Entries from January 2009 ↓

Checking blood pressure is the easiest thing to do, allowed you know the fundamentals. It’s to do a great deal with your consuming and drinking habits.

Look into the mirror. Do not see only your face. Look at your entire figure. There lies your future. How long do you think your body can go on accepting all that you stuff in, without applying any thought, just because your taste-buds like it? Do you know that overweight people have a higher chance of suffering from a stroke? Do you check your weight at regular intervals?
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Heart disease and cancer are closely intertwined due to the fact that cancer treatments put a risk for heart disease.  Having cancer can predispose one to heart disease, the number one known killer.  Not only does chemotherapy drugs affect the heart, but further research shows that cancer survivors are more likely to face heart and other cardiovascular diseases as these cancer therapy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, tend to be toxic to heart muscles and organs as well as killing not only cancer cells but also other cells in the body.

Although at present the number seen on these cases are small, it presents a large potential future risk.  Women who have been treated for breast cancer may even be at a higher risk since the treatment takes place close to the heart. However, some solutions may be coming, as a clinical trial for the FDA approved new ExAblate system for treating non-cancerous uterine fibroids is being studied as a treatment for breast and other cancers. This system combines magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasound that potentially makes it a more heart-friendly treatment for cancers and other tumors.
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What is Cholesterol? Cholesterol is a soft, waxy substance that’s stored in the fat (lipid) content of one’s blood stream.  It’s actually important to have a certain amount of “good” cholesterol in one’s system. Cholesterol, and our other body fats, cannot dissolve in our blood. They must be transported by special carriers called lipoproteins. While there are numerous kinds (too many to cover here), the two that are most important are the high-density lipoproteins (HDL) and the low-density lipoproteins (LDL). There is a third kind, which is referred to as Lp(a), which can increase one’s risk factors heart disease and stroke.  We’ll cover that one here, as well.

HDL, LDL, & Lp(a)…What Are These?
High-density lipoproteins (HDL) are known as “good cholesterol”.  Most experts agree that HDL moves the cholesterol from the arteries to the liver, where it is broken down and leaves the body through the natural evacuation process.  A higher HDL level seems to reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke.  Keep in mind, though, that a lower HDL level in one’s body (-40 mg/dL in men, -50 mg d/L in women) is a warning signal of greater risk of one or both.   Continue reading →