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!
Maintain a healthy heart by claiming, right now, your FREE copy of our definitive guide to avoiding heart disease and taking care of your ticker.
High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, can be a factor in coronary artery disease (CAD), heart failure, and stroke. But what is hypertension (otherwise known as high blood pressure)?
Well, blood pressure is just the force of blood against the inside walls of the arteries. Hypertension is a condition … Read More
Despite remarkable improvements in treatment and a growing awareness of prevention strategies, coronary heart disease (CHD) remains the leading cause of death in the U.S. However, the mortality rate for CHD is declining, and people are living longer and with a greater quality of life with this condition.
So how do some … Read More
Are foods high in cholesterol like eggs really bad for you? Before you decide to take eggs and cholesterol-rich foods completely out of your diet, be sure to read this. … Read More
Do you have a pacemaker? If so, you’re benefiting from one of the most important developments in the history of medical technology. When the heart’s natural timing circuits go on the fritz, and if medication falls short, pacemakers can come to the rescue. Heart conditions that used to be fatal … Read More
Change is inevitable, especially in medicine. As new evidence emerges, clinicians often must respond in kind by adjusting their recommendations for treatment and altering the advice they give to patients. Sometimes these shifts in direction are slight, while other times they mark a sea change. And so it goes for … Read More
The thick gel found in the leaf of the aloe vera plant has been used for thousands of years to heal a variety of topical conditions. In fact, aloe gel was one of the most frequently prescribed medicines in the 18th and 19th centuries. The gel is composed of 95 to … Read More
Did you know you may have historical wonder drugs in your cabinet? And we’re not referring to your medicine cabinet. Consider your kitchen: Herbs and spices have been used as antidotes ever since mankind felt the first pangs of pain and illness. Many spices and herbs that you can find in your … Read More
You’ve probably heard high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol described as the “good” cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) as the “bad” cholesterol. But when it comes to which type of cholesterol is most important to control, who wins the HDL vs. LDL matchup?
If only it were that simple.
There’s considerable debate in medical … Read More
Dark chocolate and cocoa benefits on cardiovascular health are quite significant indeed. Consuming cocoa in dark chocolate or cocoa powder is a powerful (and delightful) way to reduce your risk of heart disease, stroke, and prediabetes. … Read More
You no doubt have heard that high cholesterol is bad for you, but what does that really mean? And exactly what is cholesterol? You may have heard terms like low-density lipoprotein or high-density lipoprotein, but which is good and which is bad? And you may wonder whether you can reduce … Read More
You are trying to access subscribers-only content. If you are a subscriber, use the form below to log in.
Subscribers will have unlimited access to the magazine that helps people live more sustainable, self-reliant lives, with feature stories on tending the garden, managing the homestead, raising healthy livestock and more!
You are trying to access subscribers-only content. If you are a subscriber, use the form below to log in.
Subscribers will have unlimited access to the magazine that helps the small-scale poultry enthusiast raise healthy, happy, productive flocks for eggs, meat or fun - from the countryside to the urban homestead!
