Information on Heart Disease

by Ana Dupuis

A critical first step in dealing with heart disease is to learn to talk to your doctor about your questions and worries. You’re not alone when it comes to difficulties in talking to a medical practitioner about your health concerns. But when it comes to heart wellness no question should be left unanswered.

There are those who hope that their questions will be answered through the course of an examination, rather than having to actually voice them. Physicians don’t always have as much time as they would like with each patient due to their demanding schedules and long waiting lists. In particular, women need to voice their concerns, since heart disease isn’t as readily associated with women, even though they are equally at risk.

Questions that you should ask your doctor include what your blood pressure is recorded as and what is normal for you. You need to know what your blood cholesterol and glucose levels are and if they are considered normal. Ask your doctor which tests are suggested for people of your age, both currently and in the future.

If medication has been prescribed, do not hesitate to ask if there are side effects, what the drug is supposed to do, and whether you should take other medication, even over the counter, with your prescribed medicine. Also find out if this is a long term medication or temporary. Tests to monitor the effects of the medication you are taking should be conducted at a later date if it is recommended by your doctor. The liver is one organ that most doctors consider testing when a patient is on certain medicines.

If you always get home and remember something that you forgot to ask the doctor, make a “need to know” list and take it with you on your next visit. Do not forget to bring with you the medications that you are presently on as well. If you have more than one health care provider, this is a must.

Include your recent history of illness and surgery. This should be in your medical chart so that the doctor can be aware of anything that might cause a problem.

In conclusion, if you think that you may forget what you physician has told you, you can always write it down or record the appointment for later referral. Do not be afraid to check around for a second opinion if you are not comfortable with the treatment that your doctor recommends or if you do not feel that he or she listened to your worries or questions.

About the Author:

Heart disease kills more people each year than all of the cancers combined. Learn more about the causes, effects and treatments of this epidemic problem at Heart Wellness.

by Ned Dagostino

LDL Cholesterol and Heart Disease

Medical research proves beyond doubt that there is an unholy nexus between LDL cholesterol and heart disease. The long and the short of it is: LDL cholesterol is bad for the heart! What then is LDL cholesterol and what can we do to control it? The answer to that question is the burden of this article. Please do take the time to read it, it can mean the difference between robust good health and a lifetime of illness.

HDL cholesterol is beneficial to the body and must be transported to all parts of the body by the bloodstream, whereas LDL cholesterol must be eliminated from the body via the very same bloodstream. The body has a mechanism to regulate the levels of LDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol in the blood. Bad eating and lifestyle habits cause the cholesterol levels to exceed the normal healthy bounds thus overloading the regulatory mechanism. If this condition continues for a long time our health is jeopardized.

What LDL Cholesterol Does

LDL cholesterol tends to stick to the inner walls of the blood vessels it moves through. The coating reduces the blood flow through the affected vessels. This means poor circulation which translates to poor health. The coating may increase to an extent where the blood vessel is severely constricted. This condition is known as arteriosclerosis.

Blood backs up from this point leading to high blood pressure which severely stresses the heart. Worse, small bits of the LDL cholesterol blockage can get dislodged and flow down with the blood. If these bits of LDL cholesterol enter a capillary, which is a very fine blood vessel, the capillary gets blocked starving the areas served by the capillary network of vital blood. If this happens in the brain, then areas of the brain just shut down leading to a form of paralysis called a ‘stroke’. If the blood flow to the heart itself is cut off, a heart attack occurs possibly leading to a fatality. These are just two situations which can occur when LDL cholesterol exceeds the normal limit. There are a great number of similar situations, collectively called cardiovascular disease, which are directly linked to the excessive LDL cholesterol level.

What Can Be Done to Fight it

There is just one thing we can do to guard against heart disease caused by excessive LDL cholesterol: assist the body in regulating the blood cholesterol level. The most effective way is by controlling what we eat. Medical researchers tell us that the most common reason for excessive LDL cholesterol is our over-indulgence in saturated fats, both directly and indirectly. We can have fatty foods which are good for health, like the omega-3 group of fats. The omega-3 fats actually work to reduce the LDL cholesterol in the blood, so we should have a lot of tuna and salmon because they are rich sources of omega-3 fats. Studies show that drinking a lot of water helps to increase the blood circulation which goes a long way in reducing LDL cholesterol.

Check the medium your food is cooked in. Stop using polyunsaturated vegetable oils because they change to trans-fats on heating, and trans-fats are harmful for health. Use olive oil instead, because it is a good cooking medium. Just this much is good enough to bring about a drastic reduction of LDL cholesterol.

Cigarette smoking is bad for health. It harms the body in more than just one way. Smoking increases the level of LDL cholesterol. So quit now and your LDL cholesterol will be gone tomorrow! The steps outlined in this article are very easy to implement. You will avoid the risk of heart disease if you follow them.

A stressful lifestyle adds fuel to fire if you have an excessive LDL cholesterol level. Tension adds to the high LDL cholesterol situation, whereas a tension free lifestyle actually goes a long way to decreasing the LDL cholesterol level.

To sum up, LDL cholesterol can be controlled by eating foods which are free of saturated fats, exercising, quitting smoking and ridding yourself of stress. The worst thing you can do is to panic about high LDL cholesterol levels. This article is meant to educate you about the cause and prevention of heart disease, not scare you. Use what you have learned in this article to control the LDL cholesterol situation. Once that is under control, you can say that the risk of heart disease is under control.

About the Author:

To get more information on a diet for lowering high cholesterol go to www.Reduce-High-Cholesterol.com. You’ll not only read about what foods you should eat and what you should stay away from, you’ll also discover how to get a more deal on a cholesterol monitor to help you stay on top of your levels.