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September 18, 2022 By Heart Disease Go

How Obesity and Heart Disease are Related

Obesity And Heart Disease

In the opinion of many medical professionals, obesity and heart disease are only indirectly related. The major risk factors for heart disease (such as hypertension, high cholesterol, and even arteriosclerosis) were attributed to the degree of obesity. Despite obesity being a contributing factor to many of these conditions, studies now indicate a more direct link between obesity and heart disease.

For example, today’s modern anaesthetics can cause health problems such as increased blood pressure after surgery and weight gain. Combining this with the fact that most obese people are sedentary can quickly lead to heart and lung problems in people with obesity.

How does obesity cause coronary heart disease?

the answer is that excess body fat increases the production of cholesterol (fat soluble material) and lipoproteins (particles that carry lipids in the blood). these substances subsequently lead to fatty deposits in the walls of arterial vessels. this narrowing of the arteries is known as arteriosclerosis and is one of the primary causes of coronary heart disease.

What’s the link between diabetes and atherosclerosis?

Yes. Increased blood sugar (hyperglycemia) can have harmful effects on your heart. Diabetes can worsen underlying coronary artery disease and increase your risk of heart attack and stroke.

If you have diabetes, you’re at higher risk of developing coronary artery disease than people without diabetes. In fact, people with diabetes are two to four times more likely to have a heart attack or stroke than people without diabetes.

Does being overweight increase the risk of heart attack or stroke?

If your BMI is over 30, and your health is good, eating whatever you feel like isn’t usually a good idea.

Being overweight increases the risk of having a stroke or a heart attack. A greater amount of effort is required for you to breathe when you are overweight. If you eat too much food, your liver cannot process the excess food in your body. This is like eating a paper bag full of food instead of eating a healthy balanced meal each day.

Lifestyle factors

Lifestyle decisions such as diet, nutrition, and physical activity play a large part in the risk of cardiovascular problems. Physical activity has been shown to reduce high blood pressure and cholesterol levels as well as maintain weight. The American Diabetes Association estimates that 1 in 4 Americans will have diabetes by the year 2050. Diabetes is a disease that can increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease by 2 to 4 times in people with Type 2 diabetes.

In addition to those factors related to lifestyle, genetic predisposition and endocrine disorders are other factors believed to contribute to cardiovascular disease in those with obesity.

A More Direct Link?

Recent longitudinal studies indicate that while obesity can affect a number of risk factors for heart disease, the two are also directly related in that obesity can be a predictive indicator of heart disease. In a fourteen year study, it was indicated that middle-aged women with a BMI index of greater than twenty-three, but less than twenty-five still had an approximate 50% increase in the risk of both fatal and non-fatal coronary heart disease. This indicates a clear, direct connection between obesity and heart disease.

Who Gets It?

Both men and women are affected equally by obesity when it comes to heart health. However, studies have shown an increased risk of coronary heart disease in obese white women when compared to obese white men. This is due to the obesity epidemic in the United States being particularly prevalent in white women.

Other associations of obesity with heart disease include:

  • Gout to heart disease association
  • Low sex hormone levels, especially in women

Another factor that may connect severe obesity and heart disease more directly is that of abnormalities in the left ventricular mass and function of the heart. While in the majority of cases, these abnormalities are seen in the presence of both hypertension and obesity, there are recorded causes where these abnormalities are seen without hypertension being apparent. In such cases, the only condition that appears to affect the condition of the heart is severe obesity. This information indicates that obesity and heart disease are intricately linked and can definitely lead to congestive heart failure.

Treatment Choices for Obesity and Heart Disease

Since a connection, either direct or indirect, has long been established between obesity and heart disease, the medical profession has developed a number of avenues over the years to combat these two related problems.

Several studies demonstrate that being overweight can lead to heart disease—the most common type of heart illness. In fact, some of these studies have also shown that losing as little as 5% of your body weight can dramatically reducing your risk of cardiovascular disease.

In certain patients with congestive heart failure, for instance, sodium restriction and even a small reduction in weight may dramatically improve the function of the heart and lead to a reduction in the risk of heart disease. In fact, a number of studies have indicated that a drastic weight loss, such as after gastro-intestinal surgery, greatly decreases the occurrence of both heart disease and insulin based diabetes.

With the rise of smartphones and other portable media devices, many people constantly on-the-go are now choosing to walk instead of drive. This often requires them to eat on the go.

Walkability has become an increasingly important feature for cities, and many U.S. cities have been encouraging their citizens to leave the car behind and take more steps to get around. Companies and organizations can encourage healthy living by offering healthier, more nutritious food options in convenient places. Two recent Maine laws, for example, have been intended to incentivize the convenience and service industries to provide healthy food options in Maine, thus encouraging everyone to eat healthier. Many companies offer discounted or free healthy meal options, including Subway, McDonald’s and Applebee’s.

Studies have shown that people who exercise on a regular basis spend less on health care. Exercise is also known to improve concentration and memory, relieve anxiety and depression, and reduce risks for heart disease and stroke. Many workplaces have wellness programs to encourage employees to exercise and eat healthier..

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adults need at least 2 hours 30 minutes of moderate-intensity or 1 hour and 15 minutes of high-intensity aerobic physical activity each week. One way to be sure you are getting the recommended amount of physical activity is to track your activity in a physical activity log or pedometer. People with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or heart or lung disease should talk to their health care provider about how much physical activity is safe for them.

The Balance of Hope

Despite medical advances, heart disease remains America’s number one killer. Diet and lifestyle changes can help prevent heart disease from occurring in the first place. Having a body mass index between 18.5 and 24.9 is considered a healthy weight. If a person’s body mass index is between 25 and 29.9, it indicates the person is overweight; if it is above this range, the person is considered obese.

There are, of course, any number of ways to treat both obesity and heart disease. These can include changes in diet and exercise practices, medication, and sometimes even surgery. Only you and your doctor can decide what choice is best for you. Whatever method is chosen, the connection between obesity and heart disease is becoming clearer every day.

August 21, 2014 By Heart Disease Go

Doctor Approved Ways to Prevent Heart Disease

Back Of The HeartToday’s modern medicine has made great strides in determining the causes of heart diseases, as well as ways to treat and prevent it. Just fifty years ago, most people didn’t go to the doctor unless they were sick, and the medical profession itself didn’t really warn its patients about heart disease, unless the person showed serious signs of it or had a close family member with the disease. Now, thankfully, a much more pro-active approach is taken by both the patient and the doctor in preventing heart disease, as well as treating it.

An Ounce of Prevention

Perhaps one of the best ways to prevent heart disease is to change the patient’s outlook on diet and exercise. It has been shown, time and time again, by such medical groups as the American Medical Association and the American Heart Association that a diet low in fat and low in calories is a great way to lower a person’s cholesterol, which is a major risk factor when it comes to heart disease. Add to that a regular doctor approved exercise routine and regular monitoring by the family doctor, and you will be an active participant in the battle to prevent heart disease.

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One thing to always remember, of course, is that you and your doctor should be a team in the challenge to prevent heart disease. Routine monitoring of such things as your blood pressure, cholesterol level, general weight and health, as well as indications of other diseases that might complicate the situation are all very important things that both you and your chosen medical professional should be on the look out for. So, even if you’re not overly concerned about preventing heart disease, see your doctor on a regular basis and talk with them. Depending on what is uncovered, you can possibly get a head start on your race to prevent heart disease.

When Exercise and Diet Aren’t Enough

While good diet and regular exercise are great ways to help prevent heart disease, sometimes they simply aren’t enough. Occasionally, your doctor will prescribe different medicines, to help with the battle. The most common ones are those that either help regulate and lower high blood pressure or help the body process and lower the concentrations of cholesterol. Whether or not prescription drugs are needed for your situation should be decided after a serious consultation with your doctor and some monitoring of your health and lifestyle. There are many drugs out there to help prevent heart disease, and your doctor can discuss all the options available.

Trying to prevent heart disease is definitely something that should be on the forefront of everyone’s mind. It is one of the leading killers of both men and women in the United States today. By working with your doctor, and following a sensible low fat diet and exercise plan, your efforts to prevent heart disease will not be in vain.

August 16, 2014 By Heart Disease Go

Rheumatic Heart Disease is Treatable

Elderly Woman With Heart Disease Rheumatic heart disease, also called rheumatic fever, occurs when an untreated strep throat infection migrates to the joints and heart, causing fever, muscle aches, and possible permanent heart valve damage. Just as “rheumatism” refers to joint pain, “rheumatic” fever gets its name because one of its main symptoms is actually pain in the joints rather than the heart.

The National Institute of Health estimate that rheumatic heart disease develops in about 3% of untreated strep throat infections in the United States. Because mainly young people get strep, accordingly rheumatic heart disease mostly strikes people aged between six and fifteen years old.

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Most people in the west who get strep will never develop rheumatic heart disease, because the strep throat infection is treated effectively with antibiotics. However, if fever, irregular heart beat, nodes under the skin, and other symptoms appear after a strep infection, a doctor will perform lab tests to diagnose rheumatic fever.

Penicillin treats rheumatic heart disease symptoms, including the contraction of the heart, which may damage heart valves; however, there is no cure for the disease, and patients must continue with penicillin injections. Some doctors argue this treatment should continue for the rest of the patient’s life. Left untreated, besides the symptoms of physical pain, rheumatic heart disease can cause permanent heart valve damage. Without surgery, heart valve damage can lead to fatal heart failure.

Cases And Treatment Worldwide

Doctors working with the Australian National Heart Foundation are working on a vaccine to prevent rheumatic fever. After an unexplained jump in the number of cases among the Aboriginal population of Australia from 2004 to 2006, doctors launched the world’s most advanced investigation of rheumatic heart disease.

In New Zealand as well, rheumatic fever is a problem among some populations, and the treatment there is penicillin shots every month for ten years. One famous rugby player, a childhood victim of rheumatic heart disease, admits to “getting lazy” about having his shots, and the symptoms of the disease returned to him as an adult. Luckily, he knew his problem and how to get help. Some people, especially those with little access to health care, simply suffer through fever attacks, and fall victim to heart valve failure.

In fact, the World Heart Federation in Geneva, Switzerland calls rheumatic fever a disease born of poverty. Though it is easily prevented by a good strep throat treatment, many young people of the world do not have access to the healthcare that would keep their heart valves healthy and extend their lives.

August 10, 2014 By Heart Disease Go

The Cause of Heart Disease is Not Your Parents

Elderly Woman With Heart DiseaseIf your mother and your father had heart disease, and their parents before them, you may feel doomed to heart failure. While it is true that heredity is a cause of heart disease, it is only a factor among many others. One recent study even says heredity accounts for less than 10% of a person’s risk of developing heart disease.

So, What is the Other 90%?

Doctors do not agree on the number one cause of heart disease, but smoking, obesity, and high cholesterol are the frontrunners in any study.

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The chemicals in cigarettes damage artery walls, making it easier for cholesterol deposits to build an unhealthy, blood-blocking home in the body. Smoking also makes platelets, the component of blood that causes clotting, to be more active, and hence the risk of a killer clot rises.

A body needs cholesterol and can actually produce all it needs, so when we ingest foods high in cholesterols, like dairy and meat products, our bodies get a lot more cholesterol than they need. The body saves cholesterol instead of excreting it, and that cholesterol gets stored along the walls of the arteries. Too many cholesterol deposits lead to artery blockage and clots.

High blood pressure is also a major cause of heart disease. Imagine this, your arteries are narrowed because of all that cholesterol stored in there, yet your body is the same size and needs the same amount of blood; so your heart is trying to pump a lot of blood through a passage that is getting too small. Just as the motor of an air conditioner can get worn out trying to push air through a filter that no one has cleaned, your heart can overtax itself trying to force blood through blocked passages.

Obesity, not just because of all the health problems that come with it, is another cause of heart disease. Often obesity comes with high cholesterol and blood pressure, which we know increase the risk of heart disease, but new studies are also showing a correlation between abdominal fat and heart disease in a way that is not yet fully understood. Either way, as the circumference of stomach increases, the risk of heart disease seems to increase more.

Also, stress causes an overall decline in health and is particularly associated with heart disease. So, unless your parents are stressing you out enough to cause a heart attack, they are not the cause of heart disease.

August 10, 2014 By Heart Disease Go

Guide to Coronary Heart Disease

Cross Section Of A HeartCoronary heart disease (CHD), also known as coronary artery disease (CAD) and atherosclerotic heart disease, is the result of accumulation of atheromatous plaques (an abnormal inflammatory accumulation of the macrophage white blood cells) within the walls of the arteries.

The symptoms and signs of coronary heart disease can only be noted in the advanced state of the disease. Most individuals who suffer from coronary heart disease can have no evidence of its existence for long periods of time before they have a stroke.

Causes of Coronary Heart Disease

  • Family history of coronary heart disease
  • Males are more prone to this particular disease
  • Being 65-years-old or greater
  • Smoking
  • High blood pressure
  • Diabetes
  • Lack of physical activities
  • Menopause in women
  • Infection that causes inflammation of the artery wall

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Symptoms leading to coronary heart disease may not always be easily readable, as many live with clogged arteries for years before they realize they have a problem. Usually people suffering from coronary heart disease walk in the emergency room with a heart attack on their hands.

Here are some of the symptoms that may help you recognize this disease:

  • Chest pain
  • Shortness of breath

As prevention is always better then treatment, one should try and have regular check ups and follow the doctor’s advice. Knowing in time that you are likely to have a heart problem may save you from being faced with an emergency situation, which can sometimes turn to be fatal.

Preventing Coronary Heart Disease

Coronary heart disease is the most common of heart diseases in the western world. Here are some ways to prevent ever suffering from it in the near future:

  • Decrease your cholesterol level.
  • Maintain your ideal body weight – obesity is one of the main factors of coronary heart disease.
  • If you are a smoker, this is yet another reason you should stop smoking.
  • Have a healthy diet and exercise – some doctors strongly recommend diets rich in omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin C.

Proper diet and exercise have always have always been the key to maintaining one’s health, and for centuries man has practiced this as being the best natural medicine.

Health is our most valuable possession, which often cannot be bought back once lost. One should try to make an effort to maintain what we naturally have – good health; as an old saying goes ‘health is wealth’ after all, treasure it while you still have it.

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Coronary Artery Disease

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Reversing heart disease can be done by adopting a few lifestyle changes. By avoiding certain risk factors that put you in harm’s way of the disease to begin with, you can turn back the clock, so to speak, and continue to live a long, healthy life despite the condition.

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