Entries Tagged 'Heart Disease' ↓

If you have a family history of cardiovascular disease like I do you have probably experienced the condition up close and personal. Watching this disease ravage a healthy person is truly sad, but now is the time to break the cycle both for yourself and your kids. Nevertheless, a history of cardiovascular disease will not be easy to change especially when it comes to lifestyle choices.

The role cholesterol plays in a family history of cardiovascular disease

For me at least, growing up in the Southern United States was a cholesterol nightmare. Fried chicken, high fat cuts of meat, fried pies, vegetables seasoned with grease, gravy, breakfast sausage, and cheese were just a few of the regular food items placed on my plate. The chances are pretty good that if you are reading this article you may have a similar story to tell. For instance if you grew up in the Northern United States franks, pizza, cheese, and Philly cheese steak sandwiches likely were something that not only did you eat growing up but loved every minute of it. Continue reading →

Interestingly enough, cardiovascular improvement can be brought about by using a cheap, natural food. These are fats derived from fish or fish oil, called Omega 3 fatty acids.

You can obtain these DHA and EPA fats by eating several meals of fish each week. However because of the pollution in our oceans and in our fish, we can not afford to eat so much fish. These days we need to take an omega 3 fish oil supplement on a daily basis.

Cardiovascular improvement can also be brought about by changing our diet. We can cut out cooking in the bad cooking oils. These bad oils are peanut oil, canola oil and other similar oils. Try cooking your food in olive oil instead. You do not need to buy virgin olive oil, keep that for salads.

For cardiovascular improvement, try eating more dark green vegetables, nuts and seeds, for instance flaxseed, walnuts, sesame seeds, etc. these are an alternative type Omega 3 called ALA. Continue reading →

Obesity is included into the most dangerous and deathly disease, for it can cause several kinds of diseases, which can lead the sufferer to permanent paralysis, and even death. And unfortunately, obesity is somewhat getting more and more popular these past few years, for some reasons. But the main and ultimate reason of obesity is modern and unhealthy life style. In this modern life, people are now well acquainted with so-called stress at work, which can cause the body circulation does not work properly.

Hence, it can cause fat and other dangerous substances cannot be processed well. Other cause of obesity is the instant and fast food available nowadays. People with thigh work schedule cannot surely prepare their own food, so they are buying and consuming fast food, all the time; on breakfast, lunch, and even on dinner. Fact is, fast food can be very much dangerous for they consist of much oil, much fat, less fiber, and fewer vitamins. Hence, many people are now suffering from obesity; what these people does not seem to know is that obesity can cause many dangerous and common diseases. Here they are. Continue reading →

Cardiac rehabilitation is a treatment programme to help heart patients manage their condition, improve their health and recover their quality of life after a cardiac event, such as a heart attack or heart surgery.

A heart rehabilitation programme during Phase III usually includes:

• Exercise

• Education and advice

• Relaxation and emotional support

• A chance to meet others going through similar experiences

It can be offered in a variety of settings, and nowadays it is not just a service that is run from the local hospital, but increasingly there are community and home based services too.

People often refer to their heart rehabilitation as happening in phases, this being I – IV. After having had surgery, or recovering from a heart attack or angioplasty patients are sometimes offered a choice as to where they would like to do their rehabilitation, this part is known as Phase III.

It is now becoming increasingly common for those who have had an angioplasty to be referred straight to Phase IV, and indeed some patients who have had heart surgery such as valve replacement may also find this being offered. Continue reading →

Can a medication like Zoloft cause increase bad cholesterol levels? This seems to be the question everyone is asking lately. It is a drug for other disorders not related to cholesterol. This is why it is rather awkward to associate Zoloft with cholesterol levels. This is a drug prescribed to patients suffering from chronic depression. In some cases it can be used to treat obsessive compulsive disorder and panic attacks. This drug was very effective in that matter; it is considered to work better than its competitors.

Zoloft is known for its very mild side effects which consist of diarrhea, insomnia, nausea, and other sexual side effects. This made it very popular among its users. However, what were mentioned are only observable symptoms. Little do they know that the more serious symptom lurks behind what we see unnoticed. In recent studies, it was noticed that those patients taking Zoloft for depression showed signs of increases in their bad cholesterol levels. This raised awareness about it since it was believed that there is no connection between Zoloft and cholesterol rise. Studies are now being conducted to get to the bottom of this issue.

Continue reading →

Is there a cure for heart disease is a question many people ask after surviving a heart attack. Only a small percent ask is there a cure for heart disease before the actual event. But the reality is that it is not their fault. This is because few, if any, warning signs occur until the disease is already well on its way to becoming serious. Now let’s move on and take a few moments to go back to school and discover how the American Medical Association describes ischemic heart disease.

Heart disease is caused by blood flow to the heart muscle that is insufficient to meet its oxygen needs. The shortfall in blood flow and oxygen supply occurs because of obstructing in one of the coronary arteries, the blood vessels that provide oxygen the heart muscle. The obstruction can be caused by buildup of fatty material, a blood clot, or a spasm in the artery. Minor episodes of ischemic heart disease usually cause little long term damage to the heart, but more sever events can trigger a heart attack, resulting in an abnormal heart rhythm, or cause a fainting spell, or cardiac arrest. End

Continue reading →

Introduction

Homocysteine is an amino acid that is found in the blood. High levels of homocysteine can damage the lining in the arteries and can increase the blockages in the blood vessel.

A person with a high level of homocysteine is believed to have increased risk of stroke, heart disease, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s disease and recurrent pregnancy loss.

Remedies and Tips:

1. Eat more fruits and vegetables. Leafy green vegetables are especially important in your diet. You can lower your homocysteine level by increasing the amount of folate in your diet. Great sources of folate are lettuce, asparagus, lentils and spinach. Fortified grain products, orange juice and breakfast cereals will also help lower your homocysteine level.

2. You can also lower your homocysteine level by eating foods fortified with vitamin B6 and B12. Foods rich in B6 are potatoes, garbanzo beans, salmon, bananas, breakfast cereals and chicken. Good sources of B12 are foods such as beef, organ meats such as liver, dairy products and certain types of fish. Continue reading →

Heart disease has only recently become an issue for Asian populations. A new study of more than half a million Asians suggests that there is an epidemic of heart-disease that is coming to China and many other countries in that region. The study was conducted from China through Australasia, and suggests that increasing smoking is but one factor contributing to this upsurge in heart-disease.

Other health factors that are contributing to heart disease include high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol. This is especially prominent in the urban areas of Asian. Clearly, Asia is going to face a crippling epidemic of heart disease unless drastic changes are put into practice.

Your heart is the center of the cardiovascular system. Its job is to be the pump that circulates blood throughout the body. Blood brings oxygen to all of the cells in your body. These are crucial functions.

Continue reading →

The new food pyramid puts red meat at the very bottom, as an undesirable food. The "politically correct" view is that red meat is dangerous because it is loaded with cholesterol and saturated fat. The "experts" even cite some studies that seem to link red meat with increased risk of heart disease, strokes, and cancer.

The good news is that none of that is true. As I wrote in another article called Red Meat is Good for Heart, Does not Cause Heart Disease or Stroke, red meat is a great source of many important nutrients and is generally very beneficial. It not only provides the best quality proteins, but also zinc, B vitamins, coenzyme Q10, trace minerals and other vital elements.

I also pointed out that it is not red meat, but processed meats that are responsible for health problems. A study presented at the annual American Heart Association conference in March 2010 confirmed everything I was telling you about. Harvard researchers have analyzed data from 20 studies with more than 1.2 million participants.

Continue reading →

After your heart attack you may find that some of the medications you are taking to protect your heart interfere with your short term memory. In most cases this is more of a nuisance than a major problem. After all, who hasn’t walked into a room and forgotten why they went in there? In the workplace this can become far more than just a nuisance or personal frustration. In your workplace, how many times a day does your supervisor fly by, spew out five or six things that have to get done yesterday and then disappear…expecting them all to get done perfectly…and yesterday?

Before I go on let me introduce myself in case you have not read any of my other articles. I am not a medical professional by any stretch of the imagination. I have no medical or related credentials at all. In fact, the only qualification I have is that I am living this myself. Everything in here is simply my experience and my opinion. It is my sincere desire that my words help you in some way but please do not wander off the path set by the professionals around your case or set by your own good judgment. My experience is simply that I had a severe heart attack at 44 years old and have been regearing my life and learning a new way of being in the world and working. These articles are my way of sharing my experiences with you in the hope that you find some nugget of value to you in your own unique situation.

The first thing I have to say to you about the solution to this problem is simple. Do not solve it by reducing or stopping your medication. It is protecting your heart while it is healing to the extent it can and helping to protect it from further damage. I assure you…another heart attack will be far more disruptive to your work and livelihood than some problems with your memory. There are three simple disciplines you can develop to help you overcome this short term memory difficulty at work. These disciplines are to take notes, repeat important points to yourself and request e-mailed or written work task assignments.

Continue reading →