Heart Disease Treatments

These are heart disease treatments available for those inflicted with heart disease. There is no cure for heart disease. These treatments may prevent death and provide temporay relief of the pains associated with heart disease.

The Treatments

Coronary Angioplasty is a procedure done by inserting a balloon or a stent to unclog the blocked coronary arteries, when they are inhibiting sufficient blood flow and oxygen to the heart muscle.

You can read about the angioplasty procedure and the angioplasty risks and benefits here.

Coronary Bypass Surgery is an invasive surgical procedure done to re-route and bypass the clogged arteries.

Medications and vitamins are given to reduce angina pains, reduce blood pressure, reduce LDL the bad cholesterol, increase HDL the good cholesterol, and to reduce blood clotting.

EECP Enhanced External Counter Pulsation. A non-invasive procedure that is known to reduce angina pains and to simulate exercise by creating tiny new collateral arteries that allow the blood to flow, relieving the pain.

Cardiac Rehabilitation after a heart attack is a rehabilitation program done to rebuild strength and stamina. It is also a stepping stone to a real exercise program. Exercise has been shown to reduce the risks of getting another heart attack and to create new collateral arteries to supply the heart with oxygen.

The Ornish Way In Dr. Dean Ornish's book reversing heart disease, Dr. Ornish says that he has the only scientific system to reverse heart disease. His program is based on following a strict diet, exercising, meditation, and stress reduction.

Chelation is it a cure for heart disease? The Medical community and the American heart association say that it has not been proven to be effective in treating heart disease. There is a study being conducted by the NHLBI and the NCCAM to find out if it can or cannot cure heart disease.

Cholesterol Info - What you need to know

High cholesterol is one of the better known risk factors for heart disease.

The combination of high low density lipropotiens or LDL and low high density lipoprotiens or HDL's are one of the main causes of atherosclerosis and heart disease.

Cholesterol is one of the heart disease risk factors that we can control.

it is worthwhile to learn as much as we can about the actionthat we can take control our cholesterol levels.

Here you can read about what is cholesterol and about what levela are generally considered to be high cholesterol.

You can learn how to lower cholesterol levels. and you can get the latest latest cholesterol information here on this site.

Heart Disease Risk Factors

Heart Disease Risk Factors are factors that contribute to the odds of dying from heart disease..Heart Disease is what you don't want to die from! These risk factors of heart disease are the odds that you will die from Heart Disease. The greater your personal risk factors are, the greater your odds are, that “you will die from heart disease”.

Consider this: Heart Disease is the leading cause of death in the western world... The general population odds of dying from heart disease are: One in Two.That is 1:2! Those are the general population odds. Our individual odds depend on our own risk factor profile. • Do you know what your risk factor for heart disease is? • Do you know what the heart disease risk factors are? If you answered no, to any of these questions, how do you expect to reduce your odds and avoid heart disease? Do your self the greatest favor: ... begin educating yourself on what the heart disease risk factors are, and what causes heart disease. Doing so, will teach you what the necessary actions you must take to reduce your odds. The Heart Disease Risk Factors that lead to the leading cause of death are avoidable You don't have to die from it. You can choose to control the causes, before the degenerative process begins...

These are the most common risk factors associated with heart disease high blood pressure, cholesterol, smoking such as having High LDL , Low HDL, high Triglycerides , and being overweight . Over the past few years major emphasis has been put on the role genes, stress and depression have on developing heart disease. One thing is for sure as seen by these risk factors statistics, that unhealthy nutrition, combined with physical inactivity causes obesity and diabetes both of whom are independent risk factors for heart heart disease. Other less known risk factors are C Reactive Protein high Homocysteine , and oral hygiene.

Exercises to Prevent and Recover From Heart Disease

Exercising is one of the most important aspects of keeping the heart healthy and living a healthy active lifestyle.

There are many known benefits of exercise, whether its aerobics, or any other type of aerobic exercise.

If it has the benefits of aerobic exercises it reduces the risk for heart disease.

There are a variety of exercises for a variety of temperaments to choose from, such as walking, jogging, running or swimming.

As long as it is done for 20 minutes within the target heart rate zone it has the benefits of cardiovascular exercises and it reduces the risks of heart disease.

If you want to calculate your target heart rate here you can find tool that you can use to figure out your exercise target heart rate should be.

It is generally accepted that for the recovery and prevention of heart disease, all three types are necessary, cardio, weight lifting , and stretching such as Pilates and yoga.

In cardiac rehabilitation and in books that recommend exercise for heart patients, all three types are recommended.

Before starting on an exercise program it is recommended that you get exercise advice from a certified fitness trainer who can advise you with the correct exercise instructions.

You can even find some exercise programs online that can be tailored to fit your needs.

You can get a heart rate monitor to determine how many calories are burned during exercise.

Over the past few years health experts and the medical community have come to the realization that weight lifting doing weight lifting exercises benefits the heart too.

At one point weight training used to be considered something that only bodybuilders do.

Now it is understood that building muscle through lifting weights is heart healthy too.

Exercise Equipment

Purchasing exercise equipment after you are warned by your doctor that you are at risk for heart disease is a must. Even if you have heart disease already or just survived a heart attack, exercising is a must.

The importance of exercising to avoid or recover from heart disease is documented in many studies. It reduces LDL cholesterol raises HDL Cholesterol, reduces high blood pressure, and reduces stress and depression. The positive effects are enormous.

Joining a gym is a good option, in a gym there are personal trainers, there is a group environment, and there is some peer pressure watching others exercising.

The problem is that at times it is difficult to keep to a strict schedule, other things come up, and you simply cannot make it to the gym. Besides, there are many people that simply do not want to go to the gym for whatever the reason.

Why should you lose a day or several days of exercising, and lose all the benefits? You do not have to. You can purchase exercise equipment and create your own home gym, to be used whenever you cannot make it to the gym.

I know from my own experience that after my heart attack, at first I went to cardiac rehab, when I finished the program I joined a gym. Then things came up and I simply couldn't make it to the gym, so I went out to purchase exercise machines. I bought a treadmill, an elliptical machine, a stationary bicycle, and some dumbbells. I like the variety, and it allows for cross training. I created my own home gym.

There are many different types of fitness equipment to choose from. You can even get some ideas to what particular exercise program you like, when you read a fitness magazine.

The most important thing is to be committed to an exercise and fitness program, where you exercise within your target heart rate zone for at least 20 minutes a minimum of 3 times per week.

Doing so you know that you are doing all you can to avoid heart disease.

Nutrition: What We Eat plays A Major Role In The Development Of Heart Disease

Proper Nutrition Is Essential For Our Health

High cholesterol, high blood pressure, over weight, and diabetes, among the other risk factors for heart disease are directly related to the foods that we eat.

Categories And Types of Fat

The Natural Fats:

Saturated Fats:

Saturated fats are fats that are solid at room temperature. Mostly they are byproducts of foods that come from animals, such as meat, milk, and milk products. There are other sources too, such as tropical oils, coconut, palm kernel oil, and cocoa butter.

When we eat saturated fat our bodies produce LDL low density lipoproteins, which are the fats associated with building the plaque in our arteries.

Monounsaturated Fats

Monounsaturated fats are fats that are liquid at room temperature; they include olive oil and peanut oil.

These fats are associated with cleaning our arteries from the buildup of the plaque.

These oils are the healthy ones, especially olive oil, which is common in the Mediterranean diet and has been proven to have positive effects on our health.

Polyunsaturated Fats

Polyunsaturated fats are fats that are also liquid at room temperature, such as canola oil, safflower oil, corn oil, and other vegetable oils and fish oil.

There are two categories of polyunsaturated oils.

• Omega 3 fatty acids
• Omega 6 fatty acids

Omega 3 and omega 6 oils are essential, we need them for our existence, our bodies don't make them naturally we must get them from our diets.

The Unnatural Fat:

Trans Fat

Trans fat, trans fatty acids are polyunsaturated oils that go through a process of hydrogenation that convert the oils into saturated oils, and they too turn into solids at room temperature. These oils are the killers; they increase the amounts of HDL cholesterol in our blood, and they clog up the arteries causing atherosclerosis and heart disease.

Cholesterol

Cholesterol which is a waxy chemical produced by our bodies, and is also found in all animal foods, such as meat poultry fish eggs and dairy product.

Eating too much cholesterol increases the amount of saturated fat which increasing our LDL cholesterol particles, is also a major cause of heart disease

Proper nutrition is extremely important in avoiding heart disease

We can begin to read the nutrition food labels and get the nutrtion facts. We can read the details of the ingredients that are in the products that we eat.

By doing so we can learn about the products that are killing us, causing heart disease and heart attacks, and eliminate them from our diets.

By eliminating those foods and replacing them with healthy ones we are taking the proper steps towards avoiding heart disease and living a heart healthy lifestyle.

Watching our nutrition will make us feel healthier, and we will know that we have done all we can do to reduce our risks for heart disease.

Heart Healthy Foods That Reduce the Risks of Heart Disease

These are heart healthy foods. Some of them have even been approved by the FDA that they actually reduce heart disease risks.

Adding Soy Protein to the diet to help reduce the risk of heart disease. For those interested in increasing soy protein consumption to help reduce their risk of heart disease, health experts say they need not completely eliminate animal-based products such as meat, poultry, and dairy foods to reap the benefits. to help reduce the risk of heart disease.

Health Claim For Soy Protein The FDA has given permission for manufacturers to label products high in soy protein, that they reduce the risk for heart disease. Vegetarians and health enthusiasts have known for years that foods rich in soy protein offer a good alternative to meat, poultry, and other animal-based products. As consumers have pursued healthier lifestyles in recent years, consumption of soy foods has risen steadily, bolstered by scientific studies

The Soy Health Claim In October 1999, FDA approved a health claim that can be used on labels of soy-based foods to tout their heart-healthy benefits. The agency reviewed research from 27 studies that showed soy protein's value in lowering levels of total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or "bad" cholesterol), and the ability to create a a healthy heart with soy.

The Benefits of Soy Protein products they can be good substitutes for animal products because, unlike some other beans, soy offers a "complete" protein profile.

Soy Food Though soy may seem like a new and different kind of food for many Americans, it actually is found in a number of products already widely consumed. For example, soybean oil accounts for 79 percent of the edible fats used annually in the United States, according to the United soybean Board.

Flavanoid rich foods rich in flavonoids are easy and enjoyable to add to your everyday diet.

High Fiber Foods more and more research are showing that a high-fiber diet prevents heart disease and other serious ailments, roughage has started to get some respect.

Adding fish and omega 3's to the Diet, to help reduce the risk of heart disease. The FDA's new guidelines.