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Longevity for You
Heart disease or cardiovascular disease is the leading health problem in the Western world claiming more than one million lives annually. An estimated fifty million Americans are afflicted with heart and blood vessel diseases although many are symptomatic.
Heart disease is the inadequacy of the heart and blood vessels to maintain the minimal amount of blood circulation throughout the body due to the narrowing of blood vessels.
Heart health is health longevity because it affects not only the body but also the mind, and therefore has a long-term role in anti-aging.
The common types of heart disease
Coronary heart disease
Coronary heart disease, or coronary artery disease (CAD), is characterized by the accumulation of fatty deposits along the innermost layer of coronary arteries. The fatty deposits may have developed in your childhood, and continue to thicken and enlarge throughout your adult lifespan. That thickening narrows you arteries and can decrease or block the flow of blood to your heart.
Symptoms may include heaviness, tightness, pressure, and/or pain in your chest (behind the breastbone).
About thirteen million Americans suffer from coronary artery disease - the Number One killer of both men and women in the United States.
Heart attack
A heart attack, or myocardial infarction, occurs when your heart muscle experiences a severe or prolonged lack of oxygen caused by blocked blood flow to the heart muscle.
The blockage is often a result of a buildup of cholesterol and other fatty substances, which obstruct the flow of blood and oxygen to your heart, thus reducing the flow to the rest of your body.
If the blood and oxygen supply is cut off severely or for a long period, the muscle cells of your heart may suffer damage and even die, the result of which is dysfunction of the muscles of your heart in the area affected by the lack of oxygen supply.
Symptoms may include the following:
o Severe pressure, fullness, squeezing, pain and/or discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts for more than a few minutes
o Pain or discomfort that spreads to the shoulders, neck, arms, or jaw
o Chest pain that increases in intensity
o Chest pain that is not relieved by rest or by taking cardiac prescription medication
o Chest pain that occurs with any/all of the following additional symptoms: sweating, cool, clammy skin, and/or paleness; shortness of breath; nausea or vomiting; dizziness or fainting; and unexplained weakness or fatigue
o Indigestion with a painful or burning feeling in the upper abdomen that may be accompanied by: rapid or irregular pulse; abdominal bloating; belching; nausea; severe pain in upper right abdomen; and vomiting
Congestive heart failure
Congestive heart failure is a condition in which your heart cannot pump enough oxygenated blood to meet the needs of other organs. Your heart keeps pumping, but not as efficiently as it should be.
Congestive heart failure may result from high blood pressure, excessive sodium intake, heart valve disease, previous heart attack(s), and coronary artery disease, among others.
Congestive heart failure interferes with your kidney's normal function of eliminating excess sodium and waste from your body. In congestive heart failure, your body retains more fluid - resulting in swelling of your ankles and legs. Fluid may also collect in your lungs, resulting in shortness of breath.
Symptoms may include:
o Weight gain
o Visible swelling of the legs and ankles (due to a build-up of fluid), and, occasionally, the abdomen
o Shortness of breath during rest or exercise
o Fatigue
o Loss of appetite and nausea
o Persistent cough - often producing mucus or blood-tinged sputum
Heart valve disease
Heart valve disease is a malfunctioning of your heart valves, which are responsible for letting blood flow in and out of your heart. When your heart valves fail to open and close properly, your heart’s capability to pump blood through your body may be severely disrupted, leading to heart failure. Heart valve disease may be due to damage from a previous heart attack or infection.
Symptoms may include:
o Chest pain
o Palpitations caused by irregular heartbeats
o Migraine headaches
o Fatigue
o Dizziness
o Shortness of breath
Angina
Angina is recurring chest pain or discomfort that happens when some part of your heart does not receive enough blood. Angina is a symptom of coronary heart disease.
Symptoms may include pressing, squeezing, or crushing pain, usually in your chest under the breastbone, and pain radiating in your arms, shoulders, jaw, neck, and/or back.
The chest pain associated with angina usually begins with physical exertion. Other triggers may include emotional stress, extreme cold and heat, and heavy meals. Angina chest pain is usually relieved within a few minutes by resting or taking prescribed medication.
An episode of angina does not indicate that a heart attack is occurring, or that a heart attack is about to occur. Angina does indicate, however, that coronary heart disease is present and that some part of your heart is not receiving an adequate blood supply. If you have angina, you may have an increased risk of heart attack.
The diagnosis
In order to receive proper and beneficial treatment for heart disease, the diagnosis must be correct. The following are the most common techniques used by Western doctors to determine if you have heart disease:
EKG - Electrocardiogram
The muscles of the heart work by small shocks, which cross the muscles causing them to contract. These small shocks are monitored by a non-invasive painless procedure. A set of sensory pads are placed on strategic areas of your chest and a reading of your heart’s beating patterns can be obtained on a monitor or printout.
Stress Electrocardiogram - Stress EKG
You are put under physical stress, such as running on a treadmill or riding a bike at a pace set by your doctor. Any abnormalities, which did not show up for the non-stress electrocardiogram, should show up during the test.
Angiocardiography
Angiocardiography is a method to diagnose the condition of your arteries. A slender tube (catheter) is inserted into an artery, releasing dye mixed with your blood. The doctor will watch on a nearby monitor as the blood/dye mixture passes through your arteries and arterioles, thereby revealing blockages and other abnormalities.
The risk factors
According to the American Heart Association, the major risk factors for heart disease are as follows:
· Age (65 years and older)
Blood cholesterol levels begin to increase after age twenty, and may level off after fifty or sixty.
· Gender
Women are more likely to die from heart disease than from all forms of cancer, chronic lung disease, pneumonia, diabetes, accidents and AIDS combined. Until menopause, women tend to have lower LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) levels than men do. After menopause, a woman’s LDL cholesterol levels tend to rise, thus increasing the risk for heart disease in the latter part of her life.
However, men have a greater lifelong risk of heart attack, and experience attacks earlier in life.
· Heredity
Genetic background can determine the production and processing of cholesterol in your body.
· Smoking
If you are a smoker, you have twice as high a risk of heart attack as you are a non-smoker, and have two to four times the risk of sudden cardiac death.
If you smoke a packet of cigarettes a day, you double your risk of a heart attack. You are also five times as likely to suffer a stroke. Smoking 40 cigarettes a day makes you five times as likely to suffer from a heart attack.
Stop smoking to get back your heart health.
· High blood cholesterol levels
High cholesterol may increase your risk of coronary heart disease. It makes your heart pump harder and faster, causing it to weaken faster too.
High cholesterol levels may impair heart health.
· High blood pressure
African-Americans have the highest death rates from the disease. This may be due to their higher rates of high blood pressure: about one in three black adults have high blood pressure, compared to about one in four white adults. High blood pressure is also generally more severe among elderly African-Americans than among elderly whites, leading to more cases of strokes, heart disease and kidney failure.
High blood pressure is the Number One enemy of heart health.
· Physical inactivity
Lack of physical activity may increase your LDL (bad cholesterol) and decrease your HDL (good cholesterol) levels.
Regular exercise maintains heart health.
· Obesity
Excessive body weight may increase LDL cholesterol levels and decrease your HDL cholesterol levels.
Weight control contributes to heart health.
· Diabetes
Diabetes increases your risk of heart disease. Heart disease kills more than 80 percent of people with diabetes. (Read my web page Diabetes.)
Anti-aging foods for a healthy heart
Diet is an important factor in heart health. However, the issue of diet and nutrition is complex: a range of social, cultural, economic and physiological factors, including the availability of food supply and its cost, influences it.
Food is directly involved in many of the risk factors for coronary heart disease. Paying attention to what you eat is one of the most important preventive measures you can take to enhance your heart health.
The foods that best promote heart health include the following:
· Oily fish, such as mackerel, sardines, tuna and salmon, contain omega-3 fatty acids, which not only lower your cholesterol, but also improve your blood vessels’ elasticity, making them less likely to clot and block blood flow.
· Fruits and vegetables, which are rich in antioxidants, offer protection against heart disease. In addition, they are important sources of folate, which helps reduce the risk of heart disease by lowering the blood levels of the amino acid homocysteine.
· Fiber from whole-grain breads and cereals offers you protection against the risk of heart attack. Unrefined carbohydrate sources with a low glycemic index keep your blood sugar levels in check for optimum heart health.
· Nuts and seeds can protect you against heart disease, but they need to be eaten in moderation as they are also high in calories.
· Green tea contains antioxidants that may help prevent the build-up of fatty deposits in your arteries, thereby increasing blood flow.
· According to some studies, foods containing vitamin E, a potent antioxidant, may help protect your heart against “bad” cholesterol. Good sources of vitamin E include avocados, dark green vegetables, vegetable oils, and whole-grain products. It is better to eat foods containing vitamin E rather than taking supplements, which do not have the same protective effects.
· According to some studies, a compound in fresh garlic, called allicin, can lower blood cholesterol.
Understanding food components for a healthy heart
Energy balance
You need enough calories to maintain your energy level, but no more than what you can burn off. This is energy balance, which is critical to heart health.
Even when you are dieting, you should not drastically cut back your calories such that your energy needs are not met. The number of calories you need depends primarily on age, gender, and activity level.
Dietary cholesterol
Dietary cholesterol is a fat-like substance found in all foods of animal origin: egg yolks, meat, poultry, and fish, milk and dairy products.
Because your body makes cholesterol, it is not required in your diet.
However, because most of the food you eat contain cholesterol, it is important to avoid any excessive amount that may damage your heart health. The amount of cholesterol you consume can affect your blood cholesterol levels.
High blood cholesterol is a significant risk factor in heart disease. Lowering blood cholesterol through increased physical activity, weight loss, smoking cessation, and proper diet may lower that risk.
· LDL - less than 130 milligrams/per deciliter (mg/dL)
· HDL - less than 40 mg/dL puts you at higher risk for heart disease
· A desirable total cholesterol level below 200 mg/dL
The 60 Day Prescription Free Cholesterol Cure shows you how to maintain healthy cholesterol levels as well as lower cholesterol naturally without the use of statin drugs for your optimum heart health.
Fats
All fats contain about the same number of calories, and there is no such a thing as “low-fat” fat.
Fat is the most concentrated source of calories, supplying more than twice as many calories per gram as either carbohydrates or proteins.
Fats may be saturated, polyunsaturated, monounsaturated, or trans-fats. These fatty acids differ in their chemical compositions and structures, and in the way in which they affect your blood cholesterol levels.
Total fat intake, irrespective of the type, should be no more than 30 percent of your daily calorie intake. Excessive intake of any type of fat is not conducive to heart health.
Weight Loss shows you how to overcome your food cravings, in particular your sugar habit, to control your weight and maintain your heart health.
Fiber
Fiber is the indigestible portion of food. There are two types of fiber: soluble and insoluble.
· Soluble fiber, found in such foods as oat bran and dried beans, can lower blood cholesterol only in some people.
· Insoluble fiber, found in foods such as wheat bran, has many benefits for heart health.
While insoluble fiber does not lower cholesterol, it is useful in weight control because it creates a feeling of fullness, making you eat less. Even if it does not reduce your cholesterol, it goes a long way in maintaining your weight for optimum heart health.
If you do not get adequate fiber from your food, supplement it with dietary fiber.
Sodium
Although salt is the major contributor of sodium in your diet, sodium and salt are not the same, contrary to popular belief. A teaspoon of table salt contains 2,300 milligrams of sodium.
Sodium is a mineral needed to maintain your body fluids and proper nerve function. It occurs naturally in many foods, so you generally do not lack sodium.
Excessive intake of sodium may be the culprit of high blood pressure, which is not good for heart health.
Medical procedures to treat heart disease
Angioplasty
Angioplasty is a non-surgical procedure, performed by a specialized cardiologist and a team of cardiovascular nurses and technicians, to open blocked heart arteries.
Placing stents in arteries during angioplasty may be very effective in keeping your heart blood vessels open. Even when stents are implanted, arteries may narrow again in up to 20 percent of patients. Such re-narrowing, known as in-stent restenosis, is due to scar tissue, formed in response to the injury created when the stent was implanted. While the procedures performed during coronary angioplasty will open a blocked artery, they will not cure coronary artery disease.
Bypass
When your coronary arteries are blocked, your doctor may treat the problem by giving your blood a new pathway to your heart. This is an open-heart surgery performed directly upon your heart. Bypass procedure stops your lungs and heart, and puts your blood through a machine that oxygenates it as well as pumps it through your body.
During coronary artery bypass graft surgery (also called CABG, or “cabbage”), a blood vessel is removed or redirected from one area of your body, and placed around the area or areas of narrowing to bypass the blockages and restore blood flow to your heart muscle. CABG surgery is the surgery most commonly performed.
Despite its popularity, bypass surgery has a long list of unpublicized side effects, and in many cases has proven to be even unnecessary. Unless the chosen hospital and the performing surgeon are highly qualified, the chances of leaving the operating room alive can be as low as one in five because one in twenty patients may subsequently suffer a heart attack following the surgery, and one in forty may suffer a stroke. In addition, the older the patient, the lower the chances of survival, and patients undergoing a repeat bypass have a 10-20 percent higher risk for fatality.
Although in some cases bypass surgery is necessary and may prove helpful, research has shown that many of the operations performed could have been avoided.
Another shortfall of bypass surgery is that it is only a patchwork solution to a disease affecting the entire arterial system. Replacing the most crucial arteries is only a temporary solution, but not a miracle cure. Given that the complete vascular system is affected, the chances of another occlusion occurring several years down the road are critically high.
Laser tipped catheter
Laser tipped catheter burns away the fatty deposits and smooths out the sides of the blocked artery. There is less chance of the artery collapsing as in angioplasty procedures, but the floating pieces of plaque moving in the blood to a new area may cause blockages there - possibly causing a stroke if they are in the brain.
Open-heart surgery
Open-heart surgery is performed while the bloodstream is diverted through a heart-lung machine.
Open-heart procedures are quite common in the United States.
According to British Medical Journal, a new study shows invasive procedures do not necessarily improve the survival rate for patients hospitalized for a life-threatening heart condition. In addition, researchers say there should be a more selective use of procedures, and they argue against routinely transferring patients to hospitals with specialist facilities.
Consider other alternatives to the invasive procedures of Western medicine. Remember, all procedures simply correct the symptoms but do not address the causes of heart disease. Heart health is overall physical and mental health. Heart health is anti-aging, and only heart health may lead to longevity, not any of the conventional procedures of Western medicine.
How To Prevent Or Even Reverse Heart Disease - Without Drugs Or Surgery is about preventing and reversing heart disease without drugs or invasive procedures. Robert D. Willix Jr., who has been a surgeon for 30 years, has pioneered preventive medicine and natural cures instrumental in preventing and reversing heart disease, without surgery or drugs. Some of his groundbreaking findings include: raising cholesterol level can protect the heart; and taking an aspirin a day can increase the risk for heart attack, among others. Robert D. Willix Jr. also reveals the “secrets” of heart health that the mainstream medicine and big pharmaceutical companies would not like you to know. This book, with its many anti-aging tips on heart health, is very interesting and informative on the subject of heart disease. It is highly recommended for anyone who is interested in anti-aging heart health for both the body and the mind.
The Oriental approach to heart health
According to Western medicine, your heart is a pump that circulates blood through the blood vessels of your body. An efficient pump produces heart health. Genes, smoking, bad diet, lack of exercise and stress can block your blood vessels, forcing the pump to work too hard, and causing diseases of the heart and blood vessels.
According to the Oriental way, your heart is the “emperor” of your whole being, and the health of your entire system depends upon the normal functioning of your heart. Your heart is the "residence" of your mind, spirit, and personality. According to Chinese philosophy, heaven and earth merge to make a human being, and the place where they merge is in the heart, which is the center of the human body, and hence the importance of heart health.
Disturbances in the heart affect your whole body. The movement of blood throughout your body (circulation) is managed by multiple organs, which in turn interact with one another. A failure in any one part of this system can result in pathology that may affect your heart health.
If there is a circulation issue, all the organ systems in your body will be deprived of the nourishment supplied by your blood. Your heart health has a dramatic effect on everything else in your body. Heart health is not only physical health, but also mental health. Heart health has everything to do with your overall wellness. Good heart health is anti-aging.
The force that keeps life going is qi (internal vital life energy), which is determined by the balance of yin and yang. Poor diet, stress, and lack of exercise can cause your yin and yang to become out of balance, thereby disrupting the flow of qi. One symptom is “thick” blood, which is the root cause of heart disease affecting heart health.
Severe stagnation in qi and in the blood may produce internal heat, which goes into your blood and steams your body, drying out your blood vessels as well as raising your blood pressure. These conditions may adversely affect your heart health.
In Chinese medicine, the basic cause of chest pain is obstruction of the circulation of qi and blood. Chest pain may be due to either deficiency or excess patterns of yin and yang. A balanced yin and yang creates harmony for heart health.
(For more information on yin and yang in Oriental medicine, read my book, NO MIRACLE CURES - Only Wholesome Self-Healing. Also go to my website Chinese Healing.)
Heart yang deficiency is the root of many chest pain patterns involving the heart, especially those which are due to deficiency cold and phlegm obstruction. With heart yang deficiency, there is accumulation of "cold," your heart is weakened, and circulation is impaired, resulting in the accumulation of fluids in the form of phlegm and dampness. Clinical symptoms of heart yang deficiency include squeezed chest pain, cold limbs, and aversion to cold.
Heart qi deficiency may result from your heart yang deficiency. Clinical symptoms of heart qi deficiency are mild pain in chest, stuffiness in chest, shortness of breath; physical activity, palpitations and flutters may aggravate all these symptoms.
Blood deficiency is due to over exhaustion, excessive worry or mental activity, irregular dietary habits, or inordinate consumption of cold, raw foods, weakening your spleen qi, which in turn gives rise to qi and blood deficiency.
When your qi is weak, poor circulation results, giving rise to stagnation of qi or blood, or both. In addition, phlegm may accumulate due to the weakened spleen function. Clinical symptoms of qi and blood deficiency are mild chest pain, shortness of breath, pale complexion, and insomnia.
The wisdom of the Oriental medicine based on yin and yang provides insight into promoting heart health without the use of drugs and invasive procedures.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is an effective treatment to unblock your qi. Acupuncture helps restore balance for your normal flow of qi. Imbalance of qi means imbalance between yin and yang. Acupuncture is effective in restoring damaged heart health through optimized energy flow.
Much of your body's energy flows along the major channels and numerous minor channels. These flows influence the flow of all your body's fluids and energies. Each one of these flows passes through and influences an internal organ by nourishing it with the required nutrients.
Acupuncture points, as many as five hundred, are used to regulate the flow along these channels. The most powerful points on these channels lie on the extremities - below the elbows and knees.
Exercise
Qi Gong is a set of self-healing exercise designed to balance your qi, bringing you back into harmony with Nature. These exercises incorporate your posture, movement, breathing, meditation and visualization to move oxygen and nutrients from your blood to tissues. Distress and anxiety are dispelled during meditation; positive thinking with great confidence is affirmed; and concentration is emphasized. Through Qi Gong, you gain control of your body and mind, thereby instrumental in stimulating the circulation of your blood and qi, thereby promoting heart health.
Indispensable Qi Gong For People On The Go is an excellent book on Qi Gong exercise with step-by-step instructions to help you perform 3000-year-secret exercises to reverse bone loss due to osteoporosis, and to revitalize an aging body. The exercises are especially suitable for people who are aging because they promote muscle flexibility, enhance internal life energy, and promote clarity of the mind and overall physical well-being. Qi Gong benefits heart health.
Diet
The Chinese diet focuses on the yin and yang balance, since all foods and herbs naturally embody some of the five fundamental elements. By eating the right combinations of foods, you can attain the correct balance, thereby enabling the free flow of blood and qi to maximize heart health.
500 Healthy Chinese Recipes Cookbook is based on the concept of yin and yang in the ingredients selected as well as in the method of preparation to create 500 dishes to achieve balance and contrast for optimum heart health. The dishes are easy to cook. This is highly recommended if you like healthy Oriental cuisine. An antiaging diet goes a long way in enhancing heart health for longevity living.
Return from Heart Health to Home Page,
Copyright© by Stephen Lau
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Heart disease is the inadequacy of the heart and blood vessels to maintain the minimal amount of blood circulation throughout the body due to the narrowing of blood vessels.
Heart health is health longevity because it affects not only the body but also the mind, and therefore has a long-term role in anti-aging.
The common types of heart disease
Coronary heart disease
Coronary heart disease, or coronary artery disease (CAD), is characterized by the accumulation of fatty deposits along the innermost layer of coronary arteries. The fatty deposits may have developed in your childhood, and continue to thicken and enlarge throughout your adult lifespan. That thickening narrows you arteries and can decrease or block the flow of blood to your heart.
Symptoms may include heaviness, tightness, pressure, and/or pain in your chest (behind the breastbone).
About thirteen million Americans suffer from coronary artery disease - the Number One killer of both men and women in the United States.
Heart attack
A heart attack, or myocardial infarction, occurs when your heart muscle experiences a severe or prolonged lack of oxygen caused by blocked blood flow to the heart muscle.
The blockage is often a result of a buildup of cholesterol and other fatty substances, which obstruct the flow of blood and oxygen to your heart, thus reducing the flow to the rest of your body.
If the blood and oxygen supply is cut off severely or for a long period, the muscle cells of your heart may suffer damage and even die, the result of which is dysfunction of the muscles of your heart in the area affected by the lack of oxygen supply.
Symptoms may include the following:
o Severe pressure, fullness, squeezing, pain and/or discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts for more than a few minutes
o Pain or discomfort that spreads to the shoulders, neck, arms, or jaw
o Chest pain that increases in intensity
o Chest pain that is not relieved by rest or by taking cardiac prescription medication
o Chest pain that occurs with any/all of the following additional symptoms: sweating, cool, clammy skin, and/or paleness; shortness of breath; nausea or vomiting; dizziness or fainting; and unexplained weakness or fatigue
o Indigestion with a painful or burning feeling in the upper abdomen that may be accompanied by: rapid or irregular pulse; abdominal bloating; belching; nausea; severe pain in upper right abdomen; and vomiting
Congestive heart failure
Congestive heart failure is a condition in which your heart cannot pump enough oxygenated blood to meet the needs of other organs. Your heart keeps pumping, but not as efficiently as it should be.
Congestive heart failure may result from high blood pressure, excessive sodium intake, heart valve disease, previous heart attack(s), and coronary artery disease, among others.
Congestive heart failure interferes with your kidney's normal function of eliminating excess sodium and waste from your body. In congestive heart failure, your body retains more fluid - resulting in swelling of your ankles and legs. Fluid may also collect in your lungs, resulting in shortness of breath.
Symptoms may include:
o Weight gain
o Visible swelling of the legs and ankles (due to a build-up of fluid), and, occasionally, the abdomen
o Shortness of breath during rest or exercise
o Fatigue
o Loss of appetite and nausea
o Persistent cough - often producing mucus or blood-tinged sputum
Heart valve disease
Heart valve disease is a malfunctioning of your heart valves, which are responsible for letting blood flow in and out of your heart. When your heart valves fail to open and close properly, your heart’s capability to pump blood through your body may be severely disrupted, leading to heart failure. Heart valve disease may be due to damage from a previous heart attack or infection.
Symptoms may include:
o Chest pain
o Palpitations caused by irregular heartbeats
o Migraine headaches
o Fatigue
o Dizziness
o Shortness of breath
Angina
Angina is recurring chest pain or discomfort that happens when some part of your heart does not receive enough blood. Angina is a symptom of coronary heart disease.
Symptoms may include pressing, squeezing, or crushing pain, usually in your chest under the breastbone, and pain radiating in your arms, shoulders, jaw, neck, and/or back.
The chest pain associated with angina usually begins with physical exertion. Other triggers may include emotional stress, extreme cold and heat, and heavy meals. Angina chest pain is usually relieved within a few minutes by resting or taking prescribed medication.
An episode of angina does not indicate that a heart attack is occurring, or that a heart attack is about to occur. Angina does indicate, however, that coronary heart disease is present and that some part of your heart is not receiving an adequate blood supply. If you have angina, you may have an increased risk of heart attack.
The diagnosis
In order to receive proper and beneficial treatment for heart disease, the diagnosis must be correct. The following are the most common techniques used by Western doctors to determine if you have heart disease:
EKG - Electrocardiogram
The muscles of the heart work by small shocks, which cross the muscles causing them to contract. These small shocks are monitored by a non-invasive painless procedure. A set of sensory pads are placed on strategic areas of your chest and a reading of your heart’s beating patterns can be obtained on a monitor or printout.
Stress Electrocardiogram - Stress EKG
You are put under physical stress, such as running on a treadmill or riding a bike at a pace set by your doctor. Any abnormalities, which did not show up for the non-stress electrocardiogram, should show up during the test.
Angiocardiography
Angiocardiography is a method to diagnose the condition of your arteries. A slender tube (catheter) is inserted into an artery, releasing dye mixed with your blood. The doctor will watch on a nearby monitor as the blood/dye mixture passes through your arteries and arterioles, thereby revealing blockages and other abnormalities.
The risk factors
According to the American Heart Association, the major risk factors for heart disease are as follows:
· Age (65 years and older)
Blood cholesterol levels begin to increase after age twenty, and may level off after fifty or sixty.
· Gender
Women are more likely to die from heart disease than from all forms of cancer, chronic lung disease, pneumonia, diabetes, accidents and AIDS combined. Until menopause, women tend to have lower LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) levels than men do. After menopause, a woman’s LDL cholesterol levels tend to rise, thus increasing the risk for heart disease in the latter part of her life.
However, men have a greater lifelong risk of heart attack, and experience attacks earlier in life.
· Heredity
Genetic background can determine the production and processing of cholesterol in your body.
· Smoking
If you are a smoker, you have twice as high a risk of heart attack as you are a non-smoker, and have two to four times the risk of sudden cardiac death.
If you smoke a packet of cigarettes a day, you double your risk of a heart attack. You are also five times as likely to suffer a stroke. Smoking 40 cigarettes a day makes you five times as likely to suffer from a heart attack.
Stop smoking to get back your heart health.
· High blood cholesterol levels
High cholesterol may increase your risk of coronary heart disease. It makes your heart pump harder and faster, causing it to weaken faster too.
High cholesterol levels may impair heart health.
· High blood pressure
African-Americans have the highest death rates from the disease. This may be due to their higher rates of high blood pressure: about one in three black adults have high blood pressure, compared to about one in four white adults. High blood pressure is also generally more severe among elderly African-Americans than among elderly whites, leading to more cases of strokes, heart disease and kidney failure.
High blood pressure is the Number One enemy of heart health.
· Physical inactivity
Lack of physical activity may increase your LDL (bad cholesterol) and decrease your HDL (good cholesterol) levels.
Regular exercise maintains heart health.
· Obesity
Excessive body weight may increase LDL cholesterol levels and decrease your HDL cholesterol levels.
Weight control contributes to heart health.
· Diabetes
Diabetes increases your risk of heart disease. Heart disease kills more than 80 percent of people with diabetes. (Read my web page Diabetes.)
Anti-aging foods for a healthy heart
Diet is an important factor in heart health. However, the issue of diet and nutrition is complex: a range of social, cultural, economic and physiological factors, including the availability of food supply and its cost, influences it.
Food is directly involved in many of the risk factors for coronary heart disease. Paying attention to what you eat is one of the most important preventive measures you can take to enhance your heart health.
The foods that best promote heart health include the following:
· Oily fish, such as mackerel, sardines, tuna and salmon, contain omega-3 fatty acids, which not only lower your cholesterol, but also improve your blood vessels’ elasticity, making them less likely to clot and block blood flow.
· Fruits and vegetables, which are rich in antioxidants, offer protection against heart disease. In addition, they are important sources of folate, which helps reduce the risk of heart disease by lowering the blood levels of the amino acid homocysteine.
· Fiber from whole-grain breads and cereals offers you protection against the risk of heart attack. Unrefined carbohydrate sources with a low glycemic index keep your blood sugar levels in check for optimum heart health.
· Nuts and seeds can protect you against heart disease, but they need to be eaten in moderation as they are also high in calories.
· Green tea contains antioxidants that may help prevent the build-up of fatty deposits in your arteries, thereby increasing blood flow.
· According to some studies, foods containing vitamin E, a potent antioxidant, may help protect your heart against “bad” cholesterol. Good sources of vitamin E include avocados, dark green vegetables, vegetable oils, and whole-grain products. It is better to eat foods containing vitamin E rather than taking supplements, which do not have the same protective effects.
· According to some studies, a compound in fresh garlic, called allicin, can lower blood cholesterol.
Understanding food components for a healthy heart
Energy balance
You need enough calories to maintain your energy level, but no more than what you can burn off. This is energy balance, which is critical to heart health.
Even when you are dieting, you should not drastically cut back your calories such that your energy needs are not met. The number of calories you need depends primarily on age, gender, and activity level.
Dietary cholesterol
Dietary cholesterol is a fat-like substance found in all foods of animal origin: egg yolks, meat, poultry, and fish, milk and dairy products.
Because your body makes cholesterol, it is not required in your diet.
However, because most of the food you eat contain cholesterol, it is important to avoid any excessive amount that may damage your heart health. The amount of cholesterol you consume can affect your blood cholesterol levels.
High blood cholesterol is a significant risk factor in heart disease. Lowering blood cholesterol through increased physical activity, weight loss, smoking cessation, and proper diet may lower that risk.
· LDL - less than 130 milligrams/per deciliter (mg/dL)
· HDL - less than 40 mg/dL puts you at higher risk for heart disease
· A desirable total cholesterol level below 200 mg/dL
The 60 Day Prescription Free Cholesterol Cure shows you how to maintain healthy cholesterol levels as well as lower cholesterol naturally without the use of statin drugs for your optimum heart health.
Fats
All fats contain about the same number of calories, and there is no such a thing as “low-fat” fat.
Fat is the most concentrated source of calories, supplying more than twice as many calories per gram as either carbohydrates or proteins.
Fats may be saturated, polyunsaturated, monounsaturated, or trans-fats. These fatty acids differ in their chemical compositions and structures, and in the way in which they affect your blood cholesterol levels.
Total fat intake, irrespective of the type, should be no more than 30 percent of your daily calorie intake. Excessive intake of any type of fat is not conducive to heart health.
Weight Loss shows you how to overcome your food cravings, in particular your sugar habit, to control your weight and maintain your heart health.
Fiber
Fiber is the indigestible portion of food. There are two types of fiber: soluble and insoluble.
· Soluble fiber, found in such foods as oat bran and dried beans, can lower blood cholesterol only in some people.
· Insoluble fiber, found in foods such as wheat bran, has many benefits for heart health.
While insoluble fiber does not lower cholesterol, it is useful in weight control because it creates a feeling of fullness, making you eat less. Even if it does not reduce your cholesterol, it goes a long way in maintaining your weight for optimum heart health.
If you do not get adequate fiber from your food, supplement it with dietary fiber.
Sodium
Although salt is the major contributor of sodium in your diet, sodium and salt are not the same, contrary to popular belief. A teaspoon of table salt contains 2,300 milligrams of sodium.
Sodium is a mineral needed to maintain your body fluids and proper nerve function. It occurs naturally in many foods, so you generally do not lack sodium.
Excessive intake of sodium may be the culprit of high blood pressure, which is not good for heart health.
Medical procedures to treat heart disease
Angioplasty
Angioplasty is a non-surgical procedure, performed by a specialized cardiologist and a team of cardiovascular nurses and technicians, to open blocked heart arteries.
Placing stents in arteries during angioplasty may be very effective in keeping your heart blood vessels open. Even when stents are implanted, arteries may narrow again in up to 20 percent of patients. Such re-narrowing, known as in-stent restenosis, is due to scar tissue, formed in response to the injury created when the stent was implanted. While the procedures performed during coronary angioplasty will open a blocked artery, they will not cure coronary artery disease.
Bypass
When your coronary arteries are blocked, your doctor may treat the problem by giving your blood a new pathway to your heart. This is an open-heart surgery performed directly upon your heart. Bypass procedure stops your lungs and heart, and puts your blood through a machine that oxygenates it as well as pumps it through your body.
During coronary artery bypass graft surgery (also called CABG, or “cabbage”), a blood vessel is removed or redirected from one area of your body, and placed around the area or areas of narrowing to bypass the blockages and restore blood flow to your heart muscle. CABG surgery is the surgery most commonly performed.
Despite its popularity, bypass surgery has a long list of unpublicized side effects, and in many cases has proven to be even unnecessary. Unless the chosen hospital and the performing surgeon are highly qualified, the chances of leaving the operating room alive can be as low as one in five because one in twenty patients may subsequently suffer a heart attack following the surgery, and one in forty may suffer a stroke. In addition, the older the patient, the lower the chances of survival, and patients undergoing a repeat bypass have a 10-20 percent higher risk for fatality.
Although in some cases bypass surgery is necessary and may prove helpful, research has shown that many of the operations performed could have been avoided.
Another shortfall of bypass surgery is that it is only a patchwork solution to a disease affecting the entire arterial system. Replacing the most crucial arteries is only a temporary solution, but not a miracle cure. Given that the complete vascular system is affected, the chances of another occlusion occurring several years down the road are critically high.
Laser tipped catheter
Laser tipped catheter burns away the fatty deposits and smooths out the sides of the blocked artery. There is less chance of the artery collapsing as in angioplasty procedures, but the floating pieces of plaque moving in the blood to a new area may cause blockages there - possibly causing a stroke if they are in the brain.
Open-heart surgery
Open-heart surgery is performed while the bloodstream is diverted through a heart-lung machine.
Open-heart procedures are quite common in the United States.
According to British Medical Journal, a new study shows invasive procedures do not necessarily improve the survival rate for patients hospitalized for a life-threatening heart condition. In addition, researchers say there should be a more selective use of procedures, and they argue against routinely transferring patients to hospitals with specialist facilities.
Consider other alternatives to the invasive procedures of Western medicine. Remember, all procedures simply correct the symptoms but do not address the causes of heart disease. Heart health is overall physical and mental health. Heart health is anti-aging, and only heart health may lead to longevity, not any of the conventional procedures of Western medicine.
How To Prevent Or Even Reverse Heart Disease - Without Drugs Or Surgery is about preventing and reversing heart disease without drugs or invasive procedures. Robert D. Willix Jr., who has been a surgeon for 30 years, has pioneered preventive medicine and natural cures instrumental in preventing and reversing heart disease, without surgery or drugs. Some of his groundbreaking findings include: raising cholesterol level can protect the heart; and taking an aspirin a day can increase the risk for heart attack, among others. Robert D. Willix Jr. also reveals the “secrets” of heart health that the mainstream medicine and big pharmaceutical companies would not like you to know. This book, with its many anti-aging tips on heart health, is very interesting and informative on the subject of heart disease. It is highly recommended for anyone who is interested in anti-aging heart health for both the body and the mind.
The Oriental approach to heart health
According to Western medicine, your heart is a pump that circulates blood through the blood vessels of your body. An efficient pump produces heart health. Genes, smoking, bad diet, lack of exercise and stress can block your blood vessels, forcing the pump to work too hard, and causing diseases of the heart and blood vessels.
According to the Oriental way, your heart is the “emperor” of your whole being, and the health of your entire system depends upon the normal functioning of your heart. Your heart is the "residence" of your mind, spirit, and personality. According to Chinese philosophy, heaven and earth merge to make a human being, and the place where they merge is in the heart, which is the center of the human body, and hence the importance of heart health.
Disturbances in the heart affect your whole body. The movement of blood throughout your body (circulation) is managed by multiple organs, which in turn interact with one another. A failure in any one part of this system can result in pathology that may affect your heart health.
If there is a circulation issue, all the organ systems in your body will be deprived of the nourishment supplied by your blood. Your heart health has a dramatic effect on everything else in your body. Heart health is not only physical health, but also mental health. Heart health has everything to do with your overall wellness. Good heart health is anti-aging.
The force that keeps life going is qi (internal vital life energy), which is determined by the balance of yin and yang. Poor diet, stress, and lack of exercise can cause your yin and yang to become out of balance, thereby disrupting the flow of qi. One symptom is “thick” blood, which is the root cause of heart disease affecting heart health.
Severe stagnation in qi and in the blood may produce internal heat, which goes into your blood and steams your body, drying out your blood vessels as well as raising your blood pressure. These conditions may adversely affect your heart health.
In Chinese medicine, the basic cause of chest pain is obstruction of the circulation of qi and blood. Chest pain may be due to either deficiency or excess patterns of yin and yang. A balanced yin and yang creates harmony for heart health.
(For more information on yin and yang in Oriental medicine, read my book, NO MIRACLE CURES - Only Wholesome Self-Healing. Also go to my website Chinese Healing.)
Heart yang deficiency is the root of many chest pain patterns involving the heart, especially those which are due to deficiency cold and phlegm obstruction. With heart yang deficiency, there is accumulation of "cold," your heart is weakened, and circulation is impaired, resulting in the accumulation of fluids in the form of phlegm and dampness. Clinical symptoms of heart yang deficiency include squeezed chest pain, cold limbs, and aversion to cold.
Heart qi deficiency may result from your heart yang deficiency. Clinical symptoms of heart qi deficiency are mild pain in chest, stuffiness in chest, shortness of breath; physical activity, palpitations and flutters may aggravate all these symptoms.
Blood deficiency is due to over exhaustion, excessive worry or mental activity, irregular dietary habits, or inordinate consumption of cold, raw foods, weakening your spleen qi, which in turn gives rise to qi and blood deficiency.
When your qi is weak, poor circulation results, giving rise to stagnation of qi or blood, or both. In addition, phlegm may accumulate due to the weakened spleen function. Clinical symptoms of qi and blood deficiency are mild chest pain, shortness of breath, pale complexion, and insomnia.
The wisdom of the Oriental medicine based on yin and yang provides insight into promoting heart health without the use of drugs and invasive procedures.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is an effective treatment to unblock your qi. Acupuncture helps restore balance for your normal flow of qi. Imbalance of qi means imbalance between yin and yang. Acupuncture is effective in restoring damaged heart health through optimized energy flow.
Much of your body's energy flows along the major channels and numerous minor channels. These flows influence the flow of all your body's fluids and energies. Each one of these flows passes through and influences an internal organ by nourishing it with the required nutrients.
Acupuncture points, as many as five hundred, are used to regulate the flow along these channels. The most powerful points on these channels lie on the extremities - below the elbows and knees.
Exercise
Qi Gong is a set of self-healing exercise designed to balance your qi, bringing you back into harmony with Nature. These exercises incorporate your posture, movement, breathing, meditation and visualization to move oxygen and nutrients from your blood to tissues. Distress and anxiety are dispelled during meditation; positive thinking with great confidence is affirmed; and concentration is emphasized. Through Qi Gong, you gain control of your body and mind, thereby instrumental in stimulating the circulation of your blood and qi, thereby promoting heart health.
Indispensable Qi Gong For People On The Go is an excellent book on Qi Gong exercise with step-by-step instructions to help you perform 3000-year-secret exercises to reverse bone loss due to osteoporosis, and to revitalize an aging body. The exercises are especially suitable for people who are aging because they promote muscle flexibility, enhance internal life energy, and promote clarity of the mind and overall physical well-being. Qi Gong benefits heart health.
Diet
The Chinese diet focuses on the yin and yang balance, since all foods and herbs naturally embody some of the five fundamental elements. By eating the right combinations of foods, you can attain the correct balance, thereby enabling the free flow of blood and qi to maximize heart health.
500 Healthy Chinese Recipes Cookbook is based on the concept of yin and yang in the ingredients selected as well as in the method of preparation to create 500 dishes to achieve balance and contrast for optimum heart health. The dishes are easy to cook. This is highly recommended if you like healthy Oriental cuisine. An antiaging diet goes a long way in enhancing heart health for longevity living.
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Copyright© by Stephen Lau
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Heart Health
by
Stephen Lau
by
Stephen Lau
The common types of heart disease
The diagnosis of heart disease
The risk factors
Antiaging foods for a healthy heart
Understanding food components for a healthy heart
Medical procedures for treatment
The Oriental approach to heart health
The diagnosis of heart disease
The risk factors
Antiaging foods for a healthy heart
Understanding food components for a healthy heart
Medical procedures for treatment
The Oriental approach to heart health
Right Brain Diet for right weight loss
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