Entries Tagged 'Heart Disease' ↓

We often say to put a little heart in it, in everything we do because it truly makes a difference. But, what are you doing in return for your heart? While we are living longer, heart failure is advancing in people over the age of 65. If you want a long, healthy life, it’s important to begin now, in protecting your heart!

For the sake of your entire cardiovascular system, your cholesterol, your blood pressure and your blood sugar (glucose) are crucial in determining the health of your heart! Diabetes and high cholesterol can raise your risk of a heart attack. Even moderately elevated cholesterol levels in mid-life tend to be a risk factor, for dementia in old age. This shows the link between how one element in your body affects the others. Therefore, maintaining your health daily is the easiest way to your overall long-term health and well-being. By taking a gradual way to achieve your good health, you may allow disease to sneak in! Instead, you can start immediately in taking steps to protect and to sustain the health of your invaluable heart, with healthy eating, exercise, relaxation, and natural heart and cardiovascular supplements.

Relieving stress, cutting calories, and monitoring your blood pressure can help reduce your risk of heart failure. All of these can be implemented by yourself, including monitoring your own blood pressure by purchasing a blood pressure cuff. This is a great start towards preventing heart failure since, there are various conditions that can cause your heart to go into failure.

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According to the American Heart Association, over 2 million people in the U.S. suffer from atrial fibrillation (AF or AFib). This is a condition in which your heart’s electrical system malfunctions and produces an erratic heartbeat. Electrical signals from your sinoatrial node spread across the surface of the organ’s two upper chambers (atria) in a disorganized pattern. This causes the atria to fibrillate.

AFib can cause blood to accumulate within the atria, which introduces a risk of blood clots. If the blood clots exit through the left ventricle, they can move toward your brain and set off a stroke.

Atrial fibrillation can be addressed surgically with the maze procedure. A surgeon will make incisions or lesions across the heart’s upper chambers in order to produce scar tissue. The scarred tissue cannot conduct electricity. That allows the surgeon to create a uniform path along which the electrical impulses are forced to travel. Below, you’ll discover the various forms of the operation as it has evolved over the past two decades.

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Each day, your heart pumps nearly 2,000 gallons of blood. Over the course of an average lifetime, it will beat over 3 billion times. It is slightly larger than a clenched fist, and is located behind the sternum, between the lungs.

This article will explore your heart’s anatomy. We’ll describe its exterior, including the arteries and veins that supply blood to the muscle. We’ll also describe the organ’s interior, including the chambers, valves, and blood flow. Lastly, you’ll learn how its electrical system helps ensure its proper function.

Exterior Of The Organ

A network of coronary arteries and blood vessels supply the surface of the organ with oxygenated blood. If anything obstructs this blood supply, the muscle can become damaged. This is known as a heart attack.

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Atrial maze (AM) surgery is used to treat a heart rhythm irregularity known as atrial fibrillation (alternatively called AF or AFib). Normally, a group of cells (called the sinus node) within your heart’s right atrium generates electrical impulses that travel through your atria and ventricles in a methodical fashion. This causes contractions within the four chambers. With AFib, the electrical signals disperse and travel in different directions. This causes the atria to quiver, or flutter. The result is a disorderly heartbeat that can hamper your heart’s ability to pump blood effectively.

During an atrial maze procedure, a surgeon will create scar tissue on the surface of your atria. The electrical impulses cannot cross the scars because the scar tissue does not conduct electricity. This allows the surgeon to create a labyrinth through which the signals can travel. Below, we’ll describe the steps you’ll need to take in order to prepare for the operation.

Before The Operation

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The screening, prevention and treatment of hyperlipidaemia is of great importance as it is a major risk factor for Coronary Heart Disease (CHD). CHD has become a major health problem facing communities in the developed world. In Singapore, CHD is the leading cause of death, second only to cancer.

The Role of Lipids In CHD:

1.Total Cholesterol: The risk of CHD begins when Total Cholesterol levels rise above 150 mg/dL (3.9 mmol/L), and this risk escalates sharply when Total Cholesterol exceeds 200 mg/dL (5.2 mmol/L). The type of cholesterol which is most significant, is the LDL-cholesterol ("bad cholesterol") component.
2.LDL-cholesterol: Too much of LDL-cholesterol causes development of atherosclerotic deposits in the walls of arteries, thus increasing the risk for cardiovascular disease and stroke.
3.HDL-cholesterol: Commonly referred to as the "good cholesterol", it has a powerful protective effect against CHD. One should aim to increase HDL levels via exercise and moderate alcohol intake. Obesity, smoking and a sedentary lifestyle all decrease HDL levels.
4.Triglycerides: The association between Triglycerides and CHD is less well established, however, their levels should be controlled in patients with diabetes and high CHD risk.

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Heart disease is not limited to the men in our world. Actually, heart disease is the number one health threat for women. Women need to take charge of their heart care. We offer some suggestions on how to get started.

• Track your numbers. The main numbers you need to track and the optimum levels you should strive for are blood pressure (120/80), LDL cholesterol (<100 mg/dL), HDL cholesterol (> 50 mg/dL), triglycerides (< 150 mg/dL) and fasting blood sugar level (<100 mg/dL). Ask your doctor to provide you with these numbers each time he/she runs blood work on you.
• Check your family history. If you have family members who have had heart disease or risk factors associated with it, such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure, you may be at risk for the disease yourself. If you do have family members, i.e. parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, who have a history of heart disease, be sure and let your doctor know this information. Continue reading →

I’ve been terrified a number of times. The tornado that took the roof off the house in 1969 made me cringe at every thunderstorm for decades. Being tossed by a fast moving horse made me think I was about to meet my Maker. Nothing has scared me as badly as hearing that my husband has coronary artery disease and needs immediate angioplasty.

The symptoms weren’t gradual. He was in the habit of hiking every weekend, and was doing so when the first symptom appeared. It felt almost like a sore throat. After several days feeling this, he went to the doctor.

Even then, nothing would have been done, except for the fact that his father died from his third heart attack at the young age of 58. "Just to be sure…" He has had angioplasty three times and currently has four stents in his heart. I’ve had to sit in the cardiac intensive care waiting room multiple times and it is *not* a place I like being.

There are a couple of reasons for this article. The first one is to warn you about symptoms that may require immediate attention. Heart problems don’t necessarily start with chest pain in the general area of your heart.

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Vitamin L stands for love and laughter and many of us just do not get enough. One of the main reasons love and laughter (Vitamin L) helps the cardiovascular system is because love and laughter reduce stress. When your body is under stress the hormones adrenaline and cortisol are released. If these hormones remain in the body at elevated levels over a period of time, the cardiovascular system is harmed. People who are under constant stress without social support or another form of connection are more likely to show early signs of atherosclerosis. Other risk factors for heart disease are also negatively affected by stress. Blood pressure levels go up and weight is gained,

Let us take a look at four ways you can increase the love, laughter and connection in your life.

Animals: Owning pets can help your health. While it is true that owning a pet can be extra work and perhaps worry at times, the rewards are huge. Owning a pet gives you something outside of yourself to care for and love. Pets often bring joy, laughter and even ward off a sense of loneliness.

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Women of all ages should be taking steps to avoid heart disease. The obvious issues are eating healthy, exercising and reducing stress. However, there are steps you can take as you age that will help you to be heart healthy.

• Twenties. In your twenties, you need to get rid of any nasty habits you may have acquired, such as smoking. Smoking just one cigarette per day can stiffen your arteries by up to 25 percent. And, smoking can erase the hormonal advantage you have from estrogen in your body. Another thing to consider is the taking of birth control pills. Birth control pills can raise your risk of blood clots. Finally, if you drink, you need to limit your drinking to one drink per day. If you drink more than that, it can raise your triglyceride level, increase your blood pressure and lead to weight gain.
• Thirties. If you have had a baby, you need to strive to get back to your pre-pregnancy weight within one to two years. Excess weight can lead to high blood pressure and high cholesterol as you age. You also need to try to control any stress you may have in your life, especially if you are juggling a career with family. You can do that by keeping connected to your family as well as friends, and allow yourself time to be social and have some fun. Continue reading →

We have heard the stories about a friend who visits his doctor and has a clean bill of health. Two days later he dies of a massive heart attack and you do not understand how or why this happened. Your friend was active, played handball regularly, he was thin, and he ate fish. His total cholesterol was a little high but his good cholesterol was very good. He was taking a low dose of medication to keep his blood pressure down for about a year and that was working. What happened?

Blood pressure and cholesterol levels are reliable gauges of how much at risk you are for heart disease. However, the amount of calcium in your coronary arteries and how it is affecting your blood flow may be an even better way of predicting who is most likely to have a heart attack unless they get on medication therapy.

The problem is that someone who is asymptomatic, in good shape, active and eats well is not sending any red flares that something is wrong. Without any symptoms such as shortness of breath or high blood pressure even with medication, there is no indication that he needs a heart scan, also known as Coronary Calcium Scans.

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