Heart Attacks are avoidable
Yes, the leading cause of death in the US, which strikes down over one million people annually killing over 50% of them, is avoidable.
It can be avoided by adopting a positive lifestyle.
To educate, inspire, and teach the possibilities of avoiding conquering and defeating heart disease the greatest killer amongst us before it strikes.
We must learn how to eliminate it from our lives.
Stress and heart disease.
The relationship has been established many times,yet many do not consider it a major risk factor because it is subjective and difficult to prove.
It is also difficult to establish the link between the emotion and physical effect it has on the long term risks for heart disease.
Many people with heart disease commonly complain that they were under intense stress when they begin feeling chest pains and other symptoms of heart disease.
Throughout the years, various studies have shown that acute stress increases the incidences of heart attacks.
It is difficult to quantify and determine exactly the effects, each of us handles it differently, and we vary in the amounts that we can be subjected to.
What we do know about stress and heart disease is this
Stress causes the flight or fight response in our bodies. Our heart rate increases, our blood vessels constrict our muscles tense, the oxygen needs in the body increase, and the tendency of the blood to clot increases.
We are poised for vigorous activity. Staying in this state for lengthy period of time increases our cholesterol levels, our blood pressure, and our homocysteine.
All of these are major risk factors for heart disease, they are directly associated with high rates of heart attacks.
In addition, the constriction of the vessels can cause spasms that block the blood flow causing sudden cardiac arrest.
What can we do? We must learn how to live a relaxed life
It has been proven that through various relaxation methods, all of these risk factors get reduced.
The relaxation methods are:
We should begin using…Continue
LDL is an indicator of fatty deposits in the arteries
Low density Lipoproteins the bad cholesterol
Low-density lipoprotein refers to a class and range of lipoprotein particles, varying somewhat in their size and contents, which carry cholesterol in the blood and around the body, for use by various cells.
It is commonly referred to as bad cholesterol due to the link between high levels and cardiovascular disease.
The correct function
Generally, LDL transports cholesterol and triglycerides away from cells and tissues that produce more than they use, towards cells and tissues that need the cholesterol and triglycerides.
What goes wrong?
Because the Low Density Lipoprotein transports cholesterol in the blood through the arteries, increased levels are associated with atherosclerosis, and thus myocardial infarctions, strokes, and peripheral artery occlusive disease.
This is why the cholesterol that is inside the Low Density lipoprotein is called bad cholesterol. Still, it is not the cholesterol that is bad; it is instead how and where it is being transported, and in what amounts over time.
Increasing evidence has revealed that the concentration and size of the particles more powerfully relates to the degree of atherosclerosis progression than the concentration of cholesterol contained within all the LDL particles.
Having low concentrations of large particles is the healthy pattern. Conversely, high concentrations of small Low Density Lipoprotein particles, despite the same total cholesterol content correlates with much faster growth of atheroma and progression of atherosclerosis.
Low Density Lipoprotein is formed as VLDL lipoproteins lose triglyceride through the action of lipoprotein lipase (LPL), and become smaller and denser containing a higher proportion of…Continue
The Risk of heart attack increases in people who have very high levels of C Reactive protein and high cholesterol.
According to a study conducted by the New England Journal of medicine of the twelve major risk factors for heart disease, CRP was the strongest predictor of future cardiac events
According to the Harvard physicians health study, CRP levels are able to predict a first heart attack in healthy men six years in advance. People with the highest level of CRP in their blood were three times as likely to suffer a heart attack.
According to the nurses health story, people with high levels of CRP had four times the risk of heart attack even if they were non smokers, with normal cholesterol levels.
C Reactive protein CRP, what is it?
C Reactive Protein is a member of the class of acute phase reactants, as its levels rise dramatically during inflammation processes occurring in the body. Measuring and charting C-reactive protein values can prove useful in determining disease progress or the effectiveness of treatments. CRP is therefore a marker of inflammation.
It is thought to assist in binding to foreign and damaged cells and affect the response to disease.
CRP amounts vary in different people
The amount of CRP produced by the body varies from person to person, and this is affected by an individual's genetic makeup (accounting for almost half of the variation in CRP levels between different people) and lifestyle.
Higher CRP levels tend to be found in individuals who
whereas lean, athletic individuals tend to have lower CRP levels.
Too much inflammation is dangerous
Research shows that too much inflammation can sometimes have adverse effects on the blood vessels which transport oxygen and nutrients throughout our…Continue
Heart Disease Risk Factors determine our odds of getting heart disease the leading cause of death in the western world.
Heart Disease is what we don't want to die from!
The Risk Factors are the odds that we will die from Heart Disease!
Our Personal Risk Factors Increase Our Odds Of Dying From Heart Disease.
The general population odds of dying from heart disease are; One in Two. That is 1:2!
Those are the general population odds. Our individual odds depend on our own:
Heart Disease Risk Factor Profile.
Do you know what your risk factor of heart disease profile is? Do you know what the heart disease risk factors are? If the answer is no; how do you expect to be able to reduce your odds and avoid heart disease ?
You Can Be In Control Of Your Own Destiny!
You can be in control of your destiny, if you start educating yourself on what the Heart Disease Risk Factors are.
You will learn what the causes of heart disease are. You can learn what actions you can take so that you can avoid heart disease the leading cause of death.
When you start to take action you reduce your odds drastically. You are in control. You will be secure knowing that you have done all you can to prevent the leading cause of death.
Heart disease the leading cause of death is avoidable. You don't have to die from it. You can choose to control the causes, before the degenerative process begins.
Folic Acid and Vitamins B6 and B12 Reduce The Risk.
The Encarta Encyclopedia defines it as an amino acid, derived from proteins in the diet that can build up in the blood and contribute to the development of heart disease.
The American Heart Association does not consider it to be a major risk factor yet. They say that more scientific studies are needed to include it as major risk factor.
On they're website I found this article Homocysteine, Folic Acid and Cardiovascular Disease where they write that they haven't listed it as a major risk factor, but a risk factor nonetheless.
They suggest the following in the article. http://www.chicagoexcelclasses.com/
What is homocysteine? Recent findings suggest that laboratory testing for plasma homocysteines can improve the assessment of risk.
It may be particularly useful in patients with a personal or family history of cardiovascular disease, but in whom the well-established risk factors (smoking, high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure) do not exist.
Although evidence for the benefit of lowering levels is lacking, patients at high risk should be strongly advised to be sure to get enough folic acid and vitamins B6 and B12 in their diet.
Foods high in folic acid include green, leafy vegetables and grain products fortified with folic acid.
But this is just one risk factor.
A physician taking any type of nutritional approach to reducing risk should consider a person's overall risk factor profile and total diet.
Cholesterol, the body needs it to function correctly. It is a waxy fatty lipid that is found in the tissues and blood of all human, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish.
All cells need fat, and all animal cells need chol-e-sterol which is an alcohol sterol needed to build multiple membranes, which the cells use to both control water, and soluble elements and to organize their internal structure.
The liver needs it to make bile acid which aids in digesting dietary fats. The body uses it to produce certain hormones, including sex hormones. Hormones are chemical substances that influence many of the body's activities.
Data Compiled by Excel Classes Milwaukee.
The body gets the necessary cholesterol it needs two ways
1) Our body produces its own.
2) Through the food that we eat. When we eat anything that is, or originated from an animal, bird or fish, it has cholesterol in it. This includes eggs, milk and cheese.
The transportation is done through carrier molecules called lipoproteins.
There are three types of lipoproteins that transport cholesterol through the blood stream to the various cells of the body.
These lipoproteins also transport triglycerides which are stored in the body as fat cells or used by the cells for energy.
So far so good so what is the problem? Why the bad reputation?
Although the body needs cholesterol, excessive amounts of LDL or VLDL are very dangerous. They tend to stick to the arterial walls and begin a gradual buildup of plaque that either…Continue
Being over weight exacerbates all the risk factors for many diseases including the risk of heart disease. This means weighing more then the ideal body weight, and having a high BMI ( Body Mass Index) and a high body fat percentage.
These Diseases Are Associated With Being OverWeight.
Heart Disease and Stroke
Heart disease and stroke are the leading causes of death and disability for both men and women in the United States.
Over weight people are more likely to have high blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke, than people who are not overweight.
Very high blood levels of cholesterol and triglycerides (blood fats) can also lead to heart disease and often are linked to being overweight.
Being overweight also contributes to angina (chest pain caused by decreased oxygen to the heart) and sudden death from heart disease or stroke without any signs or symptoms.
The good news is that losing a small amount of weight can reduce your chances of developing heart disease or a stroke.
Reducing your weight by 10 percent can decrease your chance of developing heart disease by improving how your heart works, blood pressure, and levels of blood cholesterol and triglycerides.
Non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (type 2 diabetes) is the most common type of diabetes in the United States. Type 2 diabetes reduces your body's ability to control your blood sugar. It is a major cause of early death, heart disease, kidney disease, stroke, and blindness.
Over weight people are twice as likely to develop type 2…Continue
The dangers of high blood pressure otherwise known as hypertension the silent killer cannot be over emphasized.
Many studies have shown that because of its nature of not showing any symptoms it can go undetected, damaging vital parts of our circulatory system , including the blood vessels in our hearts, brains and kidneys.
There is evidence that if we leave hypertension undetected we are three times as likely to get coronary artery disease, six times as likely to get congestive heart failure, and seven times as likely to get a stroke.
What is it?
Blood pressure is the force exerted by the walls of the blood vessels against the flow of blood being pumped by our hearts into the rest of the circulatory system.
When the force is high and remains elevated the tension against the flow increases, causing the heart to work harder to pump the blood into the rest of the body.
The additional workload on the heart increases the muscle mass in the heart, decreasing its ability to pump efficiently.
Measuring our blood pressure
The pressure inside our arteries can be measured using a Sphygmomanometer. The Sphygmomanometer is a blood pressure monitor which measures how high the pressure in our arteries can raise a column of mercury. It consists of a cuff that gets filled with air, a hollow rubber bulb which pumps air into the cuff, and a glass tube containing a column of mercury.
The cuff is wrapped around the arm. A stethoscope is placed on the artery of the arm just below the cuff. The pulsation of the blood in the arteries can then be heard. Air is pumped into the cuff, causing it to press down on the arteries. This stops the blood flow and the sounds stop.
Then the air is slowly let out of the…Continue