Arguable the heart is the most important organ in the human body. Without the heart life would not be possible, it is responsible for getting neturients and oxygen throught the body by way of the circulatory system. Modern medicine has advanced greatly within the last 30 years and almost all heart diseases can be treated successfully if detected in time.
Congenital heart disease (CHD) is a malformation of the large blood vessel near the heart. Congenital heart disease is one of the most common forms of major birth defects in newborns, affecting approximately 8 percent of infants and is normally diagnosed within one week from birth.
Prior to birth the fetus is not effected by this birth defect. The blood circulates differently prior to birth and the fetus derives oxygen and nutrients from the mother through the placenta. The fetal circulation has important communications between the upper heart chambers and the great blood vessels near the heart. Most types of congenital heart disease are well tolerated during fetal life and only present a problem after birth.
This disease can have different causes such as:
Environmental factors such as chemicals or drugs are sometimes to blame. If the mother develops measles or rubella, or consumes alcohol during pregnancy, the disease can impair the development of the fetus heart or other organs.
About 50 percent of children with Down's syndrome also have CHD. Down's Syndrome is caused by the presence of a single extra chromosome when the sperm cell and ovum join together. The general scientific option is that the extra chromosome produces extra enzymes in excessive quantity. It is believed that the excessive enzymes somehow cause them to interfere with each other and that the developing cells are inefficiently nourished and the bloodstream becomes clogged with the unused nutrients. As a result the organs and tissues do not mature properly. At birth the heart, lungs and brain are malformed and function poorly.
Common Vitamins and over the counter products can help with Heart Disease such as Boron, Vitamin E, Ginkgo, Vitamin B, Amino Acid, Oat Bran , and Vitamin C.
Boron is known as the calcium helper and assists calcium absorption and utilization in the body.
Vitamin E supplies Oxygen to the heart and the other muscles in the body. Accelerates wound healing and aids in the functioning of the immune system.
Ginkgo Plus supplies a comprehensive range of important nutrients needed for the proper functioning of the vascular system and for improving blood circulation to the brain.
Vitamin B taken together as a team perform vital biological processes including aiding in the healing process for congestive heart failure and reduces fluid retention. It is required for the development of red blood cells.
Amino Acid helps regulate growth, digestion and maintaining the body's immune system.
Oat Bran helps to regulate blood glucose levels, aids in lowering cholesterol, and helps in the removal of toxins.
Vitamin C is nature's protective nutrient, essential for defending the body against pollution and infection and enhances the bodies' immune system. Take 1,000 to 5,000 mg daily.
If you are at risk from Congenital Heart Disease then find a good health care professional prior to starting any type of home treatment.
Always consult your doctor before using this information.
This Article is nutritional in nature and is not to be construed as medical advice.
Heart Disease (which comes in many forms) is one of the biggest killers here in Ireland. We should all be aware of it and get ourselves checked regularly when we feel that there is a change in our bodys natural functionality. What I mean by this is when you feel things happening no matter how gentle the change, things that were not happening maybe 6 months ago or twelve months ago.
For example I was over 40 and I noticed that I was getting pulse beats up from my chest through to my throat. An like everybody else I would mention this to the odd person during a social drink or when I felt a pulse beat happening. One day I decided to consult my G.P. for this advice on this thing that had started to happen.
My G.P. quizzed me over different things and came to the conclusion that it was palpatations and that I should not worry and get on with living life. So I paid him his fee and left. Three to 4 months later I found myself in his surgery again asking the same question, but this time I asked why was this happening now and it didn't happen, or was not happending last year. He again put it down to my age and said that it was palpatations.
You see these so-called pulse beats or palpatations. This is the hard part in defining what they are when you have never had them before. I am now led to believe that a palpatation is a quick kind of shiver that the heart makes, where my pulse beats were more like the blood pressure was dropping. What I am trying to say here is that you can only tell your G.P. what you are feeling and he can only summise that what you are explaining to him is what he has been thought through the years, but remember he is not feeling these erratic heart rhythms.
Again about 7-8 months later I am again in the G.P. surgery questioning these so-called palpatations. But again I am re-assured (or so I thought) that it is a mixture of age and wear and tear on the body.
My third child was born a couple of months later and I celebrated as usual with friends and colleagues the birth of a new baby. In Ireland we celebrate everything in one way. With a few drinks!
Unfortunately, within the same week of my child been born, I had to attend a funeral of a youngish gentleman who had decided that he had, had enough of this life and it was time to go. So as we celebrate birth we also celebrate death, with a few drinks.
After having a good few drinks, I noticed that these pulse beats or palpatations, would get more regular. So I decided to go to my local A&E for a second opinion on what was going on inside my body.
On explaining my symptoms I was brought straight through to the consulting area where they carried out an ECG on me. Lying there on the bed with all the sticky pads on my chest and looking down at the paper reeling out of the machine, and the small ink arm marking, it looked pretty erratic to me at that point. In other words I knew by the shape of the peaks and troughs that this did not look too good before anybody even told me.
Within ten to 15 minutes of this small but very important examination I was being given injections into the base of my stomach and other oral medications on a trolly in the A&E area.
Unfortunately was the start of one paragraph. Fortunately is now the start of this one.
Fortunately for me I went for this second opinion and I asked what the problems was but I was told not to worry as things were being sorted and I was in the right place. Which was true. But I have to say that I don't know what was worse ? not knowing what the diagnosis was ? when you listen to the consultants and their juniors gathered around your trolly speaking about ?bundle branch blocks? and other technical terms. Which in my opinion makes you thinkg of all types of situations. When you are in this position you tend to get tense everytime that you see a consultant and his juniors, and rightly enough your heart rate rises and maybe they are not seeing the whole picture.
So does ? knowing what the diagnosis is ? leave you in a better position. Well from a personal point of view, I think so. Why? Well if it is not terminal, I think that we are more calm about what our illness might be if we understand what is happening inside our body. I for instance spent three days seeing consultants and juniors prodding and poking at me and listening to my hard rhythm through their stettiscopes. And eachtime they came to me for a visit on the ward, I knew that they were not listening to my normal heart rhythm, because of my lack of knowledge as to what was wrong with me made me stressed and nervous.
On the 4th day of these visits by the Consultant and his team, I lost it and I told the Consultant to keep all those guys away from me and they were not to come near me until I had an explanation as to what my illness was and if it was curable!
Without further ado, the consultant pulled the curtain around my bed and sat with me and explained what was happening inside my body.
DILATED CARDIOMYOPATHY ? is the medical term for my illness. And at the stage that you are at we can treat this with some tablets and a change in your lifestyle. It is a serious heart complaint but if you follow our guidelines you should be able to lead a normal enough life. A defibrilator was mentioned as something that may have to be inserted into my chest to monitor my condition. I remember my term for this was a ?SET OF JUMPLEADS? like what you would use to start the car. Within ten minutes our discussion was over and I thanked the consultant.
Would you believe that the next day and any days after that I had no problem with the Consultant and his team coming around and using me as an education tool. I think this was simply down to the fact that I now knew what was going on, and I could start from today to try to put things into motion to change my lifestyle so that I could give myself the best change to cope or beat this disease.
You see unlike the ?JUMPLEADS? that I spoke about a couple of paragraphs back, we are all like cars. Most cars seem to be created like humans. For example: We both consume fuel to survive, a cars headlamps are its eyes in the dark, and its enginge is its heart, and it also needs to take in water to keep it cool when it gets hot!
But the main difference is with a car we can go to the Motor Factors and buy a new part and replace it! But with the human body we cannot just go out and get parts so we must look after the bits that we have and get as much use out of them as possible.
This is just an outline of what I was diagnosed with. I will follow-up this article with information on what I done to cope with and help me and my illness live together and get the most out of life.
Thanks for Reading!
By FabVin
FabVin is an entrepreneur in small business. Review this page www.kitchenfitters.ie
Both David Cowley & Fabvin are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
David Cowley has sinced written about articles on various topics from Fitness, Aging Supplement and Heart Conditions. David Cowley has created numerous articles on heart disease. He has also created a Web Site dedicated to heart disease and how to treat them. Click on . David Cowley's top article generates over 110000 views. to your Favourites.
Fabvin has sinced written about articles on various topics from Other Conditions, Home Management and Disease & illness. FabVin is an entrepreneur in small business. Review this page www.kitchenfitters.ie. Fabvin's top article generates over 110000 views. to your Favourites.