From the time people are very young, as young as five years old, they can start developing tissue deposits, called plaque, in the lining of their arteries. For many people, these deposits never cause trouble. For others, the deposits can grow, harden, and eventually cause death. The growth of these tissues is called arteriosclerosis.
As these tissues grow, the arteries will enlarge some to try and accommodate blood flow. However, if the blob of plaque ruptures, the particles clog blood passages causing a heart attack or stroke, in the worst cases.
Please, Pass On The Fats
Scientists know what causes ischemic heart disease: a fatty diet, inaction, and smoking. While smoking is certainly not limited to rich countries, a fatty diet and inaction are luxuries of middle- and upper-class populations.
In Europe and the United States, calories are cheap and plentiful. For an hour's wage, a person can buy a meal containing a pound of meat. However, in some countries, a pound of meat is a treat to be divided within one family once a month. No doctor recommends either extreme of poor or rich food, but rather, everyone needs a healthy, balanced, but lean diet to prevent ischemic heart disease.
However, some doctors have an idea about using peer pressure to make westerners make themselves healthier. Thirty years ago, few Americans wore seat belts. And many more smoked cigarettes than do now. Laws played a part in changing behavior, but in both of these cases, peer pressure really started the trend. And many scientists, nutritionists, and activists, worried about ischemic heart disease, are trying to repeat the trend for healthier diets.
And this power of healthy suggestion seems to be working on restaurants. Especially since 2004, fast food chains have started to offer healthier menu choices such as yogurt, salads, and fruit. Many restaurants now print some nutrition information on their menus and offer specifically heart smart recipes.
But the question is will people take advantage of healthier menus, city recreation departments, and fresh vegetables at the grocery store? So far, it does not seem so. Some scientists predict that 75% of all Americans will be overweight by 2008. Yet extra weight and the bad diet and inactivity that usually accompany it are causing an epidemic of ischemic heart disease.
Low density lipoproteins, commonly know as "bad" LDL, can penetrate and gather against the inner walls of our arteries, under certain conditions, forming fatty streaks and plaque. Due to the busy lifestyles of two income households, the demand for quick and easy microwaveable food, fast food and snack foods have increased drastically. Also, many children are substituting soda and vending machine snacks for school lunches.
A patient suffering from the Coronary Artery Disease has arteries which grow both narrow and hard. As a result the heart does not get the required amount of blood. Saturated fats are one of the villains when it comes to the bad fat part of the formula and this type of fat is commonly found in almost all foods. Unsaturated fats are far less harmful. A diet high in fats has been recognized as a primary villain and risk factor in cardiovascular disease.
The difficulty many people have in understanding the risk of a high fat diet is not so much in the total fat but in the types of fat included in the diet. Obesity is an increasing problem these days, it is well documented that overweight people are more likely to suffer heart problems. In the hustle-bustle of modern living, it is easy to resort to a junk diet.
There sometimes is no outward sign that a person has the disease. The most common symptom is chest pain or angina. This can be described as and uncomfortable feeling usually felt in the chest just below the breastbone. But the most important and the most dangerous from of heart disease is that which eventually damages the entire functioning of the heart.
Hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis), which is frequently involved in heart disease, can also affect the arteries that supply blood to the penis, thereby reducing the blood supply to it and leading to erectile dysfunction. Smoking makes this worse, and quitting smoking should always be a priority. Heart disease is a silent killer that gives little or no warning just as Cancer.
We consciously avoid some fat-rich food, like butter in order to avoid heart disease. However, this notion is grossly incorrect. There are fats that are protective and fats that are shown to increase risk. HDL cholesterol, the so-called "good" cholesterol, transports cholesterol to the liver, where it's altered and removed from the body.
Reduce the amount of red meat in your diet. Red meat is high in artery-clogging saturated fat. It is best to stick to a red meat free diet which includes healthier protein options like chicken, fish, egg whites, tofu and beans. Cholesterol can turn bad in your blood if you have a very poor diet and this causes the formation of plaques in the walls of the blood vessels leading to heart problems and bypass surgery in some cases. Its the build up of LDL cholesterol as mentioned above.
Angina has often been described as a heavy feeling or aching, burning, fullness and squeezing. The symptoms often resemble those of heartburn or indigestion. Get emergency treatment if the feeling lasts for more than about 15 minutes. There are other places that the discomfort or pain can be felt including the left shoulder (because your heart is on the left side of your body), arms, neck, throat, jaw or even your back.
The power that each individual has to ensure their own heart health is amazing, when you consider the factors that play a role in the variety of diseases that target the heart. The fact, then, that one out of every twenty people under the age of 40 suffers from some form of heart disease indicates that too many people aren't taking their heart health seriously.
Both Michael Crockett & Tara Smith... 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.
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