Abigail Franks asked:


So angiogram was in my immediate future. I’m told this is a safe and relatively painless procedure and not to worry. There were plenty of things to worry about however. They don’t want to shove a camera up through my body and into my heart because of no reason. Still, an angiogram is an outpatient procedure where the cardiologist opens an artery in your leg and works a camera into the heart muscle arteries. It sounds a lot worse than it is but the benefit is that you know exactly what the status of your heart and arteries are at that point in time. So I’m ready!

At least this will finally answer how serious a problem, if any, I truly had. The Cardiologist however must have been concerned because he scheduled the angiogram 4 days later.

On the day of this adventure, I checked into the Cardiology center at a local hospital and prepared to undergo the angiogram. An IV was inserted and I was ready to go. Once in the angiogram theater, I was given sedatives that although kept me conscious, there was no pain, nor did I hear anyone working as they sent through me to check out the problem. When the nurses and technicians talked directly to me in a loud enough voice however, I was able to respond.

The good thing about an angiogram is that if blockages are found, the cardiologist can usually place metal stents or pipe like devices in the arteries to maintain blood flow if needed. This is a far cry from the open heart, crack your chest type of surgery that would have been required just a few years ago. After about an hour, the doctor apparently lowered the dosage of sedative as I remember him giving me a status on my condition.

The Verdict!

The bad news was that I did have calcium deposits on the inside walls of my arteries. This was what they had seen with the other tests. The good news however was that my arteries or pipes were absolutely smooth on the inside and were considered very large. Big pipes with a thin smooth coating of calcium equaled a potential problem only.

Being a big person from a family of big people for many generations, the fact that my arteries were considered “big” didn’t surprise me. I can’t prove it but have to think that the vitamins and minerals I’ve been taking for over a decade have protected me from developing a life threatening heart disease at this point in my life. The cardiologist however continued to be concerned for long term survivability given the high calcium scores from the blood tests.

Where we go from here!

So it’s changes in lifestyle for me. I’ve gone from a relatively sedentary person to one who rides an exercise bike almost 7 miles a day, everyday. I continue although now on doctors orders, to take an adult aspirin daily and have changed my eating habits. It’s a process so there’s some good days and some worse but I’m now sensitive to how much and what I eat. Although my bad cholesterol is at 90 (anything under 110 is considered good) the Cardiologist has prescribed statins to lower the bad cholesterol even more. Once again I can’t prove it but I do believe that statins will soon be considered a critical part of living a long healthy life.

So that’s my story. Exercise and an aspirin a day to thin out the blood. Statins to lower bad cholesterol even more and daily vitamins just because I’ve done so well with them up to this point. With any luck, I’ll live long without having to deal with the debilitating effects of serious heart disease.



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Barney Garcia asked:


With heart disease on the rise in North America, it is vital to know the warning signs of heart disease before its too late - it could save your life. There are several warning signs of heart disease, and they include the following. Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts for more than a few minutes, or comes and goes. The feeling can come in the form of pressure, squeezing or a feeling of fullness of the chest. Heart attacks are often also accompanied by pain in other parts of the body, such as the neck, back, jaw, arms or stomach. Heart attacks can also cause shortness of breath, either while you are experiencing chest discomfort, or before the chest pain occurs. Other symptoms can include nausea, sweating and lightheadedness. It is important to note that in women, these signs are often less severe. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms you should see your doctor immediately. Many times there is nothing to worry about, but you should always check with a doctor when chest discomfort is involved just in case.

If you are experiencing these symptoms while at home, you should immediately call 911, or have someone call for you, and lay down in a comfortable position. If you are already on heart medication, take your normal dose, and take an aspirin because aspirin will thin your blood and allow oxygen to get to your heart. Do not take other pain medications such as Advil or ibuprofen. Then just try to relax while help arrives.

While heart disease can be hereditary, there are many things you can do to try to lower your risk of developing the disease. Even if all of your other family members have had heart disease, it doesn’t mean you have to get it too. Things you can do to help lower your risk are eating a better diet including lots of vegetables, whole grains, fruit and low fat protein. You should also try to cut out fast foods and junk foods as these significantly increase ones risk of developing heart disease. Even if you are going to order a salad at a fast food restaurant make sure the salad dressing you get is low in fat and trans fats. You should also make an effort to exercise at least 3 times a week for 30 mins each time. You should also limit your alcohol consumption and quit smoking. All of these things are going to help lower your chances of getting heart disease.



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Blaze asked:


I heard on the radio the #1 killer of women is heart disease. That’s interesting because I think most people would figure it’s breast cancer. Anyway I think that is significant because it shows both women and men can have heart troubles (the physical kind/not the emotional kind).

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Barney Garcia asked:


Just consult any medical glossary and they will tell you that heart disease is a kind of disorder in which heart loses its abilities and its normal functioning is affected. The coronary arteries in the heart are responsible for supplying blood into the heart. The narrowing or blockage of the coronary arteries is regarded as the commonest cause of all kinds of heart diseases. However, it is a slow process of deterioration that takes place gradually over time. But there are a considerable percentage of populations that are born with heart disorder and these are called congenital heart diseases.

Just go through the estimates of the World Health Organization: Nearly 17 million deaths recorded worldwide were due to the poor cardiovascular health. Take the instance of USA and half of the total numbers of deaths every year are caused by some kind of heart disease. About 70 million Americans live with some form of cardiovascular disease.

Every day some 2500 deaths occur due to heart dysfunction. Why only USA, in majority of the countries in the developed world, you will find a sizeable population falling victim of some kind of heart disease. Not only the developed countries, heart related deaths are quite common in the many developing countries as well. In a nutshell, in the recent years, heart disease has emerged as the common enemy of the entire adult population of the world.

Poor cardio vascular health may manifest in several ways. High blood pressure, coronary artery dysfunction, valvular heart disease, stroke, or rheumatic fever or rheumatic heart diseases are all different versions of a weak heart.

It has been possible to identify a number of risk factors behind this killer disease, thanks to the incessant efforts of the medical researchers. Risk factors refer to the specific factors that play a crucial role in a person’s chances of developing heart disease. There are mainly two types of risk factors: major and contributing.

While the major risk factors are those having proven record of enhancing the chances of your getting heart disease, the contributing risk factors are those that have possibilities of triggering off heart disease, but it has not been defined how they do it. While these factors such as high blood pressure or hypertension, high cholesterol level in the blood, diabetes, smoking, sedentary lifestyle or obesity are among the major risk factors, stress, sex hormones or birth control pills are some of the contributing factors.

There are many risk factors that can be treated. But there are some that can not be changed. But it is possible to control most of the risk factors if you lead a healthy lifestyle.



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Andrew Bicknell asked:


Many of the risk factors for heart disease are related to lifestyle and environmental factors and are typically labeled uncontrollable (non-modifiable) or controllable (modifiable). These can be conditions, personal traits and lifestyles that contribute to atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), which causes coronary artery disease.

The seriousness of this disease can be seen in the fact that over 40% of all people in the United States who suffer a heart attack will die from its affects.

Heart disease, which is a term that includes several more specific heart conditions, is the leading cause of death in the United States and is a major cause of disability. The major forms of this most deadly of diseases include acute rheumatic fever, chronic rheumatic heart disease, hypertensive heart disease, coronary heart disease, pulmonary heart disease, congestive heart failure and any other heart condition or disease.

It is, in simplistic terms, the inability of the heart to pump or receive adequate amounts of blood due to atherosclerosis or damage to the heart caused by infection or congenital defects. In fact heart disease and stroke both have the same risk factors and causes.

An estimated 25% of all Americans have one or more risk factors for heart disease, increasing their risk for heart attack.  Most risk factors are related to lifestyle while other risk factors that cannot be changed include age, gender, and genetics.

Health behaviors associated with a high risk of heart disease include being physically inactive, eating a diet high in salt and saturated fat, and smoking tobacco.  While you can’t control your age, gender, race, or family history, you can decrease your chances of developing heart disease by focusing on the lifestyle changes you can make to improve your overall health.

Leading a healthy lifestyle and following medical advice to reduce or remove risk factors is the best way to reduce the risk of developing heart disease.  Although heart disease takes on different specific forms, there are a common core of risk factors that influence whether someone will ultimately be at risk for heart disease or not.

There are many factors that can increase your risk of getting heart disease.  Some of these factors are out of your control but most of them can be avoided by choosing to live a healthy lifestyle. Excess body fat is one of the greatest risk factors for heart disease.  Cholesterol levels are determined by a combination of age, gender, heredity, and dietary choices, and of these four factors, changing your diet to a healthier one is something you can do something about.  High blood pressure combined with other risk factors such as being physically inactive, eating a diet high in salt and saturated fat, and smoking tobacco greatly increases your chances of getting heart disease as well.  In some cases other factors such as stress and drinking too much alcohol have been linked to cardiovascular disease.

Fortunately, many risk factors for heart disease are caused in part by unhealthy lifestyle habits, which can be altered so as to reduce one’s chances of developing heart disease.



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Coca Cola asked:


Please, for school i need a movie that has a character who dies of heart disease.

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I Might Be Showing Her My O Face asked:


You know, the pink ribbons and such, Baseball players wearing pink for a day and looking ridiculous, etc. Shouldn’t women be wearing different color ribbons and marching for a cure for heart disease, since it kills far, far more women than breast cancer does? It can’t possibly be that heart disease is suffered by both women and men that heart disease doesn’t get its due, can it?

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Andrew Bicknell asked:


Ischemic heart disease occurs when there is a partial blockage of blood flow to the heart. When the heart does not get enough blood it has to work harder and it becomes starved for oxygen. If the blood flow is completely blocked then a myocardial infarction (heart attack) occurs.

As we age we naturally have plaques build up in our arteries. This is called arteriosclerosis which is a hardening of the arteries. This can lead to blood clots that can cause a heart attack or stroke.  Hardening of the arteries and blockage of major arteries is one of the leading causes of death by disease in the United States. In fact heart disease itself kills more people every year then the next 6 diseases combined.

The degree to which ischemic heart disease affects each individual depends on a variety of factors including age, genetics, diet and exercise habits, and smoking. For many people who are at high risk it is important to make certain lifestyle changes that will reduce this risk.

Since medical science and doctors know the causes of ischemic heart disease they also know the steps to take to prevent or reverse its effects. And the steps one can take to avoid its effects are actually quite simple. Eat a healthy diet and avoid foods high in saturated fat, get more regular exercise to strengthen the cardiovascular system, drink alcohol in moderation, and stop smoking. By making these types of simple lifestyle changes you can avoid and prevent the onset of this disease.

Saturated fats are one of the leading causes of plaque build up in the arteries. By avoiding fatty foods that contain these types of fats you can significantly reduce your risk of heart disease. In fact if you eat more fish that are high in omega 3 fatty acids you can significantly reduce the build up of plaques. Omega 3 help build up the good cholesterol call HDL which helps remove the bad cholesterol (LDL).

Exercise will significantly reduce the risk of ischemic heart disease by helping the body effectively remove excess body fat and reduce the risk posed by obesity. Any form of exercise, whether its daily walks, working around the yard, or a full on exercise program will work wonders when it comes to preventing this condition.

Just a few changes can make all the difference in the world when it comes to fighting and preventing ischemic heart disease.



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Andrew Bicknell asked:


Heart disease is the leading cause of death due to disease in the United States today. What many people may not realize is that simply preventing it before it happens is the best medicine. In fact the steps to prevention are relatively simple and easy but it does involve some significant lifestyle changes. But then a few changes to live a long healthy life are certainly worth the effort, aren’t they.

Here are six simple steps you can take to help prevent the occurrence of heart disease.

1. Cut the Fat - This can be difficult for many people because fat is what makes everything taste so good. Unfortunately eating to much fat, particularly trans fat, can lead to a rise in LDL cholesterol, known as the bad cholesterol. It builds forming plaque that narrows and hardens the arteries. This can cause a clot which leads to a heart attack or stroke.

2. Cardiovascular Exercise - By keeping your heart and the rest of your cardiovascular system strong and in shape you can significantly decrease you chances of suffering from heart disease. Doing some form of physical activity everyday is a good way to heart disease at bay. It can be as simple as doing housework, going for a daily walk or bike ride, taking the stairs instead of elevators, or any number of other daily activities.

3. Quit Smoking - more than 135,000 people in the United States die from tobacco related heart disease every year. In fact if you smoke you are two to three times more at risk to die from coronary heart disease.

4. Use Less Salt - Salt is a necessary part of any diet but to much salt can cause your body to retain water and other fluids. This can cause blood pressure to rise which is a major factor in cardiovascular disease.

5. Reduce Stress Levels - This is easier said then done because stress happens. Most of the time there is nothing you can do about it when it happens. But when stress does rear its ugly head you need an outlet that lets you keep its effects to a minimum. Find time everyday to spend time by yourself, in a quiet, relaxed environment. You can also use exercise to reduce stress, thus taking care of two of the steps at one time.

6. Keep Your Weight in Check - The interesting thing when we talk about weight and heart disease is that there are two sides to this issue. Being overly thin, including because of eating disorders, increases the risk of heart attack just as being overweight does. The idea is to maintain an ideal body weight for your height and body type. A good starting point is to use the body mass index (BMI) to determine your ideal weight.

By following these six steps you can go a long ways to preventing heart disease. It is important that if you think you have some form of heart disease or are exhibiting any of the symptoms that you see your doctor for the proper tests to determine your current health status.



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Paul asked:


has anyone done a study to determine how hormone therapy has affected transgender people? I would like to know if estrogen shots could benefit people with heart disease?

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