Causes, Symptoms And Prevention Of Heart Disease

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Heart disease is a class of diseases involving the heart, blood vessels, or both. It may refer to any disease affecting the cardiovascular system of the human body, especially cardiac disease, peripheral arterial disease, and vascular disease of the kidney and brain. If you are a resident of Chennai, there are several cardiac hospitals, adept at diagnosis and treatment to patients suffering from different types of heart disease. If you want to know more about heart diseases, then the following information will definitely prove to be of help.

Causes of heart disease

There can be several factors that cause heart diseases, but hypertension and atherosclerosis are the most common one. Several morphological and physiological changes brought on by aging can also alter the functioning of your heart, leading to increased risks of developing a heart disease. There are certain factors that can increase the risk of developing atherosclerosis, which is the primary cause of heart disease. This condition is usually caused by lifestyle factors such as lack of exercise, tobacco use, unhealthy eating habits, etc. Other factors that may cause heart disease include the patients gender, age and heredity, in addition to sugar consumption, air pollution levels, psychological factors, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, etc.

Symptoms of heart disease

If you experience any of these symptoms, you probably need to see a cardiologist:

Chest pain or discomfort, characterized by any pressure, pain, numbness, choking, squeezing or any kind of discomfort in the neck, chest or upper abdominal area
Palpitations, identified by missed heartbeats, or periods of irregular or rapid heartbeats
Dizziness or lightheadedness
Loss of consciousness or fainting
Lethargy, fatigue, day-time sleepiness
Shortness of breath, especially with exertion, or while lying flat on the back

Prevention of heart disease

Any cardiologist in a heart specialist hospital such as Fortis Malar in Chennai will tell you that you need to avoid the causes of heart disease in order to prevent it. You need to practice the following measures in order to prevent heart disease:

Take high-fiber, low-fat diet, that includes whole grains, and lots of fresh fruits and veggies
Quit smoking, and avoid being near people who smoke
Limit alcohol intake
Control your blood pressure levels
Obese and over-weight people should reduce their BMI
Increase your daily activity level
Reduce your sugar consumption level
Reduce stress, and try a few relaxation therapies

An angioplasty specialist in Chennai might also prescribe you vitamins and antioxidants after careful consideration to maintain your hearts health. So, use this information to maintain and improve your hearts health.

Understanding child heart disease

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Heart disease is a disorder, which affect the proper functioning of the heart. Child heart disease is common affecting many newborn and older children. This article examines the various child heart diseases and their treatment.
Congenital Heart Disease
Heart disease is a serious ailment and often leads to premature death. Many children can also suffer from heart disease. Child heart disease is actually quite a common worldwide. When a child is born with an existing defect in the heart, it is called congenital heart disease. Congenital heart disease is fairly. It affects almost one percent of all newborn.
Often, the first diagnosis of child heart disease is made during routine examination when the pediatrician detects heart murmur. Heart murmur is the noise that the blood makes as it flows through the heart. Heart murmurs are fairly common in children. It is not necessarily a sign of child heart disease.
If a heart murmur is due to a problem in a child’s heart, it is caused either by a hole in the heart, a leaky heart valve, or constricted heart valve. To confirm the diagnosis, an examination by a pediatric cardiologist is necessary. Pediatric specializes in child heart disease.
Abnormalities of the heart may or may not be noticeable at birth. For example, a hole in the heart wall will allows blood to travel from one side to the other. In such case, the baby may have blue lips or fingers. This is one of the signs of child heart disease.
Another example of child heart disease is an abnormal heart valve, which allow blood to flow in the opposite direction. Such a problem will usually require surgery once the child is older.
Congenital heart disease must be treated promptly or it will lead to more serious complications. Hence, early detection is important. Unfortunately, many heart defects are not detected at birth resulting in more damage to the heart and requiring more extensive treatment.
Some forms of congenital heart disease are actually self-healing. However, in many cases, major surgery will be required to rectify the problems.
While there are risks associated with surgery, the chances of full recovery and a normal life are very high. So the situation is not hopeless.
Connection between Premature Infants and Heart Disease
A baby is considered premature if born before 37 weeks. Most premature babies are born with some form of heart problem. A premature infant’s organs are also not fully developed, and thus require special care in a nursery or intensive care unit while their organ systems continue growth.
Although there is no sure way to avoid premature labor, one of the most important preventive measures to receive proper prenatal care. Statistics show that proper prenatal care greatly reduces the odds of premature birth and related deaths.
The pregnant mother should also maintain a healthy lifestyle, eat a diet that is rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, keep well hydrated and have at least 30 minutes of exercise each day.
Hereditary Heart Disease
Hereditary heart disease refers to heart disease, which is passed down through genes. It is not preventable. If one has a history of heart disease in the family then one is at risk of hereditary heart disease.
The risk is greater when first-degree relatives, such as your mother, father, brother, sister and so on, have heart disease.
In rare cases, high cholesterol level runs in the family. This is called familial hypercholesterolaemia. It is a genetic problem, which results in exceptionally high level of cholesterol. As a result, there is a high of heart disease.
Hereditary heart disease is caused by various factors. Sometimes, it is merely a pattern of heart disease rather than true hereditary heart disease. These are actually avoidable. For example, the family lifestyle such as poor diet, lack of exercise and smoking. All of these factors contribute to heart disease and can be the start of the chain of hereditary heart disease. In such cases, changing these risk factors will reduce the likelihood of heart disease. This means eating a proper well-balanced diet, getting plenty of exercise, as well as avoids smoking and excessive drinking.
By living a healthy lifestyle, it is possible to reduce the risk of developing heart disease, even if one’s genes are predispose to heart disease.

How Does Nutrition Affect Heart Disease

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Can nutrition play a role in heart health? How does nutrition affect heart disease? These are really good questions and some of the answers might really surprise you. So if you have a few minutes to spare why dont we jump right into our article about how does nutrition affect heart disease.

Nutrition has been much maligned in recent years due to the so called advances in cholesterol lowering medications. The most prominent of these are the statins which work by blocking the HMG-CoA reductase enzyme which is needed for the body to produce cholesterol. Because of their effectiveness it is my belief that a certain amount of complacency has crept into many medical professional. After all, why worry about something as arcane as nutrition when statin medications can lower cholesterol faster than a cowboy can say gettie up.

But what if there were other factors at work that contributed to heart disease besides cholesterol. What if I told you that there were over 15 studies linking a destructive amino acid called homocysteine to heart disease, and nutrition can play an important role in eliminating this risk.

No one would argue that managing cholesterol is an important piece of the puzzle but we might be looking at a disease which attacks our bodies on multiple fronts.

In order for cholesterol deposits to form in our arteries the surface of the arterial wall must be torn, damaged, or roughed up in some way otherwise dangerous LDL cholesterol would float right by and eventually be disposed of in the form of solid waste. What the latest studies suggest is that homocysteine amino acids chew up cells in the lining of your blood vessels creating a rough pitted surface conducive to triggering blood clots, and/or plaque deposits consisting of cholesterol, dead cells, and calcium.

The question as to how does nutrition affect heart disease is central to managing these harmful amino acids. There are currently three B vitamins which have been shown to reduce the risk of damage for homocysteines. They are folic acid, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12. When taken together recent research suggests they work to protect and heal the lining of the arteries, thus minimizing the damage of these hazardous homocysteine amino acids. While this may be the case, researchers have yet to prove that lowering homocysteine levels alone can actually reduce the incidence of heart disease. Nevertheless, until this risk factor can be discounted it should not be ignored. Lets take each one of these nutrients individually and see what foods contain high quantities of these B vitamins.

*Folic acid: beans, whole grain, fortified wheat flower, tomatoes, citrus fruits, and green leafy vegetables.

*Vitamin B6: Asparagus, bananas, beans, bok choy, cauliflower, grains, tuna, turkey, mustard greens, and turnip greens.

*Vitamin B12: Fish, milk, poultry, eggs, and red meat

As you can see B12 may prove to be the most problematic for those striving for a heart healthy nutrition due to the high cholesterol content in many of the best natural sources, with fish being the exception due to its high omega 3 fatty acid content. The good news is that B12 nutritional supplements are both affordable and readily available at your local supermarket or drugstore.

What else? Certainly we have answered many of the questions surrounding how does nutrition affect heart disease. While this may be the case homocysteine management alone will not carry the day prompting many to enlist the help of a natural cholesterol reduction supplement. Natural cholesterol supplements are very safe and have been found to be an excellent tool for lowering bad cholesterol (LDL) and triglyceride levels.

Ashvaganda – Treatment Of Many Diseases

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Ashvaganda shown in the treatment of heart disease, when they felt palpitations, a feeling of disruption in the work of the heart, a sense of numbness and contraction in the chest, as well as pain in the heart pulsating, lomyaschego or explosive nature. This disturbed sleep, shortness of breath, dry cough, constipation, often dark circles under the eyes, Patient annoying noise and loud speech. Attacks usually occur after exhaustion at work, or excessive physical activities. There is concern, timorousness fear, anxiety, sometimes fainting, after which the symptoms are worsening.

In cases of hypertension, which is accompanied by a non-permanent, periodic manifestations and nervous disorders, ashvaganda used long-term, so when this current hypertension shows, primarily, it is toning therapy.

It can be used ashvaganda and urinary tract infections, which are accompanied by a long chronic course with exacerbations. In this case ashvaganda acts as a kidney tonic, of particular importance is ashvaganda as a means to treat relation impotence in men, as well as an excellent tonic for the male reproductive system. In this context, illustrates the use ashvaganda and in the treatment of prostate and genital herpes (genital herpes without any redness, inflammation, and is accompanied by dry skin, constipation, insomnia and breakdown).

Ashvaganda and used in the treatment of premenstrual syndrome, which is accompanied by concern, depression, insomnia, constipation, headache and severe painful spasms. There is nervousness, excitement, distraction, possible dizziness, tinnitus, fainting, rapidly changing moods and capricious. A woman can feel the excitement, a sense of its irrelevance, the feeling of cold, thirst and dryness of the skin. It may seem that she was dying. May have thought about suicide, but with the beginning of menstruation, all this takes place. Characteristic small, just a few days, with increased duration of menstrual pain in the dawn and at dusk (the wool)

Well suited ashvaganda and for the treatment of amenorrhea (absence of menstruation or late), hemorrhagic (menstrual bleeding profusely), (whites – brown, sticky and dry, with a pronounced soreness), as well as menopause.

Of the other special conditions of women, it should be noted it particularly useful in pregnancy, and abortion, and in treatment of female infertility.

Shown ashvaganda and in treatment of chronic, without high temperature, fever, which usually requires toning therapy.

Ashvaganda is useful in arthritis, where it is necessary to stop the degenerative and atrophic processes in the bone tissue, but care should be that hard, by their nature are not increased tonic education toxins from undigested food.

It showed good efficacy in complex therapy of cancer, clinical trials proved that. In this case, the high dose – 30 grams per day and above.

It contributes to growth hormone, and for the elderly, it is the primary means to strengthen the bones and joints, as well as helping with impotence, belyah and urinary incontinence.

It was a good positive effect which is accompanied by dry skin, anxiety, insomnia, constipation, digestion, and the volatility often occurs after severe fright or severe illness.

And, of course, ashvaganda is one of the most important means of Ayurvedic treatments for disorders of the nervous system. In particular, ashvaganda apply to failure, and degenerative processes such as multiple sclerosis. Ashvaganda essential tool for the treatment of anxiety accompanying many neurological disorders, this is a good way to treat insomnia, migraines, as well as with epilepsy

Used ashvaganda and with violations in connection with the yogic practices such as Pranayama or the awakening Kundalini. Kundalini can also get out of control in the strong meditative techniques or as a result of receiving the drug.

It useful in treatment of smoking among the representatives and drug abuse among all types

Preventing Heart Attack

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DID YOU KNOW?

In 2008, heart related diseases accounted for 24% of all deaths caused by non-communicable diseases. In other words 12,57,936 people died of heart diseases or cardiovascular diseases (CVDs).

In 2004, total number of deaths due to ischaemic heart disease (IHD) was 5,54,194. Out of that 2,55,782 people died in urban areas while 2,98,412 died in rural areas.

The total number of DALYs for IHD in 2004 was estimated at 1,60,00,808. (1 DALY equals one lost year of healthy life.) The total number of YLL (Years of Life Lost due to premature death) for IHD stood at 49,52,150.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) related deaths are expected to rise from 27 lakh in 2004 to 40 lakh by 2030.

The prevalence of coronary heart disease (CHD) ranges from 6.6% to 12.7% in urban and 2.1% to 4.3% in rural India, among those aged 20 years or older.

It is estimated that there are currently 3 crore CHD patients, with 1.4 crore residing in rural and 1.6 crore in urban areas. But these are likely underestimates given that surveys do not include those CHD patients without the symptoms.

As compared to other countries CVD in India is characterized by early onset and premature death and higher cases of deaths related to complications from CVD. Also the diseases manifest more easily in Indians than their Western counterparts, particularly from risk-factors like overweight and obesity.

CVD disproportionately affects the young in India with 52% of deaths occurring under the age of 70 years compared to just 23% in Western countries.

Consequently, the country suffers a very high loss in potential productive years of life because of premature CVD deaths among those aged 35 to 64 years: 92 lakh years lost in 2000 and 1.79 crore years expected to be lost in 2030.

HOW DO I KNOW IF I’M HAVING A HEART ATTACK?

A heart attack takes place when blood supply to a part of the heart is interrupted, causing heart cells to die. The interruption is caused by accumulation of fatty particles called plaque inside the walls of the pipes (arteries) carrying blood to the heart. A lack of blood supply results in the shortage of oxygen, which if left untreated for a sufficient period of time leads to death.

A heart attack is a medical emergency and should be attended to with highest priority. The most common symptom for a heart attack is chest pain. The sensation is often described as tightness, pressure or squeezing. The pain may be felt in only one part of the body or it may also move from the chest to the left arm (most often), lower jaw, neck, right arm, back, and upper central region of the abdomen. Other symptoms of a heart attack include anxiety, cough, fainting, light headedness/dizziness, nausea or vomiting, palpitations, shortness of breath and sweating which may be heavy.

HOW CAN I PREVENT IT?
Cardiovascular diseases such as coronary heart disease (CHD) or ischaemic heart disease (IHD) lead to a heart attack. Such diseases are non-communicable, i.e., they do not spread through infection or contamination. Also known as lifestyle diseases, their onset depends on health habits in most cases. Keeping the blood pressure in strict control by eating food that is less in fat and oil content, cessation of smoking, limitation of alcohol intake and regular physical exercise can reduce the incidence of heart diseases and heart attacks by a great margin. In addition, regular screening of the heart with a preventive health check-up helps in early detection of blockage. Some of the tests commonly recommended are lipid profile, 2D echocardiogram, CT scan, etc.