To be told you have “heart disease” can strike fear into anyone hearing it for the first time, however it’s not as bad as it sounds.

In this article I am going to explain some of the terms, causes and remedies associated with heart disease.

Heart disease is a general term used to describe several different conditions, all of which are potentially fatal, but are also treatable and/or preventable. Heart disease is primarily a disease of lifestyle, and is largely preventable through risk factor awareness and modification.

However it is a serious condition and if ignored it is a major cause for heart attacks (myocardial infarction), congestive heart failure, angina pectoris, stroke, sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), and ischemia (reduced blood flow). The most common form of heart disease is coronary heart disease, also known as coronary artery disease

Coronary

Coronary artery disease is the most common form of heart disease, it is caused by a narrowing or clogging of the coronary arteries that supply the heart with oxygen and nutrients.

Coronary artery disease and the resulting reduced blood flow to the heart muscle can lead to other heart problems, such as chest pain (angina) and heart attacks (myocardial infarction).

The risk of coronary heart disease can be reduced by taking steps to prevent and control those adverse factors that put people at greater risk for heart disease and heart attacks.

Cholesterol

If you have too much cholesterol in your bloodstream, the excess is deposited in arteries, including the coronary arteries, where it contributes to the narrowing and blockages that cause the signs and symptoms of heart disease.

High levels of the wrong type of cholesterol (LDL) can be life threatening especially because this type of cholesterol has the capability to choke the arteries and thus cause a heart attack.

What happens is that the levels of the lipoprotein, which is made in the liver and in cells lining blood vessels, rise with things that make heart disease more likely, like smoking, obesity, high cholesterol and diabetes.

Conversely the levels fall when patients stop smoking, lose weight and get their cholesterol and diabetes under control.

Cholesterol levels should be less than 5.5. If your cholesterol level is 6.5 mmol/L or greater your risk of heart disease is about 4 times greater than that of a person with a cholesterol level of 4 mmol/L.

The best defense against high cholesterol is simply controlling the risk factors that could lead to coronary artery disease, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, stress, excessive alcohol consumption, physical inactivity and being overweight.

Regular aerobic activities have a good effect on blood vessels and cholesterol.

Dietary aids to lowering cholesterol

• reduce cheese intake and/or substitute low fat varieties
• choose reduced fat milks
• substitute polyunsaturated margarine for butter
• choose lean cuts of meat and remove all visible fat
• eat skinless chicken, fish or beans
• beware of pies, pasties, fish and chips and commercial cakes (hidden fat)
• make cakes at home with polyunsaturated fat, cook chips with polyunsaturated or mono unsaturated oil
• lose weight if overweight.

High blood pressure also causes many other types of cardiovascular disease, such as stroke and heart failure.

Arteries

Coronary artery diseases are diseases of the arteries that supply the heart muscle with blood. If you suffer from CAD it generally means that blood flow through the coronary arteries has become obstructed, reducing blood flow to the heart muscle.

Like any muscle, the heart needs a constant supply of oxygen and nutrients, which are carried to it by the blood in the coronary arteries. When the coronary arteries become narrowed or clogged by cholesterol and fat deposits (atherosclerosis), the heart cannot get enough and the result is coronary heart disease (CHD).

Stroke

Other cardiovascular diseases include stroke, high blood pressure, angina (chest pain), and rheumatic heart disease. Smoking and uncontrolled high blood pressure are important risk factors for stroke.

Although stroke is highly preventable, certain risk factors such as; family history, age, sex and race can't be controlled.

People with diabetes are also two to four times more likely to die of heart disease and experience stroke.

Prevention

Although heart disease is a serious condition that requires constant monitoring, there are many things you can do to reduce your risk for cardiovascular problems and live a full, active life, even if you should suffer a heart attack.

Study results indicate that heart disease is almost twice as likely to develop in inactive people as in those who exercise regularly.

However studies have also shown that after five years of giving up smoking, the risk of developing heart disease is the same as for someone who never smoked.

As well, if you exercise on a regular basis, the chance of your developing heart disease is about half that of people who do no exercise at all.

Published At: www.Isnare.com

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By: Betty Hart

The leading health problem in the world today is cardiovascular disease or heart disease. It claims more than one million lives every year. Because of the narrowing of blood vessels the heart is unable to maintain an adequate amount of blood circulation through the body. This inadequacy of the heart and blood vessels is called heart disease or cardiovascular disease. Heart Health is making sure that the heart and blood vessels have the necessary nutrients to keep them strong and working properly. The blood vessels have to be soft and plaque free.
There are different types of heart disease.

Coronary Heart Disease, is caused by the accumulation of fatty deposits along the innermost layer of coronary arteries. This thickening narrows the arteries and can lesson or eventually block the flow of blood to the heart.. Symptoms may include pain in the chest and /or heaviness, tightness and pressure. .

A heart attack happens when the heart muscle lacks oxygen. this occurs when there is a blockage of blood flow to the heart, robbing it of oxygen, and therefore robbing the rest of the body as well. most times this is caused by a build up of cholesterol and other fatty substances in the arteries.. If this lack of oxygen happens for a prolonged time , it damages or kills off the heart muscle cells in the area that was cut off , and this causes that area to malfunction. Symptoms may include 1.Severe chest pains, that may not recede even with rest 2.severe pressure and squeezing in the centre of the chest 3.pain in the shoulders ,neck, arms or the jaw 4.sweating, dizziness 5. nausea, and vomiting, and indigestion.

. Heart health contributes to health longevity because it affects not only the body but also the mind, and therefore has a long-term role in anti-aging.

Congestive heart failure is a condition in which your heart cannot pump enough oxygenated blood to meet the needs of other organs. Itmay result from high blood pressure, excessive sodium intake, heart valve disease, previous heart attack(s), and coronary artery disease, among others.

Symptoms may include:
1. Weight gain
2. Visible swelling of the legs and ankles .
3. Shortness of breath during rest or exercise
4. Fatigue
5. Loss of appetite and nausea
6 Persistent cough - often producing mucus or blood-tinged sputum.
Yet another type of cardiovascular disease can be the result of malfunctioning heart valves.

Heart valve disease is a malfunctioning of your heart valves, which are responsible for letting blood flow in and out of your heart. When your heart valves fail to open and close properly, your heart's capability to pump blood through your body may be severely disrupted, leading to heart failure. Heart valve disease may be due to damage from a previous heart attack or infection.

Symptoms may include:

1. Chest pain 2. Palpitations caused by irregular heartbeats 3. Migraine headaches
4. Fatigue 5 Dizziness 6 Shortness of breath

Angina is recurring chest pain or discomfort that happens when some part of your heart does not receive enough blood. Angina is a symptom of coronary heart disease.
Symptoms may include 1. pressing, squeezing, or crushing pain, usually in your chest under the breastbone. 2.pain in your arms, shoulders, jaw, neck, and/or back.
An episode of angina does not indicate that a heart attack is occurring, or that a heart attack is about to occur. Angina does indicate, however, that coronary heart disease is present and that some part of your heart is not receiving an adequate blood supply. If you have angina, you may have an increased risk of heart attack.

Doctors must diagnose correctly if one is to receive proper and beneficial treatment for heart disease. Some common methods for diagnosing heart disease are, electrocardiogram(EKG), where a set of sensory pads are placed on strategic areas of your chest and a record of the heart's beating patterns are recorded.

Another method is the Stress Electrocardiogram(Stress EKG), where one is put under physical stress , like running on a treadmill, where abnormalities in the beat of the heart are recorded. Angiocardiography is another method which is used to diagnose the condition of the arteries. A catheter is inserted into the artery and dye is released into the blood stream. Blockages and other abnormalities are discovered on a monitor, by observing the dye flowing through the arteries.

It is always best to have a heart check up every year as part of the normal annual check up regardless of age, as heart disease can strike at any time.

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Article Source: http://www.ArticleBiz.com

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by: Rcon Franchesca Pascua

Nothing beats the pain of having your heart broken by someone you truly, madly, deeply in love with. It is true that ending the relationship is probably the nastiest and the most hurtful scenario in a romantic relationship. Nobody wants their hearts to be broken, and no one can really tell what it feels like unless they are or have been in that situation already.

Yes, going through a bad relationship is tough, and lucky and brave are those who survive it. Unlucky, however, for those who suffer from heart attacks because of a broken heart.

According to a recent study in Europe, it has been observed among thousands of British civilians that it is possible for an individual to have a series of heart attacks due to a painful and traumatic breakup experience. Experts who conducted the study claimed that stress and anxiety brought by a painful and traumatic end of a relationship can significantly increase a person’s risk in having or developing heart diseases.

Results of the study showed that an individual’s heart condition is not just determined by means of physical condition. It can also be influenced by the emotional stability or condition of a person. Therefore, an individual who has a happy and fulfilling relationship is less likely to develop coronary heart disease compared to the ones who are unlucky in love.

To spare your already bruised heart from added pain and trauma, the following are some ways on how to avoid developing heart diseases due to emotional heart issues:

1. Talk to someone about your feelings.

When a relationship ends, the women are usually the most emotional ones. They tend to relay the whole breakup episode to their girlfriends or relatives. The men, however, are less vocal about their emotions. With this, doctors often recommend male patients to find someone whom they can share their feelings with. Support from people who can understand what you’re going through can surely ease your emotions and heart pains.

2. Slowly acknowledge the fact that the relationship is over.

It is normal to feel hurt and betrayed once a relationship ends. However, the world will not stop and grieve at your lose. Move on. Accept the fact that the relationship is over and get on living your life. Although the process of moving on is hard, acceptance helps in keeping the mind and emotions calm after a hard and painful experience.


3. Go see a doctor when the pain progresses from emotional to physical instability.

Based on the recent study mentioned above, a person who is extremely heartbroken can die because of heart attack. So, if you feel that the emotional pain and stress are too much for you to bear any longer that it comes to the point when your health also suffers, go see your doctor to confirm your condition.

Although having an emotional breakdown is not just the only factor for developing heart diseases, it is better to let your doctor know and check your condition once heartaches turn to “literal heart pains”.

source:searchwarp.com

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If you want the results of being healthy to live Cancer Free For Life, you need to find the causes of health and follow them. You need to understand the reasons why you get sick and avoid those. Of course, this approach is in direct conflict with the more conventional philosophy of medicine that believes disease is a matter of bad luck, where people have "risks" of disease that only occur by chance.

Conventional medicine wants you to think that disease happens to you purely by chance and that you have no control over it. “It’s just bad luck. There’s a flu epidemic.” But the reality is that disease (or a lack thereof) is entirely under your control. If you wish to be healthy and to remain Cancer Free For Life, there are certain things you can do that reliably and consistently produce a healthy outcome. And if you wish to be diseased, there are other things you can do to reliably and consistently produce disease. Researchers have found that there is a cancer personality and that there are personality traits of people who have cancer, and that there are traits unique to people who are super healthy, and have remained Cancer Free For Life. These are described in great detail in the second chapter of the book Cancer Free For Life, and there are clear steps and explanations for you to determine what personality you have, and how to change it. This book is available on http://cancer-free-for-life.com. Visit us there.

It fascinates me that some people are more prone to cancer while others can remain Cancer Free For Life, even if they have cancer in their family for instance. Out of all of the research I’ve conducted in the past few years, the most astounding thing I've discovered is not one particular herb or nutritional supplement, but rather that the best and most powerful healing strategies, or what I call health habits, are available to you free of charge.

Some people drink grape juice or swallow massive doses of vitamin C; others pray, take herbal remedies, or simply cheer themselves on. These very diverse patients all have one thing in common, though. At a certain point in their disease, they suddenly knew, with complete certainty, that they were going to get better, as if the disease were simply a mirage, and they suddenly passed beyond it into a space where fear and despair and all sickness were nonexistent.

The entered the place called perfect health and spontaneous remission. The found a place where they could be Cancer Free For Life. Was it spontaneous? Did it just happen?

I have spent these past years looking for what causes disease, and to find the healing mechanisms in the body. I have found that it is the same way that thousands of documented cases of people who recover from cancer, leukemia, arthritis and many other diseases use to put their disease ‘in remission’ and beat all the doctors’ prognostis. I become fascinated with the healing system that doesn’t appear in any medical books. I discovered there is a way to remain Cancer Free For Life.

Less than a third of old people show no sign of cancer, heart disease, arthritis, diabetes, osteoporosis, and other generative disorders endemic to old age. Who heals the sick person anyway? And why are we not allowed to use the word “Cure”? Are people with extraordinary health super-humans, or do they have abilities we can all share and learn from? Imagine if we were taught simple disease prevention habits and strategies that cost absolutely nothing, are easy to obtain, and work to improve the health of everyone, regardless of genetic makeup or background.

All in one book, I have combined the results of the ancient healing techniques that have been forgotten. I share with you the aspects of quantum physics that I have discovered make us healthy. And it’s not rocket science. I explain in clear terms how you can use them for your own life. This book is available for immediate downloading at www.cancer-free-for-life.com . And as you may have guessed from the title of this book, it's all about ways that you can apply right away to take care of your health.

I must tell you right away that there is no such things as "miracle" shortcuts to health. There is no such thing as a magic weight loss pill. There is no such thing as results without effort. Where you find yourself today is the result of years of abuse to your body. You need to start changing that by making changes to your life. Cancer has been or can be your wake up call. Your life WILL change. There are some strategies that are far smarter than others. There are strategies that have a big payoff, versus others that have a small payoff.

Cancer Free For Life focuses on those strategies and methods that are available to you with the least amount of effort. It's not about taking shortcuts; it's about being efficient.

Dr Magne specializes in spontaneous healing of cancer. With 25 years of research, she compiled all her discoveries on the causes and origins and diseases and presented them in her book Cancer Free For Life to help you speed your healing of cancer. Visit www.Cancer-Free-For-Life.com today for a FREE report on the 10 Ways to Stop Cancer.

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by: Alexander Holt

The heart is the most important muscle in our body, it's our life pump. It is one of the few organs that are expected to work continuously, without rest, for a lifetime.

The heart beats about 70 times a minute, 100,000 times a day and about 36 million times a year. It pumps the equivalent of 2,500 - 5,000 gallons of blood per day through approximately 60,000 miles (100,000 km) of blood vessels. During an average lifetime, the heart will beat more than 2.5 billion times.

Because of all that the heart muscle requires the highest level of energetic support at all times. And this is where Coenzyme Q10 comes into play.

We all get our energy from food. Food is eaten and than broken down into small pieces called glucose. The blood carries the glucose to every cell in the body, where it is broken down further, releasing energy into the cell.

Coenzyme Q10 is a substance that is involved in the production of energy in cells. Its main function is to carry electrons that are needed in the energy generation process. It is found in high concentrations in tissues and organs that require a lot of energy. And because the heart requires huge amounts of energy, CoEnzyme Q10 plays an essential role in maintaining a healthy heart.

Current research shows that heart disease may be connected to insufficient levels of Coenzyme Q-10. When deficiency occurs the heart may be the most affected organ, which can lead to some serious problems.

Coenzyme Q-10 is found naturally throughout the human body. Small amounts of it are obtained through the foods we eat (the richest sources are meat, poultry and fish), but the majority is created directly by the body.

The typical daily dietary intake of this compound is only about 2-5 mg, which is far below the amount needed for optimum health. Aging and illness deplete the body's stores even further. At the age of 50 we produce half the amount of CoQ10 as we did when we were 20.

Although CoQ10 is available from foods, it is difficult to obtain enough of it from diet alone, especially in our later years. However, it can be taken as a supplement.

Supplementing CoQ10 has many health benefits such as strengthening the heart, improving the immune system and lowering blood pressure. Increasing levels of coenzyme Q10 give cells in the heart the ability to make more energy for pumping blood, which increases strength and output capacity.

CoQ10 is also one of the most potent antioxidants known. It plays a key role in treatment of cardiovascular illnesses, including congestive heart failure. It can also help with a number of other diseases such as diabetes, kidney failure, migraine, Alzheimer's disease, and more. Some doctors recommend it after heart surgery to speed recovery.

To maintain cardiovascular health and provide your body with sufficient quantities of Coenzyme Q10, check out Coenzyme Q10 Supplement. Click here to find more Supplements For Healthy Heart.

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by Diana Benzaia

If you saw a tiger, you'd run for your life. But what if you didn't see it? For those of you with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, heart disease is that unseen tiger. You're two to four times more likely to develop a heart condition than people without diabetes? Even more shocking, those individuals are more likely to die from heart disease or other cardiovascular ills than from the complications of diabetes itself. Yet surveys show that 68 percent of Americans with diabetes are unaware of their increased cardiovascular risk.

If you have diabetes, now is the time to take steps to protect your heart.

"High blood glucose alters cell metabolism," says Richard Kahn, Ph.D., chief scientific and medical officer of the American Diabetes Association (ADA). When the function of platelet cells changes, the likelihood of blood clots increases and the risk of heart attack rises. Cells that line the artery walls are also affected; the ability of blood vessels to dilate is impaired, which can lead to high blood pressure.

One pivotal phenomenon underlying these changes is inflammation, already known to promote heart disease. Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine in Charlottesville, for example, found high blood glucose linked to chronic inflammation in the blood vessel walls of mice.

Prevention Works

The first step to protecting your heart? Control your glucose. In the groundbreaking Diabetes Control and Complications Trial to determine the effects of glucose on complications, type 1 patients underwent intensive glucose control. A later study found these participants were 57 percent less likely to die from cardiovascular disease over the next 16 years.

Although the findings haven't been confirmed in those with type 2, high blood glucose levels have been proven to increase the risk of heart disease in both kinds of diabetes. Says David Nathan, M.D., professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and co-chair of the type 1 study, "The major difference is that people with type 2 are generally older, heavier and more likely to have hypertension and abnormal cholesterol levels, all of which puts them at much higher risk for heart disease." For them, prevention is even more urgent.

Keep your heart healthy by following the ABCs of diabetes prevention: Aim for A1C levels below 7 percent, blood pressure below 130/80 mm Hg and LDL cholesterol below 100 mg/dl.

"Everyone with diabetes should know their numbers and goals, and get checked regularly," says John Buse, M.D., lead author of the ADA and American Heart Association's new joint statement on preventing cardiovascular diseases in people with diabetes. Start with a healthy lifestyle:

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From Terry Martin,

Top 5 Tips for a Healthy Heart

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S. today, and the leading cause of death for smokers as well. Cigarette smoking is directly linked to 30 percent of all heart disease deaths in the United States each year. Bottom line: Smoking is hard on the heart.

Top 5 Tips to Prevent Heart Disease

1) Quit Smoking!

Because cigarette smoking is so prevalent and destructive, it has been identified by the U.S. Surgeon General as the single most preventable cause of disease and premature death in the nation. Smoking increases the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD}, peripheral vascular disease (PVD), and coronary heart disease (CHD). And, for people with a history of CHD, cigarette smoking is also a risk factor for sudden cardiac death.
More:

• Smoking and the Risk of Atherosclerosis

• Coronary Heart Disease from Smoking - Statistics

2) Watch Your Waistline

The risks to heart health that are associated with obesity include heart attacks, heart failure, CVD and CHD, along with a whole host of other negative health effects. Choose a balanced diet that is low in saturated fat and high in lean protein, fruits and vegetables, healthy oils and whole, unprocessed grains. Be good to your heart by maintaining the proper weight for your age and body type.

More:

• BMI (body mass index) Calculator

• The Dangers of Smoking and Obesity

• The Basics of a Healthy, Balanced Diet

• Minimizing Weight Gain When You Quit Smoking

3) Keep Moving

As little as a half hour of exercise daily can protect your heart. Aerobic activities such as walking, running and swimming work the heart and help keep it robust. We all have busy schedules and hectic lifestyles, and fitting in a daily workout can be an overwhelming thought. However, it's important to remember that exercise doesn't have to be done all at once to be beneficial. Take a couple of short walks a day and use the stairs whenever possible. We can all fit in 10 minutes here and 15 minutes there to move our bodies if we make it a priority. Embrace the challenge and think of exercise as a gift, not a chore. And in a very real way, that's just what it is, a gift...for your heart.

More:

• Learn to Love Exercise

• Exercise for Beginners

• Walk of Life - 10 Week Walking Program

4) Watch Your Cholesterol

The toxins in tobacco smoke lower a person's high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL or "good" cholesterol) while raising levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL or "bad" cholesterol). A high level of LDL in the blood is a significant risk factor for atherosclerosis, also known as hardening of the arteries. Other factors that influence cholesterol are genetics and eating a diet rich in saturated fats and trans fats. If it’s been a year or more since your last cholesterol check, call your doctor and schedule an appointment. If your cholesterol is high, there are steps you can take to control it.

More:

• All About Cholesterol

• Cholesterol Quiz - Test Your Knowledge

5) Maintain Normal Blood Pressure

While at the doctor’s office getting your cholesterol checked, have your blood pressure checked also. Maintaining a healthy blood pressure reduces the risk of heart attack, stroke and heart failure. High blood pressure is considered to be anything over 140 for systolic blood pressure and 90 for diastolic blood pressure. If yours is high, take it seriously and follow your doctor’s recommendations.

More:

• Top 10 High Blood Pressure Risk Factors

• Symptoms of High blood Pressure

• Living with High Blood Pressure

When you quit smoking, other risk factors for heart disease will be diminished as well. Smokers usually exercise less, especially as they get older and lung function becomes impaired. That inactivity in turn often leads to weight gain. Cigarette smoke also increases bad cholesterol, and while smoking won't cause high blood pressure, if a smoker has hypertension, smoking can increase the risk of malignant hypertension, a dangerous form of high blood pressure.

If you’re still smoking, I urge you to make the commitment to quit now. Every cigarette smoked causes additional stress and damage to your body. And it won’t get any easier to stop the longer you wait. I spent years fervently wishing I could find the right combination of motivation and guts to leave smoking behind for good. One important lesson I learned was this: For a nicotine addict, there is no “ideal” time to quit. Don’t believe the fallacy that you’ll stop smoking “when you’re ready.” You could die waiting for that day to come.

• Quit Smoking 101 - A Free Email Course

The truth is, addiction creates a fear of quitting that is hard to overcome, regardless of when we decide to stop smoking. But overcome it you can, as long as you take that all important first step and put the cigarettes down. From there, you'll find that with support, education, and the patience to work your quit program one simple day at a time, you can defeat that fear and conquer nicotine addiction...once and for all.

<sub>Sources:

1. "The Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General.". 2004. National Center For Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. 2004. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health.

2. "Health Effects of Smoking - Fact Sheet.". December 2006. Centers for Disease Control.

3. "Cigarette Smoking and Cardiovascular Diseases." 2007. American Heart Association.
about.com</sub>

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Docs often neglect this vital step - fortunately, you can do it yourself

From Richard N. Fogoros, M.D.,

The bad news about heart disease is that it remains extremely prevalent in our society. The good news is that the factors that determine our risk of developing heart disease are, to a large extent, under our control. We ourselves have a lot to say about whether we will develop early cardiac disease.

Our doctors are supposed to assess our risk for us, and coach us on what we should be doing to reduce that risk. But, despite pleas from medical experts and professional societies to the contrary, doctors are still generally bad at assessing their patients' risk of developing coronary artery disease, and are particularly terrible about spending the time needed to stress the importance of taking the appropriate steps to reduce that risk.

(Note well: Doing simple risk assessment is one of the most important basic jobs of the physician. The failure to do such risk assessment probably ought to be considered evidence that your doctor is doing sub-standard work. Many of the things doctors need to think about are complicated - this one isn't. DrRich, for one, wouldn't stick with a doc who isn't even doing the simple things right.)

Fortunately, the tools exist today for individuals to accurately assess their own risk of getting heart disease, without waiting for their doctors to initiate the action. And lots of information is available as to what to do about it if your risk is elevated.

To assess your own risk, here's what you need to know

You need to gather the following information:

• whether you smoke or not
• your total and HDL cholesterol levels
• your blood pressure
• whether you have evidence of diabetes or metabolic syndrome
• whether you are overweight for your age and height
• your family history

With this information, you can place yourself into one of three categories: low, intermediate, or high.

With this information, to be in the low risk category, all of the following must be present:

• nonsmoker
• total cholesterol <> 40 mg/dL
• systolic BP <>
• no evidence of diabetes
• not overweight
• no family history of premature vascular disease

You are in the high risk category if you have any of the following:

• known coronary artery disease or other vascular disease
• type 2 diabetes
• over age 65 with multiple (more than one) risk factors

And you are in the intermediate risk group if you don't fit into either the low or high risk groups.

Low risk patientscan be managed without any further intervention, except for routine coaching on maintaining a healthy lifestyle. About 35% of U.S. adults fall into this category.

High risk patientsshould immediately be placed on appropriate treatments proven to reduce the risk of heart attack and death, such as statin drugs, beta blockers, aspirin, and/or ACE inhibitors. About 25% of U.S. adults are in this category. Click here for more on what to do if you are in the high risk category.

Intermediate risk patients, in addition to taking steps to modify the risk factors keeping them out of the low risk category, should have non-invasive tests to measure whether or not they already have evidence of coronary artery disease, such as stress/thallium testing or electron beam tomography (EECP). Roughly 40% of U.S. adults are in the intermediate risk category.

source:about.com

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By: Simone Butler

Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in most developed countries around the world, and the number of cases is rising constantly as a result of both modern lifestyles and increased overall longevity. While developing the condition can have a devastating impact on the sufferer's life, modern medicine has developed several effective treatments for heart disease, ranging from drugs and lifestyle improvements right through to surgery.

Of course, prevention is always better than cure, so before we look at some of the symptoms of cardiac disease we'll look at some of the ways you can help your body ward off the risks.

Living a healthy lifestyle can go a long way to reducing the chances of developing cardiac problems, but there is unfortunately an element of inherited risk, so even those with excellent overall health may find that they're genetically programmed towards heart disease in later life. Thankfully, the greatest influence genetics has on heart disease is that of making us more susceptible to certain causes, and with careful adjustments of our lifestyles we can greatly improve our prospects of avoiding it.

The two most deadly contributors to cardiac problems are smoking and obesity. Both of these can raise blood pressure to dangerous levels, putting extra strain on the heart. Smoking causes the build up of fatty deposits within the arteries, also causing circulation problems. Being overweight also tends to mean that a healthy diet is not being followed, and so the body may well be short of essential minerals and nutriments that the heart needs to keep on functioning healthily.

Stopping smoking and other unhealthy practices such as excessive drinking, along with improving diet and taking up exercise to reduce weight can go a long way towards averting problems.

The symptoms of a developing heart problem can be both subtle and dramatic. Unfortunately, many of the symptoms can also signify other less dangerous conditions, and so a diagnosis of heart disease is often made later than it could have been. If you come across more than one of the symptoms below, then a trip to your doctor is highly advisable.

Breathlessness when engaged in physical exercise is normal to some extent for almost everyone, but if you find you're becoming breathless more and more easily then this is a clear sign that your general fitness levels aren't all they could be, and that your heart may be struggling under the pressure.

Palpitations, that is a heavily or unevenly beating heart, can be a sign of anxiety or can come on after extreme exercise, but if neither of these situations apply then heart problems could well be the culprit.

A tingling feeling in bodily extremities such as fingers, toes or lips is often a sign that your cirulation system isn't delivering enough oxygen, again a sign of possible heart problems. Should your extremeities go on to develop a blueish colour then this is certainly not a good sign, and medical attention should be sought at once.

The final and most obvious sign of cardiac problems is a feeling of tightness or pain in the chest, a condition known as angina. If you feel chest pain with any regularity, even if not particularly severely, a medical check up is advisable to make sure you catch any problems as early as possible. Angina can be controlled very well by medication in many cases, and doesn't necessarily have to develop into full-blown heart disease.

In summary, living a healthy lifestyle while keeping an eye out for the symptoms will greatly reduce the risk of your life being devastated by heart disease.

Source: http://myarticlezine.com

Simone writes on a variety of health and society issues including heart disease and angina.

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