Posts Tagged ‘Heart Disease Risk’

Heart Disease Prevention Tip-4 Easy Steps to Cut Heart Disease Risk

Monday, December 26th, 2011

Almost one million people develop heart disease each year. Many die from it. The good news is there are heart disease prevention tips you can follow to decrease your risk of developing this deadly disease. Here are 4 easy step you can begin to follow now to cut heart disease by 80%.

Four Steps Cut Heart Disease Risk by Eighty Percent
By John L. Phillip

Nearly one million people fall victim to heart disease every year. The vast majority of these people are unaware that this devastating condition can be prevented with a natural approach to diet. Researchers from the European EPIC (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition) study have developed a plan that can reduce the risk of coronary artery disease by 81%.

Medical researchers understand that heart disease begins early in life and progresses to threaten life as we approach our senior years. The good news is that heart disease can be controlled and reversed by making simple changes to lifestyle and diet.

Drugs Can’t Fix Heart Disease

The typical patient diagnosed with heart disease is placed on a low fat diet and given a handful of medications including a statin. Statins cause muscle pain in 40% of those who take them and information from a study published in The Lancet journal confirms that this class of medication causes diabetes. Volumes of research confirm that high cholesterol is not the cause of heart disease, yet it remains a popular target of treatment because it’s easy to lower with drugs. Similarly, a low fat diet perpetuates and worsens heart disease as it triggers continual blood sugar surges and high triglycerides.

Correcting the Real Cause of Heart Disease

The results of the EPIC study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine demonstrate that changes in diet could lower the risk of a heart attack by 81% through inflammation reduction and lowering blood pressure. The study highlighted four dietary factors that result in heart disease.

Refined Carbohydrates, Grains and Sugar: Processed foods have become a staple in the typical diet. These foods are loaded with simple carbs that quickly break down to glucose and cause rapid blood sugar spikes. This eventually leads to insulin resistance and damages the delicate inner endothelial lining of the coronary arteries. Cut all breads, pasta, rice, sugary treats and any foods made with wheat (including whole grain) or corn.

Excess Omega-6 Vegetable Oils: Vegetable oils are stable at room temperature and are used in virtually all baked and processed foods to enhance flavor and increase shelf life. Excess amounts of vegetable fats trigger the release of inflammatory chemical messengers that increase oxidative stress and damage the vascular system. Don`t use vegetable oils for cooking and avoid all fried foods and corn fed meats.

Omega-3 Fat Deficiency: Our modern diet is virtually void of health-sustaining Omega-3 fats that have been a part of the human diet for countless generations. The proper ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 fats is ideally 1:1. Experts agree that many people are closer to a 20:1 ratio. This creates an imbalance and promotes systemic inflammation. Include tuna, salmon, sardines, nuts and seeds to balance your fat ratio or include a high potency fish oil supplement.

Oxidative Stress: The normal course of breathing, eating and moving generates free radicals that can damage our genetic structure and cause LDL cholesterol to become oxidized. We can’t avoid the process entirely but we can include healthy quantities of fresh vegetables, berries and targeted supplements to negate the effects of free radicals on our heart and other organs.

Heart disease is the leading killer of people in western society. Most of these deaths can be prevented by following a natural diet and adopting a healthy lifestyle. Reduce your risk of death from heart disease by making these changes today and live to pass the word to your great grandchildren.

Read More Expert Advice on Diet, Health and Nutrition, and Download your Free Weight Loss EBook!

John Phillip is a Health Researcher and Author of ‘Your Healthy Weight Loss Plan’, a comprehensive EBook explaining how to use Diet, Exercise and Targeted Supplementation to naturally achieve your healthy Weight Loss goal. Visit http://myoptimalhealthresource.blogspot.com/ to download your Free 48 page copy.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_L._Phillip

These are easy heart disease prevention tips you can follow each day to cut your risk of heart disease by a whopping 80%. Some people also like to keep their arteries clear by taking a special vitamin called Vita Che. To learn more about this powerful supplement, visit Vita-Che-THE PRODUCT OF CHOICE FOR CIRCULATORY HEALTH! at http://tinyurl.com/d34e4yy

To Your Heart’s Health
Monique Hawkins

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Heart Disease Treatment Tips – Six Tips for Successful Heart Disease Prevention

Monday, May 16th, 2011

Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in most of the developed world. The incidence of cardiovascular problems continues to rise. Some blame it on the stress of modern life, the abundance of unhealthy food, the pollution in the water we drink, and the air we breathe. While these problems all are have a part, many times it comes down to individual lifestyle choices that people make. Let’s look at 6 tips that will help put you in control of your health!

Tip #1: Listen to your doctor. If you have some developing risk factors for heart disease, your doctor will have suggestions for you to follow. You may be given medications as well. It is extremely important to take them as prescribed. High blood pressure, high cholesterol and other cardiovascular problems are all “silent.” You don’t feel anything until it is too late. There is no saying, “Well, I feel fine today so I’m not taking my medication.” You doctor knows what she/he is doing so follow their instructions. If you don’t like them and care to go the supplement route, you can always get another opinion.

Tip #2: Don’t miss appointments using the same faulty reasoning. Sure, you do feel fine, but it’s important to keep a close eye on any cardiovascular problems. You doctor will recommend tests or screenings that monitor your progress. Adjustments to medications are commonly done to make sure your progress is optimal. As cholesterol is normalized, you may be able to take less medicine and rely more on correct diet and exercise to control this heart disease risk factor.

Tip #3: Your doctor can’t do it all. It is up to you to make those recommended lifestyle changes and stick with them. Giving up old habits and starting new ones can be rough, so think of some create ways to encourage your success. Lots of people enjoy journaling or keeping a record book of their diet and exercise changes. An attractive journal with daily entries can help keep you motivated. When you see your progress, you are reminded of the reason why you are making these changes. This gives you have a sense of ownership of the situation.

Tip #4: If you check your blood pressure at home or while shopping, write it down in your journal too. Remember that blood pressure readings can vary greatly throughout the day. What you are looking for is a pattern or an average of your readings. Don’t take your blood pressure during times of stress or right after heavy exercise. Sit and relax for at least 15 minutes before taking you blood pressure. Your doctor will help you learn to take accurate readings.

Tip #5: Look for ways to increase your movement. A sedentary lifestyle is a major risk factor in heart disease. Do you really have to drive those two blocks to the post office? Try walking instead. Every little bit of extra movement gets the blood flowing and helps with circulation. Instead of emailing or calling your co-worker just down the hall, get up and take a walk down to communicate with them.

Tip #6: Stay current on the latest developments in heart research. New studies are reported in the media almost daily. Yes, you’ll find conflicting research, so be aware that what studies show today may change by next year. There is a great amount of useful material and new discoveries that can help you take care of your health and your heart.

All of these are simple heart disease prevention tips you can follow that will keep your heart healthy.

To Your Heart’s Health
Monique Hawkins
540-858-2885 anytime
Skype: Monique371

Cardiovascular Heart Disease-To Statin or Not To Statin

Friday, July 16th, 2010

We all know that cardiovascular hypertension, cardiovascular stroke, cardiovascular angina, cardiovascular heart disease risk factors, cardiovascular heart diabetes, and cardiovascular heart failure is on the rise in the United States and other countries. This is really an issue that should lead to a good discussion with your doctor. There is considerable debate and it is getting heated!

The debate about the use of statin drugs to lower cholesterol continues as new analysis of prior studies show that statins really did nothing to lower the death rate of patients with risk factors for cardiovascular heart disease. These are people who have not had a previous heart attack or stroke but are taking the cholesterol lowering drugs in an attempt to stave off a first occurrence of either one.

A second study brings into question the validity of a 2008 study that concluded one particular statin did prevent heart attacks. This would appear to be bad news for the pharmacological companies and for patients taking the drugs. It is primarily due to research that showed statins prevent heart attacks that these medicines are second only to antipsychotic drugs in sales in the United States. They are widely prescribed in hopes of lowering the risk for fatal heart attacks.

But, another study was recently published that showed statins had a beneficial result in preventing further incidence of prostate cancer in men who had surgery for this cancer. The debate over these medicines is a hot one. Many researchers and doctors are firm believers in the benefits to patients taking these medicines.

Lowering cholesterol, preventing cardiovascular disease, and stopping heart attacks is a goal that every physician wants to achieve. Both sides of the debate have the patients’ health in mind, but how best to attain that goal?

Some doctors and researchers now believe the risks to the patients are too great, the statins are not worth the hope of lowering fatal heart attacks and strokes. The most reasonable voice right now may be the one that advises doctors talk to their patients and explain that right now there are conflicting results and an intense debate. The issues will be clearer with future.

To Your Heart’s Health

Monique Hawkins
540-858-2885
mentormonique@gmail.com
Remember to sign up for my “You Deserve To Have A Healthy Heart” Newsletter!

P.S. For more information about Vita Che, the natural Roto Rooter for your arteries, visit this online nutrition store at http://699456.shopvitamark.com

Women's Heart  Problems-Two Tips for A Strong Healthy Heart

Friday, May 14th, 2010

Base and diaphragmatic surface of heart.
Image via Wikipedia

Everyone needs a strong, healthy heart. This is important because our hearts is like an engine that drives our active lifestyle, and it must be in good health to maintain our muscles and bones, keep our minds sharp, and have an on-going sharp mind. Here are two tips that will help you as a woman keep a strong heart.

Tip #1: Get a heart scan after menopause. It’s scary to think about but even women with normal cholesterol levels can have heart disease! Dr. Mehdi Razavi, a heart specialist at the Texas Heart Institute, says for women to talk to their doctor about getting a coronary artery scan. The test measures calcium accumulation in the arteries which is a predictor of heart disease risk. It also can spot troubles when other tests such as those that test cholesterol levels, are normal.

Tip #2: Go Mediterranean. There are many heart-healthy diets around today. However, not all are created equal. It seems the diet that beats them all is the Mediterranean diet which prevents and even reverses heart disease. Women whose diets include monounsaturated fats from olive and canola oils, nuts, fish, along with loads of fruits and vegetables rduced their reoccurence of heart problems by a whopping 50-70% according to the Lyon Diet Heart Study in Paris.

These are two easy things that women with heart problems and those who do not have heart problems can do to develop a strong heart and prevent or even reverse heart disease. Make sure you follow these tips today!

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Heart Disease Treatments-Exercise for A Healthy Heart

Sunday, November 15th, 2009

One effective heart disease prevention strategy and one of the most effective heart disease treatments is exercising.

Research has shown that heart disease risk is significantly reduced with regular exercise. A National Institute of Health panel recommends that adults and children engage in moderate-intensity physcial activity for at least 30 minutes on most days.

What’s even better is that brisk walking also keeps our minds sharp. Recently compiled results of a study involving 72,488 women aged 40 to 65 showed that as little as three hours of brisk walking a week reduced the risk of heart disease by 40%. Even better, 5 hours a week of brisk walking reduced the risk by a whopping 50%!

To get this benefit, your walking rate must be 3 miles an hour. It can’t be a leisurely stroll.

Any woman or man can use this heart disease treatment. Even better, the cost is free! So, make sure you make time in your weekly schedule to grab a pair of good walking shoes, and go for a walk. Your heart will thank you for it!

Remember to sign up for my “You Deserve to Have A Healthy Heart” newsletter.

To Your Success,
Monique Hawkins
540-858-2885
SKype: Monique371
mentormonique@gmail.com

Heart Disease and Women-Heart Disease and Your Weight

Friday, October 23rd, 2009

Many factors contribute to women having heart disease. Did you know that you should be very careful with your weight if you don’t want to develop this very serious disease? Here is why.

Heart Disease and Your Weight

By Jennifer R. Scott, About.com

Updated: December 08, 2008
http://weightloss.about.com/od/obesityhealth/a/heartdisease.htm

What is Heart Disease?
Heart disease is a number of abnormal conditions affecting the heart and the blood vessels in the heart. Types of heart disease include coronary artery disease, heart failure, and arrhythmia. The most common form of heart disease is coronary artery disease, a narrowing or blockage of coronary arteries, which is the major reason people have heart attacks.

How Prevalent is Heart Disease?
According to the Centers for Disease Control, heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and is a major cause of disability. In 2002, almost 700,000 people died of heart disease, just over half of which were women. These statistics mean that nearly 30% all U.S. deaths were due to heart disease.

Heart disease has been the deadliest health condition for women for 100 years. According to the American Heart Association, heart disease has been the leading killer of adult females since 1908.

How is Weight Connected to Heart Disease?
Overweight is considered a major risk factor for both coronary heart disease and heart attack. Being 20% overweight or more significantly increases your risk for developing heart disease, especially if you have a lot of abdominal fat. The American Heart Association has found that even if you have no other related health conditions, obesity itself increases risk of heart disease.

Being sedentary causes heart disease risk to increase, possibly even more so for women -– inactive females are more likely to become diabetic, have high blood pressure and/or high cholesterol. All three of these conditions increase the chance of developing heart disease.

Apples vs. Pears
Your risk of developing heart disease may be heightened even more by the way your weight is distributed on your body. Being overweight and “apple-shaped” — meaning you carry most of your excess weight in your abdominal area — is considered riskier than being overweight and “pear-shaped.” Apple-shaped individuals also have many other increased health risks including high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, diabetes, and stroke.

To find out if your waistline increases your risk of heart disease, you can measure yourself with a measuring tape. You may need a partner to help you measure accurately. The measurement should be taken at the narrowest part of your waist. A high-risk waistline is 35 inches or higher for women and 40 inches or higher for men.

What You Can Do
The good news is, reducing your weight by just 10% can begin to lower your risk of developing heart disease and other obesity-related health problems. Heart disease can often be connected to “known risk factors” with being overweight considered a “modifiable” risk factor (a risk you can do something to prevent). Age and race, on the other hand, are “nonmodifiable” risk factors.

In addition to managing your weight, you can reduce your chances of developing heart disease by controlling other related risk factors such as: controlling your blood pressure, lowering your cholesterol, quitting smoking and getting enough exercise.

A healthy diet is also an important part of lowering your risk of heart disease. The American Heart Association recommends a diet that contains no more than 30% of daily calories from fat. For example, if you eat a diet of 2,000 calories per day, no more than 600 calories should come from fat.

To assess your caloric intake and recommended calories from fat, visit My Fat Translator, a Web site from the American Heart Association.

To learn more about heart disease, visit The American Heart Association or About.com’s Heart Disease site.

Sources:

American Heart Association. Diseases & Conditions. 1 February 2008.

American Heart Association. Obesity & Overweight. 1 February 2008.

Centers for Disease Control. CDC Heart Disease. 7 February 2008.

Centers for Disease Control. CDC Deaths,Leading Causes for 2002. National Vital Statistics Reports 2005;53(17) as qtd. in DHDSP – Heart Disease – Facts and Statistics. 7 February 2008.

U.S. National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health/Medline Plus. Medline Plus: Heart Diseases 4 February 2008.

I hope you enjoyed the article! Also, remember to sign up for my “You Deserve to Have A Healthy Heart” newsletter.

To Your Success,
Monique Hawkins
540-858-2885
SKype: Monique371
mentormonique@gmail.com

Heart Disease Treatments-How to Use Green Tea To Prevent Heart Disease

Sunday, October 18th, 2009

There are many heart disease treatments available today. Personally, as someone who enjoys learning how nutritional supplements and herbs to help the body heal itself, I find this information I will be sharing today very interesting.

The article covers much about heart disease treatments, but the green tea information was great and something anyone can do.

So, I hope you enjoy the article! Remember to take green tea every day. Also, remember to sign up for my “You Deserve to Have A Healthy Heart” newsletter.

To Your Success,
Monique Hawkins
540-858-2885
SKype: Monique371
mentormonique@gmail.com

Using Green Tea to Help Prevent Heart Disease
By Jon Stout

Many of us who are trying to prevent heart disease have begun to take steps to change our lifestyle so that we can reduce our risk of heart disease. And, it’s important to note that heart disease is one killer that you can do much to prevent. Sure, if you have a family history of heart disease, you are immediately at a higher risk than those who don’t; but the biggest risk factors for most of us are the life we lead. Many heart disease risk factors are entirely preventable.

Dietary and exercise habits are two of the most important ways to reduce your risk of heart disease. A sedentary lifestyle and poor diet are surefire ways to get cardiovascular disease as you get older. Here are ways you can improve your lifestyle to reduce your risk.

Exercise – Most doctors recommend some form of cardiovascular exercise for at least 30 minutes, at least 3 times a week. Many doctors suggest walking as your primary form of cardiovascular exercise. This is because walking is something everyone can do, and it requires no special equipment, beyond a good pair of shoes. You can walk anywhere, and as you gain strength and endurance, it’s easy to make your walk more difficult simply by walking longer and adding some hills to your walk.

Many doctors also recommend that you get in about 15 minutes of strength training 3 times a week. Strength training will help you build muscle, which will make you stronger overall. Muscle also burns more calories at rest than fat, so adding muscle will help you burn more calories in a day.

Diet – A diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol is important for heart health. Limit red meats, butter, and eggs. Learn to read food labels, and avoid any food whose ingredients include “partially hydrogenated” anything, anything with trans fats and anything with “high fructose corn syrup”.

Your diet should also be rich in fresh fruits and vegetables. Not only will this help you reduce the amount of fatty foods in your diet, but it will also provide vitamins, nutrients and anti-oxidants. Anti-oxidants are critical because they fight free radicals that are created in the body as we convert our food to energy. These free radicals damage cells and DNA, eventually leading to disease and aging if we don’t consume enough anti-oxidants to neutralize them.

Lose weight- One of the best things you can do to help your heart stay healthy is to maintain a normal weight. If you follow the diet and exercise plan mentioned above, you should be able to lose weight without a lot of trouble.

Don’t smoke – Smoking significantly increases your risk for heart disease, as well as your risk for cancer. It also contributes to high blood pressure, which contributes to heart disease as well.

Know your numbers – Know your cholesterol levels, and know your blood pressure. High blood pressure and high cholesterol levels lead to heart disease. The diet and exercise plan outlined above can help you lower blood cholesterol and blood pressure levels naturally. However, for some people, diet and exercise are not enough. Other factors, such as family history, may cause you to have high blood pressure or high cholesterol no matter how much you diet and exercise.

For this reason, it’s important to work with your doctor to determine the best approach for getting your cholesterol and blood pressure in line. He can help you come up with the right combination of diet, exercise and medication, if necessary to protect your heart health.

Drink green tea – Drinking green tea each day may be the easiest thing you can do to protect your heart. Many studies in recent years have pointed to green tea as an effective way to prevent many forms of disease, including cardiovascular disease. Green tea has been shown to work in several ways:

Green tea seems to prevent cholesterol from turning into arterial plaque – Some studies have shown that green tea prevented the oxidation of LDL cholesterol. Oxidation is the process by which LDL cholesterol hardens and sticks to arterial walls, narrowing the arteries. When arteries are narrowed, you are at a higher risk of stroke and heart attack.

Green tea is very high in anti-oxidants – As mentioned above, anti-oxidants are potent disease fighters. And, green tea is loaded with some of the most potent anti-oxidants you can find.

One study was performed to see if adding green tea to your diet could improve your body’s overall oxidative status. This study, reported by the UK Tea Council examined a group of healthy participants. All of the participants were placed on a heart healthy diet. Half of the participants were also given two cups of green tea each day. The results were quite impressive.

After 42 days, the participants who consumed green tea showed lower blood plasma lipid levels, lower LDL cholesterol and higher resistance to oxidative damage than the participants who ate a healthy diet, but did not drink the green tea.

The study concluded that, when coupled with an overall healthy diet, green tea can improve your body’s lipid and cholesterol levels and make you more resistant to the oxidative damage of free radicals.

Green tea may create thermogenesis – In some studies, green tea has been shown to help burn fat and regulate blood sugar. This is especially important to those who need to lose a few pounds for optimum heart health.

So, as you can see, drinking green tea may have lots of potential in the battle against heart disease. And, it’s such an easy beverage to add to your diet. Green tea is inexpensive and readily available.

Green tea can be found in loose form, tea bag form and bottled. Whether your preference is hot or cold, flavored or plain, there is probably a green tea our there that you’ll like. And, knowing that you’re helping to protect yourself from a heart attack makes green tea even more enjoyable for all of us!

Jon M. Stout is the Chairman of the Golden Moon Tea Company. Golden Moon Tea carefully selects the finest rare and orthodox teas, which are processed slowly and handcrafted with extreme care. At their website, you can learn more about their current tea offerings, including their exceptional green tea, white tea, black tea, oolong tea (also known as wu-long and wu long tea) and chai. Visit goldenmoontea.com for all details concerning the Golden Moon Tea Company’s fine line of teas.