The signs and symptoms of Coronary Artery Disease

For gobs there are no signs and symptoms of Coronary Artery Disease until one day you have a heart attack. If you think you are at risk the best thing to do is see your doctor. The high jeopardy factors for Coronary Artery Disease are:

1) Overweight: those who carry their weight in their mid-section are at an even higher risk of heart disease.
2) Lack of Exercise overweight
3) Smoking tobacco products
4) High levels of continuous stress
5) Diabetes
6) Hypertension
7) High lipid profile or high cholesterol levels
8) Age 65 or older
9) Male gender
10) Family history of heart disease
11) Menopause

Your doctor will ask you questions about any chest discomfort that you may be undergoing. They will want to know what you are doing when the chest pain starts and what it feels like. They will want words that describe the pain such as crushing, sharp, stabbing, dull, etc. They will also want to know where the pain is and if it radiates (travels) to other areas. Common areas of pain are the chest, the jaw, pain moving down the left arm or around to the back. Next tell your doctor how the pain is relieved. Do you take medications, does it go away with rest or do you feel the chest pain constantly.

Your doctor will to boot ask you about your past medical history and your close order history. This means mom, dad, your brothers and sisters, your grandparents and your parents’ brothers and sisters if you don’t have information on your grandparents. They especially want to know about close family members who were diagnosed take it* coronary artery disease before the age of 50.

The doctor will take your blood pressure, listen to your heart and lungs, check your extremities (arms and legs) for impaired circulation and crave some basic blood tests strictly speaking include cholesterol, triglyceride and lipid levels. The doctor should also get a 12-lead electrocardiogram. Your doctor will back determine how many risk factors you are positive for and proceed from there. If authority believe you are a high risk or you come at pain strictly speaking is unrelieved they may do some more testing such as stress tests and echocardiograms. If these are positive they will move on to encore invasive testing of itself as a coronary angiogram to determine the extent of the blockage to the arteries.

Heart problems and excessive sweating could spell trouble

You are probably here because you would like to find out how to stop sweaty hands. Was it recently that you started having excessive sweat problems? You have to be careful since it can be an indicator of a dangerous medical condition. Take note of your body’s sensations once you start sweating. Any type of pain or other unusual sensations should be reported to your treating doctor. It’s always a good idea to have a monitoring device like omron blood pressure monitor. You might also be affected by Palmar Hyperhidrosis. It is usually a hereditary condition that was passed on by the parents. Some individuals wonder how to stop sweaty hands for personal safety reasons. For example a person that frequently climbs up a ladder needs to have dry hands for a better grip. In this case you might be covered by your companies insurance policy which will allow you to have your sweat glands surgically removed.

However surgery should be your last resort, it is not always the best way to handle this problem. People have complained about compensation sweating. Which means that instead of sweating more from your hands you will have an excessively sweaty chest. It is also possible that you will have no more hand sweat at all!. Eventhough this sounds like a benefit it is not as dandy as it sounds. People call it the sandpaper feeling. It is a very unpleasant feeling, you hands sometimes crack start bleeding and you have to frequently apply the moisturizing cream (some of these creams also make hands slippery so you go back to square one).

If you want to know how to stop sweaty hands and feet temporarily you should ask your pharmacist for a temporary relief solution. If you go to your local pharmacy or search on the web you will find a number of working solutions. These ointments have a very high concentration of Aluminum chloride hex hydrate, sometimes in excess of 15%. The solution is said to be effective for people that don’t mind a bit of stinging, since these powerful antiperspirants sometimes irritate the skin.. Sweaty hands is a real issue for a large number of people, but there is hope on the horizon.

You can be sure that in the upcoming years we will see even more medical research about this condition. The medical community is always discovering new ways of helping people cope with this debilitating condition. It’s been said that scientists have discovered the gene responsible for this condition. This might help your children avoid this condition altogether, but for now you can take advantage of the over the counter products or the surgery. This concludes the post and hopefully you’ve learned how to stop sweaty hands.

Magaging Your Blood Pressure

The Silent Killer

Hypertension is a major health problem and many people don’t even know they have .Sometimes people are led to believe that merely changes in their lifestyle are enough to control their hypertension without any need for medication.  This is especially helpful for people with mild to moderate blood pressure levels.

Reducing your sodium intake is one of the most important factors in reducing your blood pressure level.  Those affected with high blood pressure often claim that reducing their sodium intake reduces their blood pressure as well.You need to educate yourself about which foods are high in sodium and cut back on them or switch to some other food.

Eating more fruits and vegetabls and even some grains increases your intake of important vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Research shows that these dietary modifications will help lower your hypertension.

Adding exercise will further help you lower your blood pressure.  It helps to prevent and to control hypertension, and it is said that people who are active in exercise have lower death rates than their sedentary counterparts, even when they have the same blood pressure.  An added bonus is that studies suggest that exercise not only reduces the risk for cardiovascular and other diseases, but can help prevent obesity, which is another high blood pressure risk factor.

Exercise is said to be the foundation for successful behavioral change programs.Exercise is especially important as it makes you feel good about your efforts, reduces stress, which also is a major contributor to hypertension.

Eating well and exercising are the cornerstone to reducing your blood pressure levels.But there are other factors that also affect your blood pressure.Cutting back on alcohol and caffeine will help, too.You should try to drink these in moderation, or not at all.Quitting smoking also makes a big differenc,too.These are serious issues.There will always be something that is impossible to totally give up.It may take many months to modify your behavior successfully.

Reducing stress is another highly important factor in reducing your blood pressure.  This is a lifelong task, but can prove to be one of the most important things you can do for your health.  If you find that you have stress that seems out of control, taking a stress management workshop may be in your future.

Though it is said that diet and exercise can reduce the need for blood pressure medication, it is important to discuss any and all lifestyle changes with your doctor, who can instruct you in any reduction of your current medication dosages.

You should check your blood pressure often to see if these changes are having a positive effect.Fortunately, it is rather easy in this day and age to monitor your blood pressure on a daily basis . You can find a reliable,accurate home blood pressure monitor just about anywhere these days at a good price. Ther are digital home monitors now that are much improved over the earlier types and very easy to use. I say “now” because when the digital models first were introduced, their accuracy was suspect. Everything is ok now.

It’s not easy to control your blood pressure problems, so you need to really be committed to fixing the problem. It’s especially difficult because you don’t feel sick or are in pain. But hypertension gradually wears your body down at a faster rate than would be the case otherwise. That’s why they refer to it as the “Silent Killer.

Diet for high blood pressure and high cholesterol

Too much Cholesterol High Blood Pressure causes many medical problems for one. Cholesterol is something that clogs the arteries in your heart. In addition, cholesterol when out of control could cause massive heart attacks, or series of strokes.
 
 What can I do about my cholesterol?
 If your body has too much cholesterol, it isn’t good for you. You have the power within you however to take control. Failing to take control only leads to problems. The problems will accumulate; wear you down down to finally abnormal aging takes your life. You can gain control by exercising each day and eating the right foods. Visiting your doctor regularly is another way to work toward healthy aging. Your syndicate doctor will furnish you medication to call for to help lower your cholesterol.
 
 When you have high cholesterol, you have to eat right and exercise daily. Lower my Blood Pressure . It will take some time to get your cholesterol at bay, but it will happen if you take action now. You also want to take time out for self, activities, socializing etc to keep your cholesterol at bay. When cholesterol is out of control, the cause comes to focus, which is arteriosclerosis. If you lower your cholesterol by taking action now you can avoid strokes, heart attacks, and even death. Learn more about statins to control cholesterol. You can also avoid smoking to lower your cholesterol. In addition, you can lower your risks of diabetes, heart attack, and obesity and so on by controlling your cholesterol.
 
 Keep in mind that Cholesterol High Blood Pressure problems include the worst case scenario and the not so bad. The worst type is the LDL. HDL cholesterol at higher levels is a good thing. If these levels combined with triglycerides increase, thus your chances of stroke or heart attacks are high.
 
 What kind of foods has cholesterol?
 There is cholesterol in all foods in less it has cholesterol free on the package. Some food has more in it then others. Like your cooking oils and grease has a lot of cholesterol in it, some of your bread has cholesterol. Eggs are very high cholesterol foods and so are your butters. You have to read the back of the packages to determine the level of cholesterol.
 
 If the cholesterol gets out of hand, it hardens the arteries. This means the blood will not flow through to the heart, making it to pump naturally. The heart will pump at unnatural rates, working harder to keep you alive.
 High diastolic is high cholesterol that increases risks of heart attacks, since your heart doesn’t get any blood to it due to clotting or breaking of blood vessels, then there is stroke which is when the brain don’t get enough blood due to oxygen decrease to it because of clotting or broken blood vessels. High-cholesterol puts you at risk of diabetes also, since it affects the hemoglobin. To learn more, visit your doctor.

Pointers To Cope With Coronary Heart Disease

fatty acids

As early as your teenage years, fat cells can begin to accumulate in your blood vessel walls. Over time, the fat builds up, putting a strain on the walls, and triggers the release of chemicals that make the walls sticky as the body attempts to repair itself. In the process, other things stick to your blood vessel walls; things such as protein, calcium, inflammatory cells, which fuses with the fat to create a hardened plaque. Blood clots form when the hard surface of the plaque rips or tears and platelets arrive in the area. Sometimes, new blood vessels form to circumvent the blood around the trouble spot, but sometimes the clot blocks off the whole area or the new vessels don’t work quickly enough during times of exertion. This is the making of coronary heart disease, a serious medical condition that will kill 13 million Americans this year.

Most people with coronary heart disease don’t realize they have it until it’s too late, even though basic medical tests can reveal telltale signs like elevated triglycerides and high cholesterol levels. Some people may experience “angina pectoris,” which is the medical term for discomfort, heaviness, aching, burning, numbness or pain in the chest, left shoulder, arms, back or jaw. Often this pain will feel similar to indigestion but won’t occur around meal times. Depending on what kind of angina you’re suffering from, the pain may come after exertion (stable angina), when sleeping and while out in the cold (prinzmetal’s angina) or sometimes even just suddenly while resting (unstable angina). Shortness of breath, heart palpitations, dizziness, nausea and sweating often accompany the angina symptoms.

For some people, coronary heart disease seems to run in the family. However, health experts agree that many people are able to live long, healthy lives by following several key preventative measures. “If you smoke, quit,” warns cardiologist Sharonne Hayes of the Women’s Health Clinic in Rochester Minnesota. “That’s the most powerful, preventable risk factor for heart disease.” Additionally, four days per week you should be engaging in 30 minutes of moderate exercise; whether it’s biking, skating, walking, jogging, swimming or aerobics. If you can’t do it all at once, then three ten-minute intervals will show heart health benefits. Limiting saturated, polysaturated, monounsaturated and trans fats are important. By contrast, omega-3 fatty acids found in fish, flaxseed oil and canola oil have proven to be very effective. Furthermore, the importance of reducing your weight and getting regular health exams cannot be overstated.

In a six-year, 2,825-patient study of coronary heart disease patients, new results brought startling realization about the power of positive thinking and recovery. “A negative outlook was an independent predictor of poor outcomes,” said Dr. Redford B. Williams of Duke University Medical Center. “And there seems to be something protective about having a more optimistic attitude that makes you feel that you are going to be ok.” Their 2008-concluded study found that patients who were more pessimistic about recovery were twice as likely to die. Health experts at Duke University agree that meditation, behavior therapy and exercise can be the key to heart health for the most at-risk patients.

Signs of A Stroke

Signs Of A Stroke

Recognizing Signs of a Stroke And Quick Treatment

If you or someone you know is having a stroke, a quick diagnosis and treatment might be the difference between life or death or permanent paralysis if the stroke victim survives. So it is essential that you know the signs of a stroke.If you can get the stroke victim to the hospital within three hours of the attack, the prognosis for full recovery is optimistic.

First, some facts about strokes and who is mmost likely to suffer one.Strokes kill one person each minute in the U.S. alone. Of the 750,000 victims each year, one-third die, and another third suffer permanent paralysis, loss of speech or memory lapses.

Strokes are caused by plaque build up in the arteries or by a plaque fragment that breaks free and lodges in the brain, shutting off the blood supply.

Persons Who Are At Risk

Your chances of having a stroke are higher if you fall into these categories
1) Hereditary–If a person comes from a family where other members have suffered strokes.
2) Gender–Women are more likely to have a stroke than men.
3) Age–The chance of having a stroke approximately doubles for each decade of life after age 55.Stroke is more common among persons over 65, but it also hits younger persons as well.
4) Race–African Americans are more likely to have one than are Caucasians.
5) Medical History–Sickle cell anemia. Sickled red blood cells carry less oxygen to the rest of the body. They also can stick to the walls of the blood vessels, which can block arteries to the brain, causing a stroke.
Persons who are prior stroke victims or who have had a mini stroke, called a TIA, are much more likely to have another stroke.

Stroke Symptoms

A simple four-question quiz will tell you if someone you’re with is having a stroke

1.) Ask the individual to SMILE. If he’s having a stroke, he won’t be able to smile normally–his smile wille be distorted.
2.) Ask the person to TALK and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently)(i.e. Ann is a great homemaker. A stroke victim will not be able to do this easily.
3.) Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS. He’ll just be able to raise one.
4.) Ask him to STICK OUT HIS TONGUE. If the tongue is ‘crooked’, if it goes to one side or the other,that is also an indication of a stroke.
If any of these tasks were a prblem to complete, it’s time to get to the hospital immediately. Start with 911 and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

Another sign that you’ve had a TIA, or mini-stroke, is a heaviness in your leg or legs that makes it unusually difficult to walk or climb the stairs.The victim might trip going up the stairs because one leg didn’t lift high enough to clear a stair. The victim has trouble keeping his balance and might even fall down and struggle to stand up.

If this happens to you or the person you’re with it, is imperative you get to a hospital immediately.You’ll immediately be taken into the medical ward and be given tests to determine if it is a stroke and immediate treatment if it is. And you dodged a bullet today! The odds are that you’ve survived and haven’t had any permanent damage to your brain.

If you have this experience and everything works out ok, remember that this is a warning and lifestyle changes are mandatory to keep another, more serious stroke from happening again.

An Overview Of The Complications Caused By Peptic Ulcers

gastric ulcer

When it comes to ulcers there are a wide variety of body locations where they can develop. You need to know the differences in locations because it can mean a different treatment for each one. Peptic ulcers are not the same thing as leg ulcers, foot ulcers or skin ulcers because they differ in the location. One is found in the gastrointestinal tract and the others are found on the skin surface. It is important to know those basic differences because it means a different treatment method.

First off most ulcers are peptic ulcers. There are a few different kinds and they are named for the part of the body where they are found. A stomach ulcer is also called a gastric ulcer because it is found in the actual stomach. Duodenal ulcers are found in the Duodenum. Esophageal ulcers are found in the esophagus. Your esophagus, duodenum, stomach and small intestine are all part of your gastrointestinal tract. There are complications that can occur if you were to go untreated for an ulcer. It is important that you know these complications.

There are five different complications that can occur from ulcers located in the gastric region. These are: gastrointestinal bleeding (bleeding ulcer,) perforation (where the stomach contents or intestines spill into the body cavity,) penetration, scarring and Pyloric Stenosis. You definitely do not want any of these to happen to you. An untreated ulcer is nothing to scoff at because sometimes it can lead to great sickness and even death. If you have, or think you may have an ulcer, then you need to see your doctor to seek treatment as soon as possible. This is your health and your life that you are risking by not seeking out medications to help.

Peptic ulcers caused by Helicobacter pylori are serious. Ulcers are not caused by stress, spicy foods or being a certain blood type, but those certainly can aggravate the ulcer and cause a painful flare-up. There are other factors that put you at risk as well, such as the long term use of NSAIDS, the use of laxatives for an extended amount of time or a family history of duodenal ulcers. You are in luck though. Many ulcers will heal with over the counter medications.

The Importance of Pacemakers

While a heart pacemaker should not be confused with the natural pacemaker of the heart, an artificial pacemaker is a medical device which serves to help people who suffer from heart problems. Many people are unaware as to how a pacemaker works. It is a fairly simple device that works by using electrical currents which come into contact with the heart’s muscles by way of electrodes. This in turn helps to regulate the beating of the heart.

The heart’s natural pacemaker is responsible for regulating the heart’s beats at a certain pace. However, if sometimes the natural pacemaker fails in doing so. That is where artificial pacemakers step in to fulfil the role of the heart’s natural pacemaker.

For more severe cases, technology has made it possible to combine a defibrillator into the electronic heart pacemaker unit. Modern medical and technological advances have also allowed pacemakers to become more easily programmable from external sources.

While experiments were taking place into pacemakers as far back as 1889, it was not until 1958 that an artificial and implantable pacemaker was first used. The first patient to use the device was Arne Larson who used twenty-two such devices over the course of his life.

Implantable pacemakers are inserted into the patient by way of a straightforward surgery process. A local anesthetic is always used and antibiotics are provided afterwards to prevent any infection that could be caused as an effect of the operation. With an incision made just below the left collar bone, the pacemaker is inserted into the body and the leads are wired up to the heart with the use of a fluoroscope to make sure everything is going into the right place.

A person who lives with an artificial heart pacemaker is usually required to visit the doctor once in a while so that the doctor can see that everything is working correctly and that the patient is remaining healthy.

Does Fish Oil Really Affect LDL Chilesterol?

Although it is not necessary to understand all the details of the relationship between fish oil and LDL cholesterol on your health, a little basic knowledge should be useful to encourage you to get regular amounts of fish oil. First we must recognize that cholesterol is usually broken down into two major categories. What is known as HDL cholesterol is generally good in that it is able to move easily to the liver to be processed out of the body. On the other hand, LDL cholesterol is much less dense than HDL cholesterol and tends to cling to the walls of the blood vessels narrowing them with plaque. LDL cholesterol on average today comprises some seventy-five to eighty percent of the total cholesterol in the human body which contributes to plaque formation in the blood adding significantly to the potential development of heart disease as well as.

Drugs or Fish Oil?

Reducing the LDL cholesterol should be a critical need in the desire to reduce heart disease risk. Generally speaking if the LDL cholesterol level is over 100 mg/dl it is wise to begin researching a way to reduce that level. Of course synthetic drugs made for this purpose may accomplish this but along with these medicines come the potential for side effects that could possible not be better than not taking the drugs at all. Whether these medicines are appropriate for you or not should only come after consultation with your doctor.

Nonetheless, there are some alternatives to these synthetic drugs. History and testing have shown that fish oil and LDL cholesterol interact in such a way that the LDL cholesterol is facilitated in acting like HDL to move the excess cholesterol back to the liver for processing. Fish oil is high in Omega 3 fatty acids. The ability of these three fatty acids, ALA, EPA and DHA to bond with the LDL cholesterol diminishes the chances of it creating plaque in the blood vessels. The overall effect is that the combination of fish oil and LDL cholesterol is that it achieves similar results without exposeure to the harmful side effects as the synthetic drugs.

Best Source of Fish Oil

The book seems to still be open on what the best source is for the Omega 3 fatty acids. Some say that at least three times a week fish such as tuna or salmon that is high in Omega 3 should be eaten. Others say that a good capsule processed by a reputable manufacturer is the way to go. The debate will more than likely go on for sometime but it is not about fish oil and LDL cholesterol but rather about how to take the fish oil.

Get The Facts About The Link Between Eating Salt And Hypertension

Salt is a very valuable part of our diet and has been used for thousands of years to add taste to our food and as a preservative. Further, despite the fact that a lot of people in the West simply take it for granted, in many countries it is a vital economic commodity and many older readers will no doubt remember the part played by salt in bringing British rule in India to and end in the middle of the last century.

Regrettably salt is also a key contributory factor to the problem of high blood pressure, or hypertension.

Salt is in fact a compound of chloride and sodium and when it comes to high blood pressure it is the quantity of sodium that we consume that needs to be watched.

It might seem that controlling your salt intake is simply a question of restricting the amount of salt which you put into food while you are cooking or at the table. However, the true problem is the fact that the majority of the salt which we eat is found in the processed foods which nearly all of us buy and consume every day.

To make sure that you minimize the risk of hypertension you have to keep your intake of salt below the recommended daily sodium intake figure of 2,400 milligrams and so here are a few tips to help you do just that:

Take the salt off the dining table. If you diet is correctly balanced your food will already contain sufficient salt without any need to add more while eating, so simply remove the salt from your table.

Learn to read food labeling. Food labeling laws are much improved these days and the majority of foods carry nutritional information that includes the amount of sodium that the food in question contains. You must read the labels with care though as often the sodium figure given will apply to the entire pack or tin and sometimes it will apply to an individual serving.

Buy low sodium or sodium free foods. Many foods nowadays come in sodium free or low sodium options and, whenever you can, you should pick these rather than the regular product.

Eat low salt snacks. The majority of us like to snack but try to choose such things as fruit and vegetables and, if you cannot live without those crisps then buy varieties which are salt free or low in sodium.

Of course watching your salt intake is only one part of creating a diet which is good for your blood pressure and you should also look at selecting items from the wide range of blood pressure lowering foods.