About Heart Disease

John mathew asked:


Heart disease can be caused by many different things and comes in many different forms. When the heart valve becomes diseased, one of two things happens: it doesn’t close tightly enough (called incompetence) to keep blood from backing up into the chamber from which it flowed; or, it doesn’t open widely enough (called stenosis) to allow adequate amounts of blood to flow into the chamber.Heart disease is very common.  Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. The tendency to develop heart disease can be genetic. However, certain lifestyle factors such as diet, smoking, and stress make a big difference in whether or not a person will develop heart disease.Many of the symptoms of heart attack can be brought on by digestive disturbances or other less serious conditions. But only sophisticated medical tests can determine for sure if you’re having a heart attack. Heart attacks may vary from person to person, and from heart attack to heart attack. Women, for example, may experience “atypical’ symptoms such as pain between the shoulder blades rather than crushing chest pain. This may result in them delaying seeking treatment. That is a great mistake.Heart disease symptoms can be hard to recognize. You may not have any symptoms, or you may experience chest pain and shortness of breath, especially with physical exertion. Heart disease symptoms can be different in women. It’s important to know when it might be an emergency.Signs and symptoms of heart disease occur when plaque buildup in the coronary arteries causes a reduction in blood flow to the heart. You can have heart disease for many years without experiencing symptoms. Often, the first symptom comes in the form of a heart attack. Other common heart disease symptoms include chest pain or discomfort, shortness of breath, faster heartbeats, and dizziness.Symptoms of heart disease in the case of arrhythmias usually occur when one realizes that his or her heart is occasionally missing a beat. Often these are harmless palpitations which are caused by an excessive consumption of stimulants such as caffeine. However, one should go to a doctor to rule out symptoms of heart disease. Arrhythmias are the result of heart valve problems, which might be indicative of damage to the valve itself. They are often cured by a “shock” which may regulate heart beats, but there is a risk in this treatment, since a clot could become dislodged and cause a heart attack or stroke.Anybody can have heart disease. It is how we take care of our heart that actually lessens the chance we have coronary heart diseases like atherosclerosis (blockage of blood in the artery), ischaemic heart disease (reduction of blood supply to the heart), cardiovascular disease (often involving the heart and the blood vessels), and pulmonary heart disease (failure of the right side of the heart to function.)

Doris

David Cowley asked:


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.

When talking about your heart disease risk factors with your doctor, get his or her opinion on using hormonal birth control (the pill or the patch). Most doctors believe that using birth control is reasonable safe for women under thirty-five if no other risk factors are involved such as smoking or being overweigh. For women over the age of thirty-file there is not enough evidence that birth control hormones can increase or decrease heart disease in women and more studies are being conducted.

A Change of Lifestyle.

Scientists studying women and heart disease find that women are knowledgeable about what lifestyles are associated with heart disease, and yet they are still prone to maintain those unhealthy lifestyles. For example, according to the National Institutes of Health, fifty-six million American women have high cholesterol, 33% of women have high blood pressure, and 62% of women are overweight. Despite these risks, women are less physically active than men, on average.

The best course of action to take is to reduce your risk of developing congestive heart disease and improve the quality of life. Habits such as not smoking, maintaining a healthy weight by regular activity or exercise, cutting down on the fatty foods, and getting your cholesterol tested can dramatically help prevent heart disease. Don’t become another statistic about women and heart disease.

Common Vitamins and over the counter products can help with Heart Disease such as Sytrinol, Policosanol, Potassium, Pectin, and Niacin.

Sytrinol are known to be useful in helping maintain a healthy cholesterol level in the body by reducing triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels.

Policosanol is a natural supplement derived from sugar cane. Policosanol promotes healthy platelet function and helps to maintain normal cholesterol levels in the human body.

Potassium may help prevent high blood pressure and protect against artherosclerosis and reduce the risk of stroke.

Pectin limits the amount of cholesterol the body can absorb. High pectin count in apples may be why “One a day keeps the doctor away”.

If you are at risk from Heart Disease then find a good health care professional prior to starting any type of home treatment.

Niacin is the closest thing available to a perfect treatment that corrects most causes of coronary heart disease. Niacin blocks the release of fatty acids from fat cells. Niacin plays a critical role in energy production, gene expression, and hormone synthesis. You cannot live without it. Niacin also tends to shift LDL particle distribution to larger particle size and improve HDL functioning. The intake of 3 grams Niacin for as little as two weeks can reduce serum cholesterol by 26 percent.

Always consult your doctor before using this information.

This Article is nutritional in nature and is not to be construed as medical advice.

Carrie

OU812 asked:


It seems like everyone including myself become sick with Cancer, Heart disease/Stroke, Diabetes, or some kind or rare disorder. Is it the food, is it the air, is it the water, what is causing all the illness?

Delores

Tox asked:


And what about high blood pressure? If you don’t have either, could you still have heart disease?

Ella

JULIE F asked:


Nutrition impacts the three major causes of death in the United States - heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. There are specific dietary recommendations for each disease. What are the common ‘threads’ that these recommendations have?

Cindy

glass asked:


Hi
My dad is 67 years old, and he has Coronary heart disease, can he take a long trip by plane? if we really need him to take a plane. is there anything we need to prepare in case he doesnt feel good on plane?

Thank you

Cindy

Alien asked:


As you can see, heart disease comes in a variety of life-threatening forms. All heart diseases are referred to as cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). CVDs include high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, congestive heart failure, stroke, rheumatic heart disease, artery diseases, pulmonary heart disease, and congenital cardiovascular defects.

Coronary heart disease, also referred to as coronary artery disease (CAD), is the most common form and represents 54 percent of all cardiovascular diseases. Coronary artery disease includes angina pectoris, which is chest pain from narrowing of blood vessels, and myocardial infarction (MI), also known as a heart attack, from the complete block­age of blood supply to the heart.

It is possible for a person to have more than one type of cardiovascular disease at the same time. For example, a person may have both coronary artery disease and high blood pressure. Coronary artery disease is responsible for more than half of all cardiac events in men and women under age seventy-five. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s Framingham Heart Study, the lifetime risk of developing CAD after age forty is 49 percent for men and 32 percent for women.

Scientists now know that atherosclerosis can start in childhood. Researchers have found the beginning of fatty streaks in the arteries of children as young as three years old. The average American has significant buildup in his or her arterial walls by middle age. In women, possibly because of the protective effects of estrogen, the thicker buildups do not begin to show up until after menopause.

Even without the impact of a stroke or heart attack, atherosclerosis advances the aging process. Healthy circulation in the body is the source of nutrition and life for the cells. As this circulation is slowly cut off, it impairs the functioning of your cells. Atherosclerosis does not need to be inevitable. With knowledge of the mechanisms that contribute to this disease, you can take steps to reduce your risks and to prolong your youthful vitality and energy.

Atherosclerosis and Coronary Artery Disease

The principle cause of coronary artery disease is atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. Atherosclerosis comes from the root words “atheroma” and “sclerosis,” which means “to harden.” Atherosclerosis is a process that leads to a group of diseases characterized by the thickening of artery walls. The thickening results from a buildup of plaque on the arterial walls. Plaque is made up of various types of debris that collect on areas of inflammation on blood vessel walls, causing more and more narrowing of the passage through which blood can flow.

Plaque is formed in a variety of shapes and sizes. Small plaques accumulate throughout the arteries in the entire body and can be difficult to detect. Doctors can more easily discover the large, hardened plaques in the coronary arteries. These typically cause the chest pains associated with angina.

Small plaque buildups, however, are just as concerning as thick, hard plaques. Researchers now have determined that these smaller plaques are less solid on the outside and, consequently, less stable. These small, unstable plaques are much more likely to rupture and release the cholesterol mass into the bloodstream. This concentrated cholesterol contributes to formation of blood clots. If a small plaque buildup in the coronary arteries ruptures and forms a blood clot, it can trigger a heart attack.

As an initial assessment of your likelihood of having CAD, ask yourself the following questions:

Have you ever had a heart attack?

Have you had recurring chest pain that has been diagnosed as angina?

Have you had heart surgery such as a bypass operation or angioplasty procedure?

Have you ever had an angiogram that showed a blockage in your coronary arteries?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you probably have CAD. Be sure to discuss strategies to manage your cholesterol levels with your health-care provider.

Miguel

SURESH U VATAKETHIL asked:


Heart Disease in Women: Women and Heart Disease

The risk of heart disease in women increases with age. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women over 40 years old, especially after menopause. Menopause is a normal stage in a woman’s life; it comprises any of the changes a woman experiences either before or after she stops menstruating. As menopause nears, the ovaries gradually produce less estrogen (a female hormone), causing changes in the menstrual cycle and other physical changes. Every year, more than 500,000 U.S. women die of heart disease. This translates to approximately one death every minute.

Heart disease in women is preventable as per the latest guidelines from the American Heart Association. Reason to understand the cause of heart disease in women could not be stressed enough. Heart disease kills 1 in 3 American women, but it doesn’t have to be that way. 60% of U.S. women now know that heart disease is their No. 1 health threat.

Prevention is better than cure. Heart disease in women is preventable with a disease prevention strategy. The knowledge of heart disease occurs to a person when it is too late.

Here are some guide lines for a simple prevention plan for heart disease in women:

Women aged 20 and older should see a doctor to find out their heart disease risk.

Chnaces are that one in 10 women will learn that there is no real risk of heart disease. These women should continue their heart-healthy lifestyles.

Women who are at risk of heart disease, should think of preventing heart disease and stroke. These women must stop smoking, adopt a heart-healthy diet, get at least 30 minutes a day of exercise, and watch their weight. And under a medical supervision, some of these women may need blood pressure medications, cholesterol-lowering therapy, or regular aspirin.

Women who already have some existing condition making it more likely to suffer from heart disease or stroke, should additionaly to taking the measures advised above, go after some aggressive medical treatments or rehab.

Depression is very common in women with heart disease. All women with heart disease should be evaluated for depression.

Women should exercise a minimum of 30 minutes a day, and for those women who want to lose weight, 60 to 90 minutes of daily exercise is recommended.

The risk of heart disease in women is increased by activities such as, diabetes and obesity, smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol level and inactivity.

Heart disease in women though is on the increase, can be altered through some variations in life style. Clinical experience suggest the following general guidelines for preventing heart disease:

- Maintain blood pressure of less than 140/90 mmHg (120/80 is optimal)

- Maintain blood glucose of 80-120 mg/dL (less than 100 is optimal)

- Maintain total cholesterol of less than 200 mg/dL (and not less than 160) and LDL (low-density lipoprotein) of less than 130 mg/dL (less than 100 is optimal)

- Exercise regularly (30-60 minutes of aerobic exercise three to five times weekly is optimal).

However, there are certain factors that cannot be influenced to prevent heart disease in women. Factors such as age, family history and menopause cannot be controlled or prevented.

But there are other factors that could be influenced, through exercising the right option. This could prevent death from heart disease in women. As indicated earlier, introducing some changes to our life style, and carrying a positive out look towards the meaning and purpose of life, women can fight this terrible disease and live more healthier and meaningful lives. Meditation, yoga, prayers and religous activities can have huge impacts on our life and provide the necessary inner strength to cope with the pain and pressure of heart disease.

Diabetes and high cholesterol, homocysteine, and blood pressure can be improved through diet, exercise, medication, and supplements. High C-reactive protein (CRP), an inflammatory biomarker, may help to identify those who would benefit from anti-inflammatory intervention. Diet, lifestyle changes, positive adaptation to stress, and supplements can assist in weight loss and help decrease stress. Quitting smoking will also reduce risk of heart disease in women. The scientific data strongly suggest that modification of these multiple risk factors can help to lessen heart disease risk and thus total mortality in women.

Clyde

mike f asked:


I just saw on CNN this morning a cardiologist saying that fish oil supplements are basically useless, that only the actual food source provides the benefits of decreasing stroke and heart disease? Is this so?
I always understood that the omega-3 fatty acids are what provide these benefits, which are included in both the fish oils supplements and obviously the fish themselves….

Douglas

>>*aerosmith*<< asked:


This is for a ‘Home Economics’ school project, where I need to make a leaflet on Coronary Heart Disease. Help with this will be greatly appreciated.

Anna