Monday, June 24, 2013

Myocarditis

Myocarditis is a type of heart disease that is the inflammation of myocardium. Myocardium is the part of the heart that has more muscles compared to other parts. Myocarditis is caused by infections that can be viral or bacterial. The usual signs of myocarditis are heart failure quickly, chest pain and sudden death. There are various kinds of heart diseases from which people suffer. The neglect and wrong diagnosis of the disease can ave fatal consequences and at times affects the other parts of the body as well. Any kind of symptoms should not be neglected. Expert help should always be taken when there is need. Heart diseases are rampant among those who lead an extremely stressful life that involves physical and mental stress. However there are other causes as well like genetic and congenital defects that cause heart disease. The signs and symptoms showed by individuals having myocarditis are usually varied.

People having myocarditis have signs like stabbing chest pains, palpitations that is caused by arrhythmias, congestive failure of the heart. The congestive heart failure leads to hepatic congestion, edema and a feeling of breathlessness. Myocarditis can also cause fever that is the rheumatic fever and sudden death at times. Myocarditis is most of the times caused by viral infections due to which there are symptoms like diarrhea, pain in the joints and extreme fatigue. Myocarditis is linked with pericarditis often. Many patients show signs and symptoms that points to concurrent myocarditis and pericarditis. There are many factors that leads to the formation of myocarditis in the heart. The factors causing myocarditis have been identified by experts.

Viral infections like the presence of viruses like enterovirus, Coxsackie virus, rubella virus, polio virus, cytomegalovirus, and hepatitis C can cause myocarditis. Bacterias like brucella, corynebacterium diphtheriae, gonococcus, haemophilus influenzae, actinomyces, tropheryma whipplei, and vibrio cholerae are the causes of myocarditis. Spirochetal like borrelia burgdorferi, leptospirosis and protozoal infection like toxoplasma gondii and trypanosoma cruzi are the causes of myocarditis. Parasites like Echinococcus granulosus, visceral larva migrans, Wuchereria bancrofti, schistosoma, Taenia solium and trichinella spiralis. Drugs too are the contributing factors in causing myocrditis. Drugs containing chemotherapy, ethanol, and antipsychotics can cause this heart disease along with toxins and heavy metals. Electric shock, hyperpyrexia, and radiation too causes the disease.

Myocardium can be diagnosed on the results of electrocardiographic results (ECG), elevated CRP and/or ESR and increased IgM (serology). Markers of myocardial damage (troponin or creatine kinase cardiac isoenzymes) are advanced. The ECG show the diffusion of the T wave inversions and the elevations of saddle-shaped ST-segment. These are also found in pericarditis. The best way to detect myocarditis is biopsy of the myocardium that can be done by angiography. The biopsy can be done by the tissue sample of the endocardium and myocardium. A pathologists tests it under light microscopy, immunochemistry and special staining methods. Histopathological features of myocardium are myocardial interstitium accompanied by edema and inflammatory infiltrate, with ample lymphocytes and macrophages. Focal destruction of myocytes are the reasons for failure of myocardial pump.

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

How to lower cholesterol fast and naturally!

Cholesterol is really a soft, fatty substance produced in liver and also present in some foods. Although the body needs cholesterol, too much cholesterol can lead to serious problems for example disease heart. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of deaths in both women and men in the United States.

Excess cholesterol adheres to the walls of the arteries. Your arteries become narrow, slowing or blocking blood is the oxygen flow to his heart. This can lead to a increased risk of heart attack. The blood and oxygen they are able to not reach your brain also increase their risk of stroke. Have you checked your cholesterol High cholesterol does not cause symptoms, so many people know that their levels are extremely high until it's past too far. It is important for adults to them look at your cholesterol at least one time every 5 years. A blood test called a lipoprotein profile tells on the levels of total cholesterol, lipoprotein cholesterol low density (LDL, because of its acronym in English), cholesterol high density lipoprotein (HDL, for its acronym in English) on triglycerides. Cholesterols levels is known as the "Bad cholesterol" since it is the biggest source of compliance and blockage within the arteries, while HDL cholesterol is called the "Good" cholesterol since it helps remove extra cholesterol your body. Triglycerides are a kind of blood fat.

Your nurse practitioner will be able to analyze their blood tests and let you know if your cholesterol levels are extremely high. Changes in lifestyle, together with the possible addition of the prescription, might help to reduce their levels of cholesterol.

Risk factors

Several factors can result in high-cholesterol within your body. You cannot control some of these factors. For instance, high cholesterol can be hereditary, which means that genetically inherited from generation to generation. Age and sex could also play a role in levels high cholesterol levels. To the extent that men and women age, their levels of cholesterol rise. In addition, LDL cholesterol amounts of women often increase after menopause.

Risk factors you can control include the next:

- Diet: Intake of high levels of cholesterol and fats saturated and trans fats in foods lift up your levels of cholesterol.
- Weight: Being overweight or obese has a tendency to increase levels of cholesterol.
- Exercise: Deficiencies in physical activity can help to eliminate HDL cholesterol level.
- Smoking: The smoking damages the walls of blood vessels which make them more prone to accumulate fatty deposits. In addition, smoking lowers HDL cholesterol in the body. Changes in lifestyle maintaining a healthy diet might help decrease your cholesterol. It is important to consume less food saturated fats, fat and cholesterol. Read food labels to understand how much fat and cholesterol you're consuming.

Listed here are some healthy changes you can perform:
- Eat foods with soluble fiber, like beans, oats and cereal grains, which could help reduce total cholesterol level.
- Eat fish for example salmon, mackerel or herring, which contain large amounts of omega-3 fatty acids, a unsaturated fat can lower your triglyceride level.
- Try healthy alternatives such as low fat milk or skim milk rather than dairy, the whites from the eggs or egg substitutes instead of eggs and beans peas, lentils or tofu and soy meat substitutes.
- Limit the amount of alcohol consumed, and consumption still moderate levels can raise your HDL cholesterol.
- Use extension foodstuffs such as margarine or orange juice containing plant sterols added or plant esters, which can reduce cholesterol.

Exercise and weight loss are part of a lifestyle healthy. Adding exercise for thirty minutes a day in most times of the week might help raise HDL cholesterol and reducing LDL cholesterol. Gradually, set time and frequency of the workouts. And when you smoke, quit now. If you do not smoke, don't start.

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Diet and Exercise to Lower Cholesterol

Diet to Lower Cholesterol
Cardiovascular disease has long been the number one health killer, and its related diseases caused by very high mortality rate. And constitutes a major cardiovascular disease risk factor is high cholesterol, however, the vast majority of cholesterol through diet and lifestyle can be a considerable degree of control. Studies have shown that as long as the lower value of 1% cholesterol, the risk of heart disease can be reduced by 2%.

Changes in lifestyle towards a healthy way

If you have high cholesterol (200 mg / dL or more) trouble, you can try by the U.S. Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) of the proposed “therapeutic lifestyle change” (Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes , TLC) diet.

It is a positive lifestyle reduces the body’s cholesterol levels to reduce the incidence of heart diseases. Its main objectives are as follows:

1. Reducing sodium intake to 2,400 milligrams per day
2. To determine the daily intake of saturated fat of total daily calorie intake of less than 7%
3. Restrict access of calories from fat, total daily calorie intake does not exceed 25% to 35%
4. Limit dietary cholesterol (dietary cholesterol) of less than 200 mg per day, it comes from animal sources of food.
5. Restrict carbohydrate intake accounted for 50% of total daily calories to 60%, make sure it is rich in complex carbohydrates, mostly from (complex carbohydrates) food such as whole grains, vegetables and fruit.

Dietary Guidelines for therapeutic lifestyle

Therapeutic lifestyle diet emphasizes a balanced intake of various types with low saturated fatty acids, low in cholesterol and trans fatty acids, beneficial for cardiovascular health and more.

Dietary recommendations include:

1. Bread / cereal: whole grain bread, cereal pieces, such as oatmeal or brown rice.
2. Vegetables: Eat more dark green vegetables, beans, soy milk, tofu and other soy products.
3. Meat: Remove fat, retain lean part of the peeled poultry consumption, and limit intake of animal organs.
4. Choose a good oil: more choice of unsaturated vegetable oils such as soybean oil, canola oil, corn oil or olive oil.
5. Dairy products: skim or low-fat milk, yogurt, yogurt or low-fat cheese and so on.

In addition, it should eliminate the salt and seasonings to replace the use of herbs and spice.

Exercise can lower cholesterol

TLC appropriate program of physical activity is another key. In addition to regular exercise can help you manage your weight, adjusting blood fat, reduce arterial accumulation of cholesterol, enhance the beneficial HDL (high density lipoprotein), and improve overall cardiovascular function. Study found that jogging habits, their body fat clearance rate faster than people who do not exercise 70%.

You do not have to be marathon runners or mountain climbers, but persistent and progressive sport, and allows you to achieve the maximum cholesterol-lowering effect. Started by a number of simple activities, such as walking, climbing stairs, gardening or dancing. And then advanced to a higher intensity activities, try brisk walking, swimming, tennis or riding a bicycle and so on. Goal is to reach almost every day for at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise. Once you change your diet and start exercising, you will see a decline in cholesterol and weight values, that is, to pay the maximum return.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Rheumatic Heart Disease

Rheumatic Heart Disease
Rheumatic Heart Disease is an illness that occurs when the heart muscle is damaged due to rheumatic fever. Rheumatic fever is known as an inflammatory disease that will affect many areas of the body in addition to the heart. Other areas that can be affected are the brain, skin and joints. In the case of the heart, however, rheumatic fever, silently damages the valves to the point where they are not doing their job of regulating blood flow into, and out of, the heart. If you have had rheumatic fever in the past then it is a good idea to get checked for rheumatic heart disease. The disease can quietly cause many symptoms in a person that can slowly lead to heart failure. The important thing to remember is that if you are experiencing any of the symptoms to head to your doctor right away to get checked out.

Symptoms of Rheumatic Heart Disease


In most cases a person who gets rheumatic heart disease will have had rheumatic fever, and before that strep throat. If the strep throat is not properly cared for it can turn into rheumatic fever which can turn into rheumatic heart disease. The symptoms of rheumatic fever will begin to show up about three weeks after the symptoms of strep throat show up.
* Fever.
* Swollen and painful joints all over the body.
* Pain that starts in one joint but suddenly jumps to another joint without warning.
* Heart palpitations and a rapid heartbeat.
* Shortness of breath or trouble breathing during normal activities.
* Skin rashes all over the body.
* Extreme fatigue at all points during the day.
* Nodules under the skin that are small and pain free.


Preventing Rheumatic Heart Disease


* Treat strep throat with penicillin in order to prevent rheumatic fever from developing.
* Continuous antibiotic treatment until the symptoms of rheumatic fever subside.
* Living a healthy lifestyle. Take care of your body so your body takes care of you.

If you have been diagnosed with rheumatic fever then you are at risk for developing rheumatic heart disease. The disease can occur at any point in life even after you rid yourself of rheumatic fever. Since the onset is quick and sudden, it is important to take the time to properly monitor the condition with your doctor. If you are diagnosed with rheumatic heart disease your doctor will be able to get you on a treatment plan that can help to minimize the potential of serious consequences.

Saturday, June 8, 2013

What is a Heart Attack?

What is a Heart Attack?
Have you ever asked yourself the question what is a heart attack? We all know that it can be deadly and that you need immediate attention if you are having one. However, many people do not know exactly what is going on with the heart during a heart attack. Unfortunately, if more people knew exactly what a heart attack was, as well as the warning signs, then there would not be so many heart attack related deaths.

A heart attack is when the blood flow to part of the heart muscle becomes blocked. When the blood flow becomes blocked it must be restored quickly or the part of the heart that is deprived of blood can die. If you think that you, or someone around you, is having a heart attack then it is important to seek out help immediately. If treatment for a heart attack is started within one hour of when the symptoms start then there is a better chance of the treatment working. Since the heart is the muscle that supplies the rest of your body with oxygen rich blood it is crucial that it is functioning properly. Even a few moments without blood flow to the rest of the body can cause major damage to other organs.

Every year over a million people in the United States have heart attacks. Most of the heart attacks can be attributed to the lifestyle of the person. For instance things such as smoking cigarettes, a lot of stress and a poor diet can contribute to the likelihood that a heart attack will occur. The above mentioned factors can put unnecessary strain on the heart muscle thus causing you to have a heart attack. It is important to call an ambulance if you feel like you are having a heart attack. Since the symptoms can come on suddenly it is best to not wait around before getting help. If you wait too long it may be too late.

Over half of the people who suffer a heart attack die. This is because they did not recognize the warning signs and seek out immediate help. Many people could make a full recover from a heart attack if they would just act a little bit quicker. When the heart is involved it is important to know the details. Being able to answer the question what is a heart attack will ensure that you know what is going on if you begin to feel symptomatic.

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Experiencing Heart Symptoms? Read This for Tips

Experiencing Heart Symptoms? Read This for Tips
Heart attack symptoms or also known as a myocardial infarction is the death of heart muscle from the sudden blockage of a coronary artery by a blood clot. Coronary arteries are blood vessels that supply the heart muscle with blood and oxygen. Blockage of a coronary artery deprives the heart muscle of blood and oxygen thus causing injury to the heart muscle.

This injury to the heart muscle causes chest pain and chest pressure sensation and if the blood flow is not restored to the heart muscle within 20 to 40 minutes irreversible death of the heart muscle will begin to occur. Muscle continues to die for six to eight hours at which time the heart attack usually is “complete.” The dead heart muscle is eventually replaced by scar tissue.

Heart Symptoms Causes:

Atherosclerosis is process by which plaques of cholesterol are deposited in the walls of arteries. Cholesterol plaques cause hardening of the arterial walls and narrowing of the inner channel of the artery.

Arteries that are narrowed by atherosclerosis cannot deliver enough blood to maintain normal function of the parts of the body they supply. Atherosclerosis of the arteries that furnish blood to the brain can lead to vascular dementia or stroke.

Atherosclerosis can remain silent in a lot of people for years or decades. It can begin as early as the teenage years but symptoms or health problems usually do not arise until later in adulthood when the arterial narrowing becomes severe.

Smoking cigarettes, high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, and diabetes mellitus can accelerate atherosclerosis and lead to the earlier onset of symptoms and complications, particularly in those people who have a family history of early atherosclerosis.

Coronary atherosclerosis is the atherosclerosis that causes hardening and narrowing of the coronary arteries. Diseases caused by the reduced blood supply to the heart muscle from coronary atherosclerosis are called coronary heart diseases (CHD).

Coronary heart diseases include heart attacks, sudden unexpected death, chest pain (angina), abnormal heart rhythms, and heart failure due to weakening of the heart muscle.

Conclusion:

At the first sign of heart attack symptoms acting fast can save lives and limit damage to the heart. Treatment is most effective when started within 1 hour of the beginning of symptoms. If you think you or someone may be having a heart attack it is advice to call your emergency numbers within a few minutes or 5 at the most of the start of symptoms.

In case the symptoms stop completely in less than 5 minutes still call your doctor. Take a nitroglycerin pill if your doctor has prescribed this type of medicine.

If you’re looking for a natural solution to prevent heart attack and stroke, the we recommend you to check EDTA Oral Chelation Therapy, which has proven to be very effective in removing arterial plaque that accumulated on your arteries wall.

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