that you are at risk for a heart problem may save you from being faced with an emergency situation and possibly death…. Coronary Heart Disease continue …

Congestive heart disease is the hearts inability to supply enough oxygen and nutrients to meet the needs of the human body. It is commonly caused by a weaken heart muscle, hardening of the arteries, some lung diseases such as cancer and emphysema. Over five million Americans suffer from this disease and it is believed that over half of them will die from their condition within the next 5 years. Congestive heart disease is the leading cause of hospitalization among senior citizens.

A previous heart attack, advanced age, and diabetes are all factors in developing congestive heart disease. While all of these medical conditions are treatable the damage done to the heart muscle cannot be reversed.

Another risk factor that cannot be changed when dealing with congestive heart disease is having a genetic disposition to the disease. Genetic testing and knowledge of the complete family history can go a long way in indicating whether or not congestive heart disease is something that should be a concern for you.

While some risk factors for congestive heart disease cannot be helped, there are many things that you can do to reduce the risk of developing this disease. These factors include such things as chronic high blood pressure, drug or alcohol abuse, thyroid disease, and even heart valve disease.

The best course of action to take is to reduce your risk of developing congestive heart disease and improve the quality of life. Unfortunately, congestive heart disease is difficult to diagnose because it often occurs as a result of or in conjunction with other forms of heart disease. Perhaps the best hope for patients with this disease is to catch it early and begin treatment as soon as possible…. Congestive Heart Disease continue …

Arguable the heart is the most important organ in the human body. Without the heart life would not be possible, it is responsible for getting nutrients and oxygen throughout the body by way of the circulatory system. Modern medicine has advanced greatly within the last 30 years and almost all heart diseases can be treated successfully if detected in time.

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is a malformation of the large blood vessel near the heart. Congenital heart disease is one of the most common forms of major birth defects in newborns, affecting approximately 8 percent of infants and is normally diagnosed within one week from birth.

Prior to birth the fetus is not effected by this birth defect. The blood circulates differently prior to birth and the fetus derives oxygen and nutrients from the mother through the placenta. The fetal circulation has important communications between the upper heart chambers and the great blood vessels near the heart. Most types of congenital heart disease are well tolerated during fetal life and only present a problem after birth.

This disease can have different causes such as:

Environmental factors such as chemicals or drugs are sometimes to blame. If the mother develops measles or rubella, or consumes alcohol during pregnancy, the disease can impair the development of the fetus heart or other organs.

About 50 percent of children with Down’s syndrome also have CHD. Down’s Syndrome is caused by the presence of a single extra chromosome when the sperm cell and ovum join together. The general scientific option is that the extra chromosome produces extra enzymes in excessive quantity. It is believed that the excessive enzymes somehow cause them to interfere with each other and that the developing cells are inefficiently nourished and the bloodstream becomes clogged with the unused nutrients. As a result the organs and tissues do not mature properly. At birth the heart, lungs and brain are malformed and function poorly…. Congenital Heart Disease continue …

If both of your parents and your grandparents suffered from hear disease then you may think you are also doomed to suffer from heart disease. There is good news, heredity can be a cause of heart disease, it is but one factor among may factors that must be taken into account when assessing your risk for heart disease. One recent study found that heredity accounts for less than 10 percent of a person’s risk for developing heart disease.

That leaves the other 90 percent of the heart disease causing factors that you may be able to do something about. If you are at risk because of heredity factor then modifying your life style and taking certain precautions could substantially reduce your risk of developing heart disease.

Doctors cannot agree on the number one cause of heart disease, so you will have to evaluate the evidence yourself and determine your own risk/reward ratio. Smoking, obesity, and high cholesterol are usually in the forefront of any study.

The chemicals in cigarettes can damage artery walls, thereby making it easier for cholesterol deposits to build blood-blocking deposits on the artery walls. Smoking also makes platelets, the component of blood that causes clotting and carries oxygen, to be more active, thus increasing the risks of blood clots that cause heart attacks and storks.

A body needs cholesterol and can actually produce all it needs, so when we ingest foods high in cholesterols, like dairy and meat products, our bodies get a lot more cholesterol than they need. The body saves cholesterol instead of excreting it, and that cholesterol gets stored along the walls of the arteries. Too many cholesterol deposits lead to artery blockage and clots…. Cause Of Heart Disease continue …

More that a million Americans die of heart disease each year. One of the major causes of this heart disease the high cholesterol levels in the blood. Cholesterol plays a central role in many biochemical processes, but is best known for the association of cardiovascular disease with high levels of cholesterol in the blood.

Konrad Bloch and Feodor Lynen shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1964 for their discoveries concerning the mechanism and regulation of the cholesterol and fatty acid metabolism.

Cholesterol is a sterol (a combination steroid and alcohol) and a lipid found in the cell membranes of all body tissues. It is transported in the blood plasma of all animals. The average amount of blood cholesterol varies with age, typically rising gradually until one is about 60 years old.

In recent years, the somewhat imprecise term “bad cholesterol” has been used to refer to LDL (low-density lipoprotein) which, according to the lipid hypothesis, is thought to have harmful actions, and “good cholesterol” to refer to HDL (high-density lipoprotein), thought to have beneficial actions.

Having a large numbers of large HDL particles correlates with better health and it is commonly called “good cholesterol”. Having a large number of LDL particles in the blood is commonly called “bad cholesterol”. However, as today’s testing methods determine LDL (”bad”) and HDL (”good”) cholesterol separately, this simplistic view has become somewhat outdated.

The American Heart Association provides a set of guidelines for total blood cholesterol levels and risk for heart disease. The desirable LDL level is considered to be less than 100 mg/dl. However the 1987 report of National Cholesterol Education Program suggest the total blood cholesterol level should be less 200 mg/dl normal blood cholesterol, if the cholesterol level is between 200 and 239 mg/dl it is considered borderline-high, and higher than 240 mg/dl is considered high cholesterol level…. High-Cholesterol-Treatment continue …