When we think of a victim of heart disease, we tend to think of men, but unfortunately, heart disease is the leading killer of both men and women in the United States. Heart disease includes the narrowing of the arteries that bring oxygen to the heart, heart failure, diseases of the heart muscles, inborn defects, and other conditions. Five hundred thousand American women die each year from heart diseases, and the risks increase as a woman ages.

The Change of Life

The Cleveland Clinic Heart Center explains that menopause changes the risks for women and heart disease. Post-menopause, a woman’s body experiences reduced estrogen production, changes in cholesterol levels, changes in the structure of blood vessels, and increased production of the clotting agent fibrinogen.

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No one yet knows exactly how much a woman’s risk is affected by each of these changes, but they are definitely associated with greater heart disease risk.

Women who have gone through menopause are two to three times more likely to suffer heart disease than a pre-menopausal woman of the same age. Women that have had a hysterectomy experience these same raised risk factors.

In the past, scientists studying women and heart disease hypothesized that hormone replacement therapy could help post-menopausal women fight heart disease; however, long-term studies do not confirm that preliminary idea and doctors no longer recommend hormone replacement therapy to battle heart disease. Menopause we cannot change, but other risk factors are under our control.

Using hormonal birth control (the pill or the patch) is considered safe for women under thirty-five. As of now, doctors do not have proof that birth control hormones can increase or decrease problems for women and heart disease, especially after the age of thirty-five. When talking about your heart disease risk factors with your doctor, get his or her opinion on your personal situation.

A Change of Lifestyle

Scientists studying women and heart disease find that women are knowledgeable about what lifestyles are associated with heart disease, but are also prone to having those lifestyles. For example, according to the National Institutes of Health, fifty-six million American women have high cholesterol, 33% of women have high blood pressure, and 62% of women are overweight. Despite these risks, women are less physically active than men, on average.

For women, as for men, there are a few good guidelines to a healthier heart. Habits such as not smoking, maintaining a healthy weight by regular activity or exercise, cutting down on the fatty foods, and getting your cholesterol tested can dramatically help prevent heart disease. Don’t become another statistic about women and heart disease.

The heart is the most important part of one’s body; it ensures blood circulation throughout the body, without which life would not be possible. Medicine has advanced greatly and, with modern technology, almost all heart diseases can be treated successfully if detected in time.

What is Congenital Heart Disease?

Congenital heart disease, or CHD, is a malformation of the heart or a large blood vessel near the heart. Congenital heart disease is a condition that one is born with and it is one of the most common forms of major birth defects in newborns, affecting approximately 8% per 1000 infants. It is normally diagnosed within one week from birth in 40-50% of congenital heart disease cases.

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This condition is not a problem until after birth, as the blood circulation differs from that after birth. The fetal circulation derives oxygen and nutrients from the mother through the placenta, and the fetal circulation has important communications between the upper heart chambers and the great blood vessels near the heart. Consequently, most types of congenital heart disease are well tolerated during fetal life.

The Cause of Congenital Heart Disease

This disease can have different causes such as:

• Environmental factors such as chemicals or drugs are sometimes to blame. For example, if a mother-to-be catches measles or rubella during pregnancy, the infection can impair the development of the unborn baby’s heart or other organs. Similar effects can take place if the mother-to-be consumes alcohol during pregnancy.
• Maternal diseases for the mother can increase the risks of developing congenital heart disease in the unborn baby.
• Chromosome abnormalities – a common chromosome abnormality causing congenital heart disease is Down’s syndrome where an extra #21 chromosome is present. About 50% of children with Down’s syndrome also have CHD.

Treating Congenital Heart Disease

The treatment depends from person to person due to the huge difference in occurrence from case to case. Everything needs to be taken into consideration in order to follow an effective treatment program.

A treatment program can only be decided after proper diagnosis made by a specialist. While eating healthy and exercising always helps, congenital heart disease is a special case which needs to follow strict doctor’s instructions; no self medication or treatment is advised. Information and guidelines are available both online and in the doctor’s office to help one educate themselves in order to deal better with this disease.

Congestive heart disease affects approximately five million Americans, and some medical professionals believe that within five years time approximately half of those people will unfortunately die from their condition. Congestive heart disease is marked by the heart’s inability to pump efficiently enough to supply the body with freshly oxygenated blood. It is the leading cause of hospitalization among senior citizens and accounted for nearly 20% of the hospitalization of this age group in 2003.

Since congestive heart disease is a condition that warrants attention, a brief discussion of some of the risk factors might be in order. While some of these factors cannot be helped, there are many things a person can change about their lives to reduce the risk.

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Risk Factors That Cannot be Helped

There are a number of risk factors for congestive heart disease that simply can’t be helped. One such factor is a previous heart attack, and advanced age, specifically over the age of 65, is another common factor for this condition. Another, of course, is a history of diabetes. Both these factors, although treatable cannot be reversed, and if you have had one of these medical conditions, there is a distinct possibility that congestive heart disease might be a condition to watch out for.

Another risk factor that cannot be changed when dealing with congestive heart disease is having a genetic disposition to the disease. Genetic testing and knowledge of the complete family history can go a long way in indicating whether or not congestive heart disease is something that should be a concern for you.

Risk Factors the Can Be Changed

While some factors that indicate the potential for congestive heart disease cannot be helped, there are a number that can. These factors include such things as chronic high blood pressure, drug or alcohol abuse, thyroid disease, and even heart valve disease. All these risk factors, especially drug and alcohol abuse can be managed with help from your medical professional or friendly neighborhood physician. The best course of action is talk to your doctor to design a plan to attack congestive heart disease and hopefully stop it from affecting your life.

Unfortunately, congestive heart disease is difficult to diagnose because it often occurs as a result of or in conjunction with other forms of heart disease. Perhaps the best hope for patients with this disease is to catch it early and begin treatment as soon as possible.

The heart has the most important function of pumping blood throughout our bodies without which we cannot live, ensuring that one’s heart is in good shape and functional should always be on the priority list.

However, sometimes one heart disease or the other creeps on us and by being able to identify a heart disease symptom will save one’s life.

Heart Attack Symptoms

The heart disease symptom that is connected to heart attack is easier to read than other diseases but at the same time it can get confusing; if you are not sure of any one symptom, check with your doctor right away.

• Pain, fullness and/or squeezing sensation of the chest
• Jaw pain, toothache, headache
• Shortness of breath
• Nausea, vomiting and/or general upper middle abdomen discomfort
• Sweating profusely
• Heartburn and/or indigestion
• Arm pain – more commonly left arm but sometimes the right arm as well
• Upper back pain
• General feeling of being unwell

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One or more of these symptoms may occur at the same time depending from person to person where as some may have no symptoms what so ever. Knowing to recognize the heart disease symptom is not easy and often it may lead to be just a false alarm however never ignore any symptom – it’s better to be too careful than sorry.

Coronary Heart Disease Symptoms

The symptoms associated with coronary heart disease are pronounced such as:

• Chest pain or angina – is the most common heart disease symptom related to coronary disease however, the intensity of pain may vary from person to person
• Shortness of breath – this is a usual symptom of congestive heart failure; the heart is usually very weak at this point from lack of blood and oxygen and/or from a past heart attack

Heart disease symptom recognizing is usually hard as many of these symptoms can be caused by many other different factors as well; this is probably one of the main causes why some people walk in emergency rooms sometimes too late to be able to be helped.

If you are faced with any kind of doubt about a heart disease symptom that you may have, check with your doctor as soon as possible in order to avoid a disaster.

Your health is the most important possession, learn to listen to your heart and protect yourself from any heart disease by conducting regular check ups, eating healthy and exercising as much as possible.