Risks for heart disease include obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes. Preventing or managing these conditions can improve heart health and reduce your risk of developing heart disease.
Heart disease remains the number one killer of both men and women, ahead of cancer, diabetes, and accidents. In people with heart disease, blood vessels become narrowed or blocked, reducing blood flow to the heart and brain, and increasing the risk for heart attack and stroke.
You may not realize you’re at risk for high blood pressure and heart disease, because high blood pressure symptoms usually don’t emerge until blood pressure has already reached a dangerous level. That’s why this disease is often termed a “silent killer.” At the dangerous stage, high blood pressure symptoms can include shortness of breath, nosebleeds, and severe headache.
Having high blood pressure over time forces the heart to work harder. Eventually, the heart begins to grow—a condition known as enlarged heart. If an enlarged heart isn’t treated with medicine, devices, or surgery, it can lead to complications such as heart failure.
Some people with an enlarged heart develop a heart murmur—a whooshing or swishing sound caused by abnormal blood flow through the heart. A heart murmur isn’t necessarily dangerous, but doctors do monitor it because it can be a sign of an underlying heart condition.
In heart disease, a sticky substance called plaque builds up in the arteries. When an area of plaque breaks off and becomes lodged in a blood vessel supplying the heart, it can block blood flow and cause part of the heart muscle to die. This is a heart attack. Heart attack symptoms include chest pain; discomfort in the arms, back, shoulders, and neck; shortness of breath; and nausea.
Poor blood flow to the heart can produce chest pain called angina. Although angina is not a heart attack, it is a sign of heart disease and can warn of a future heart attack. Other angina symptoms include discomfort in the shoulders, arms, neck, jaw, and back.
Prevent a heart attack, reduce your stroke risk, and lower your blood pressure. Avoid medications, when possible—even avoid doctor and hospital visits!
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Fats were once considered the bane of healthful diets. To stay healthy or lose weight, you needed to follow a low-fat eating plan. Indeed, saturated fat and trans fat have remained dietary pariahs, primarily because of their negative effects on cholesterol.
But, there’s no need to be completely fat-phobic. Not all … Read More
If you want to learn how to lower blood pressure, your lifestyle is one of your best weapons. By eating with your heart and blood pressure in mind, you might prevent hypertension or, if you already have it, help get your blood pressure under better control.
When it comes to hypertension, … Read More
A recent study on alcohol and blood pressure found that even one drink a day can increase blood pressure, but binge drinking poses the biggest risk. Found out how much and what types of alcoholic beverages are problematic. … Read More
Your metabolism encompasses all the chemical processes through which cells produce energy and compounds (like hormones) needed to keep your body running. A cluster of metabolic risk factors raises your risk for heart disease, diabetes, and stroke. They may occur independently, but once you present with three, your doctor may … Read More
A nurse takes your blood pressure at your annual physical. The numbers are recorded and the checkup continues. But do you know where on the blood pressure chart your levels are? Are they healthy? Too low? Too high, meaning you have hypertension? If you have high blood pressure or are … Read More
High cholesterol can have wide-ranging effects—both direct and indirect—on your heart and several other organs served by your vascular system. As cholesterol builds in the arteries of your heart, brain, and throughout your body, it usually does so silently. In some cases, the first signs of atherosclerosis may be a … Read More
90% of all strokes are associated with 10 risk factors. These 10 major causes of stroke range from smoking to lack of physical activity and increased waist circumference. But, having high blood pressure readings takes the prize. … Read More
Vitamin E benefits in the body are widespread. Learn how reducing triglycerides and cholesterol will help you get the most out of this important vitamin. … Read More
Most of the time you don’t feel a thing as the force of blood pressing against your blood vessel walls builds and damages arteries in your brain, heart, kidneys, and other areas of your body. Only when your blood pressure reaches very high levels do symptoms tend to arise. If … Read More
A number of factors—some preventable, others not—can cause abnormal cholesterol levels, or dyslipidemia, in the blood. Here are the factors that you can control:
A Poor Diet
Diets high in saturated fat and trans fat are linked to higher LDL cholesterol levels. Saturated fats are found in animal products, especially fatty red meat (beef … Read More
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