Heart Disease: Tips for Prevention
The number one killer in America today is a disease that can often be prevented.
According to the American Heart Association, heart disease is the nation's single leading cause of death for both men and women. At least 58.8 million people in this country suffer from some form of heart disease.
And on the whole, cardiovascular diseases (the combination of heart disease and stroke) kill some 950,000 Americans every year.
But the good news is that measures can be taken to prevent heart disease. Studies show that nearly everyone can become more heart healthy by following a few key steps, such as eating a healthy diet, exercising, quitting smoking, and maintaining a healthy body weight.
Still, there are many misconceptions about heart disease: "The biggest misconception is that heart disease only happens to the elderly," said Elizabeth Schilling, CRNP with the Center for Preventive Cardiology Program at the University of Maryland Medical Center.
In fact, according to the American Heart Association, almost 150,00 Americans killed by cardiovascular disease each year are under the age of 65. And one out of every 20 people below the age of 40 has heart disease.
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- What is Heart Disease?
- Risk Factors
- Raising the Good Cholesterol
- Laughter and Tea May Prevent Heart Disease
- Reduce Stress with a Good Laugh
- A New Reason to Drink Tea
- General Prevention Tips
- Regular Screenings
What is Heart Disease?Heart disease is any disorder that affects the heart's ability to function normally. The most common type of heart disease is coronary artery disease, which is the narrowing or blockage of the coronary arteries. Some people are born with abnormalities (congenital heart disease). Various forms of heart disease include:
- Coronary artery disease (the most common form of heart disease)
- Arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythms)
- Heart failure
- Heart valve diseases
- Congenital heart disease
Uncontrollable risk factors include:
- Family history of heart disease (especially with onset before age 55)
- Diabetes mellitus
- Age (65 and older)
- Women, after the onset of menopause -- generally men are at risk at an earlier age than women, but after menopause, women are equally at risk
- Cigarette smoking
- Being overweight by 30 percent
- Hypertension -- high blood pressure
- High cholesterol levels (specifically, high LDL cholesterol and low HDL cholesterol and high triglycerides)
- Stressful lifestyle
- Sedentary lifestyle (physical inactivity)
recent article in the Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine, a low level of the "good cholesterol" (HDL-C) is the most common lipoprotein abnormality in people with coronary heart disease. These low levels best predict the risk of heart disease, even when the total cholesterol is within the normal range.
The National Cholesterol Education Program defines an HDL reading below 40 as an independent risk factor for heart disease.
Lifestyle measures for raising your HDL levels include weight loss, drug therapies, and omega-3 (fish oil) supplementation. In addition, moderate daily alcohol consumption (about 1 to 2 oz a day) can raise HDL levels by 5 to 10 percent
While there are no magic dietary bullets that raise HDL levels, Miller cautions that merely replacing fat with carbohydrates without reducing caloric intake can cause good cholesterol levels to fall by as much as 20 percent
He also favors using monounsaturated fats, such as olive oil and canola oil, in exchange for either saturated fats or carbohydrates. Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, help lower blood cholesterol when used in place of saturated fats.
But even more important than diet and weight loss is regular aerobic exercise.
As Miller stated in his article, "aerobic exercise is perhaps the most important lifestyle intervention for raising a low HDL level." Miller says the benefit is "dose related"--the more aerobic exercise you do, (such as running, brisk walking, swimming or cycling) the higher the good cholesterol will be. And the duration of the exercise rather than the intensity appears to have the biggest influence. Good cholesterol rises about a milligram for every four or five miles run/ covered each week.