The Heart Disease Hit List FACT – Heart disease is the biggest killer in the western world, and has been for more than a century. FACT – Heart disease related deaths account for more than a third of deaths. FACT – A large percentage of heart attack victims die before they reach hospital. FACT – The first sign of heart disease that many heart attack victims notice is sudden excruciating pain followed by death. Shocked yet? You should be! In-fact we all should be. Many people ignore the occasional chest pain, the twinge in the arm or shoulders after a meal etc, and take no interest in reversing heart disease. Feeling safe in the knowledge that if they have a heart problem they’ll go to the hospital and get fixed up; maybe take steps toward reversing heart disease through lifestyle changes if the doc says so. Sounds like a good plan huh? Unfortunately as the above statistics clearly show, the plan can fail with tragic consequences, which could be avoided by reversing heart disease through a change of lifestyle. Reversing heart disease should be of prime importance to every adult in the western world. Poor lifestyle and complacency are sadly all too closely linked to the heart disease death rate. Check out the chilling statistics and you’ll find that the heart disease death rates are similar in every western country, and yet the majority of people are still complacent about the dangers associated with this silent killer. The main risk factors are: High Blood Pressure High Cholesterol Obesity Smoking Sedentary Lifestyle Stress Combine a few, or perhaps all of these risk factors and you have a lethal time-bomb ticking away inside of you, with prevention being the best solution by reversing heart disease through lifestyle changes. Most of the major risk factors are silent. They must be sought actively, and much of the responsibility for their detection, and reversing heart disease lies with each of us as individuals. Regular checkups are particularly necessary if there is a family history of heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels or diabetes. There has been a slight decline in the death rate from heart disease over the last two decades as a portion of the population has heeded the warning and taken steps to modify their lifestyle to reduce the risk factors and thus reversing heart disease that would otherwise have progressed within their bodies. Despite this decline however, the death rate is still far too high. Another worrying problem is the high obesity rate among the young population today and its associated health problems, of which heart disease is only one. Many nutritionists and scientist believe this generation of adults will be among the first to outlive their children, a terrible thought for any parent. This highlights the importance of reversing heart disease factors for ourselves as well as our children through education and encouraging the whole family to get involved in making positive changes to diet and lifestyle. As with many other degenerative diseases of our society, heart disease is best prevented; rather than trying to gamble on surviving your first wakeup call. Heart disease prevention is best approached by taking steps toward reversing heart disease gradually and always under a doctor’s supervision. Educating yourself is also a smart course of action for reversing heart disease and specialist information will always have significantly more effective results. Heart disease is no joke; it’s a matter of life and death!
It all started innocently enough. I went to my primary care physician complaining of dizziness and a pain in my back. A quick ECG or electrocardiogram revealed a very fine and operational heart muscle. Still, being at an age where heart disease is considered a possibility and having several increased risk factors, my doctor decided that a trip to see the cardiologist was in order.
After all I thought, how could there be a problem with my heart? I just carried several 50 pound boxes down three flights of stairs only a couple of weeks ago. Still, I thought it better to at least get a baseline so we could measure any change as I got older. And the fact that the dizziness didn't go away was still troubling.
The next test was a treadmill or stress test. Because of the dizziness and nausea however, the heart diagnostic group decided that a chemical stress test was in order. They inserted an IV and took pictures of my heart muscle before being stressed. The idea is that they could then place my heart under some strain and see the reaction. Kind of like a before and after type set of pictures. I could give you the medical names of the test and drugs but I'm not a doctor and prefer to offer the description from the patient point of view. So after the initial set of pictures, the technicians inserted chemicals into my body through the IV to chemically "stress" my heart while carefully monitoring my status. A short wait and yet another set of pictures.
In about a week, they called with the results. Instead of saying it straight however, I was told only that the tests results showed there may be a problem and to schedule an appointment with the cardiologist immediately. Now I don't like the sound of immediately so it must have been critical or more important that just seeing "something."
After talking with the doctor, it was decided that another battery of non invasive tests were in order. This time, it was a modified like CT scan. They were looking for verification of calcium deposits in my arteries.
This test agreed with the stress test results and showed calcification of the arteries, or arteriosclerosis. From all the tests, it appeared as if I had some problem developing but how serious was still an issue. There was however a blood test for calcium that indicated a level higher than 90% of the people my age. That did it! The doctor now wanted and almost demanded to go see what was going on.
An angiogram was in my immediate future. An angiogram typically is an outpatient procedure where the cardiologist opens an artery in your leg and works a camera into the heart muscle arteries. It sounds a lot worse than it is but the benefit is that you know exactly what the status of your heart and arteries are at that point in time.
Both Walton Huzzy & Abigail Franks 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.
Walton Huzzy has sinced written about articles on various topics from High Cholesterol, Heart Conditions and Health. Author writes articles on different topics. To know more, visit:,. Walton Huzzy's top article generates over 4400 views. to your Favourites.
Abigail Franks has sinced written about articles on various topics from Home Schooling, Health and Mortgage. Abigail Franks writes on many subjects having to do with home, family, and health. For more information on heart issues and heart monitoring visit the site at