Heart Disease

Heart disease is a general term that refers to any disease or condition of the heart, including coronary heart disease, hypertension, heart failure, congenital heart disease, disorders of the heart valves, heart infections, cardiomyopathy, conduction disorders, and heart arrhythmias. This article will focus on atherosclerotic changes, changes that occur because of the build up of plaques or fatty streaks on the interior walls of the blood vessels that supply oxygenated blood to the heart muscle. This condition is also known as coronary artery disease.

Description of Heart Disease

The heart is a muscular pump in the chest. Throughout life it beats continuously and rhythmically to send blood to the lungs and the rest of the body.

The normal heart weighs approximately 0.297 kg and is about the size of your fist. It beats 60 to 120 times a minute, depending on whether you are excited or resting.

The average blood cell makes a round trip through the body's arteries and veins every 60 seconds, and can hit speeds of up to 16 kilometres per hour. The heart pumps your five quarts of blood around your body 500 times a day.

When the arteries become clogged with deposits made up of "bad" cholesterol, plaque, scar tissue, or calcium, the heart has a harder time circulating blood. This clogging causes a myriad of heart problems from angina pectoris (chest pain) to heart failure to a heart attack.

Treatment of Heart Disease

There are several treatment methods that will help improve blood flow through the arteries:

  • Medications
  •  Balloon Angioplasty
  •  Bypass Graft Surgery
  •  Electrophysiologic devices (Pacemakers)

Ask your doctor for more information on the above.

Prevention of Heart Disease

You can do several things to prevent heart disease:

  • Begin or sustain some regular physical activity. Even a modest amount of activity each day will lower your LDL cholesterol and raise your HDL cholesterol. Exercise also improves your heart's pumping efficiency, benefits your circulation and increases your overall strength and endurance.
  • Increase your consumption of vegetables, fresh fruits, low-fat milk and other dairy products, grains, fish and poultry. The main objective here is to replace foods high in saturated fat with healthier foods. Multiple sources of information exist that will help you create a heart-healthy diet.
  • Know your cholesterol, LDL, HDL and triglyceride levels. The level of cholesterol in your blood is a good indicator of the health of your heart and blood vessels. Generally, the higher your cholesterol level, the greater your risk of heart disease.
    • Ldl stands for low-density lipoprotein. LDLs carry cholesterol around the body. LDLs deposit cholesterol in blood vessels where they can eventually build up and restrict blood flow. The more LDLs you have, the higher your risk factor for heart disease.
    • Hdl stands for high-density lipoprotein. HDLs remove cholesterol from artery walls and carry it to the liver, which breaks it down.
    • Triglycerides are a type of fat present in foods and manufactured in the liver. The higher your triglyceride level, the greater your risk of heart disease.
  • Watch your weight. Obesity raises triglyceride levels, which in turn promotes heart disease. Diet and physical activity should help you lower and maintain your weight.
  • Know your family's history of heart conditions. A family history of obesity, diabetes, heart attack, stroke or high blood pressure increases your risk of heart disease so consult a cardiologist before the age of 55 for males and 65 for females.
  • Pay attention to the pain. If you feel your vitality generally slipping, have a check-up. If you are having chest pains go to the nearest emergency room.
  • Reduce your stress.
  • Don't smoke.
  • Limit the amount of alcohol you consume.

Questions To Ask Your Doctor About Heart Disease

  • Are the symptoms I'm having related to heart disease?
  • Which test is the most reliable for diagnosing heart disease?
  • What type of treatment you will recommend?
  • What can I do to reverse the course of my heart disease?
  • Can you help me work through how to develop an improved program of physical activity?
  • And the same for diet?
  • Am I a candidate for surgery?

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 Page Created on 23 November 2010